Sweet keyboard soul from Deodato – a set that steps off nicely from the strengths of his big hits on CTI, hitting a similarly flowing groove that's really great! The instrumentation here is a bit more expanded than before, but never in a way that buries the keyboards – and Deodato's right out front on a range of electric keys that get some great support from John Tropea's finely-honed work on guitar! Titles include "Havana Strut", "Whirlwinds", "West 42nd Street", and a nice cover of Steely Dan's "Do It Again". And heck, even the album's version of Glen Miller's "Moonlight Serenade" manages to come off like a funk tune! (Jazz, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent little live set from Deodato – hard to believe because the sound's just as tight and funky as his studio albums, and possibly even more interesting because he manages to pull it off equally well in a live setting! The record features percussion by Airto, guitar by John Tropea, and vocals by Flora Purim – and those are just the marquee names of a large and amazing grew of great musicians! All tracks are long and complicated, for very hynotic feel throughout. The funkiest number is "Tropea", which has a nice long 8 minute groove – and the set also features a cover of Steely Dan's "Do It Again", plus the tracks "Parana", "Branches", "Baubles, Bangles And Beads" and "Skyscraper". Amazing! (Jazz, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

A cool Japanese-only collection, overflowing with CTI keyboard gems from Deodato – including "Super Strut", "Spirit Of Summer", "2001", "Baubles Bangles & Beads", "Prelude To Afternoon Of A Faun", "September", "Pavane For A Dead Princess", and "Rhapsody In Blue". (Jazz, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

Great keyboard funk from Deodato – one of his excellent mid 70s sessions for MCA, all of which are sometimes eclipsed by his CTI work, but still equally groovy! As with most of the other MCA records, the songs here are shorter than before – but in a way that allows for even more punch in the groove – especially on the bottom end of the tracks, which hit hard in a space that's somewhere between 70s soundtrack funk and more conventional fusion. The style's not nearly as slick as some of D's contemporaries were going at the time – and there's a nice range of material here that really makes for a complex vibe! Titles include "Theme From Star Trek", "Peter Gunn", "I Shot The Sherriff", "Black Widow", "Amani", "Juanita", and "Univac Loves You". (Jazz, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

A wickedly funky album from Joao Donato – quite different than his earlier bossa sessions, and recorded in LA with a sweet jazzy bounce! The album's overflowing with great keyboard work – and Joao plays both piano and organ, in a group that includes percussion from Emil Richards, who also produced the set with this mad skittish edge that's awash in crazy and off-kilter rhythms! Deodato helped a bit with the arrangements, too – and the album's got an electric feel that's somewhat similar to Deodato's own work on CTI, but a lot more messed up – and with that sense of odd instrumental placement that we love so much in Donato's classic Quem E Quem album! Tracks are all pretty darn great – and titles include "Mosquito", "Bambu", "Cade Jodel", "Lunar Tune", and "The Frog", nicely done here in a funky version! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hardest to find Astrud Gilberto records on Verve – and one of the best! Deodato, Don Sebesky, and Pat Williams did the arrangements – and the sound here is a bit different than some of the straighter Gilberto sets of the time – still very bossa-inspired, but also in a style that mixes in some great Sunshine Pop and 60s easy influences too – particularly on the tracks arranged by Williams! Tracks are all quite short, but get a heck of a lot of magic into a tiny space – and the album features some really wonderful songs that break Gilberto's pattern a bit – including versions of the Marcos Valle tracks "Crickets Sing For Anamaria" and "Chup Chup, I Got Away" – plus takes on "Windy", "Sing Me A Rainbow", "Never My Love", and "Where Are They Now?" LP, Vinyl record album

A great album from Astrud Gilberto – one that has her pushing past the simple bossa of early years, running through a range of 60s styles that all sound great – really opening up, finding new confidence in her vocals, and bridging a few different musical worlds in the process! Arrangements are by Deodato and Don Sebesky – and handled with this growing sophistication that holds on to bossa elements, but elevates the style with some of the cooler late 60s touches we love on Verve Records – all at a level that's completely sublime, and which does really wonderful things for Astrud's vocals. There's still plenty of Brazilian tunes in the mix – like "Oba, Oba", "Canoeiro", "Bossa Na Praia", "Nao Bate O Corocao", and Marcos Valle's great "The Face I Love" – and the album also features great versions of "Misty Roses", "You Didn't Have To Be So Nice", and "Stay". LP, Vinyl record album

Gentle, breezy, and wonderful – a rare 1974 album by Osmar Milito, a Brazilian arranger of the post-bossa era, and a mad talent with a bit of a dark edge! The record takes all the airy brilliance of the previous Brazilian generation, and moves it forward with a different sense of space and sound – almost a transformation of the Deodato or Jobim style of arranging in the 60s, but with a much moodier feel overall. Miltio plays piano on the set – working in front of larger orchestrations in a mode that's not unlike the late 60s albums of Burt Bacharach, but fitted with some different touches that give the set a bit more of a groovy 70s sound. Titles include "Bonita", "Sangue Latino", "Viagem", "Eu Bebo Sim", and "Planalto Geral". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible 70s work from the lovely Astrud Gilberto – a rare effort for the CTI label that has her teaming up with arranger Eumir Deodato and saxophonist Stanley Turrentine – all in a groove that's totally different than most of her earlier work! Astrud's breathy vocals are still wonderfully intact – but they're given a more spacious approach in the arrangements – strings mixes with rolling basslines, soaring keyboards, and stone cold tenor from Stanley – in a groove that's simply wonderful, and which takes off in a whole new direction than before! Other players include Airto, Sivuca, Hubert Laws, and Dom Um Romao – and tracks include classic versions of "Ponteio", "Vera Cruz", and "Zazueira" that are all some of the most grooving takes on the tunes ever – plus "Historia De Amor", "Where There's A Heartache", "Brazilian Tapestry", and "Wanting Things". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible record – from the first off-key note to the last! The album's filled with some wonderfully moody LA studio sounds, arranged by Deodato, and a has a great swirling mix of sound that weaves around Jobim's lofty guitar and piano beautifully – complex, but still with the airy sense of space that Antonio Carlos first brought to his music in the 60s. From the very first note, you can feel the strange magic of Jobim and Deodato at work – as the album appears to be smooth and mellow, yet has a strangely unsettling undertone that keeps us coming back after all these years! Tracks include "Tema Jazz", "Carinhoso", "Rockanalia", and a nice remake of "Girl From Ipanema". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the grooviest Verve albums of all time – a rare American session from Brazilian legend Marcos Valle – and his only US album to feature vocals! The album's even dreamier than Valle's early bossa sides from Brazil – and the setting has some nice Verve-like touches from Deodato – who handled the arrangements, and brings a nicely airy, nicely jazzy style to the record. Most tunes are sung as duets with his lovely wife Anamaria – made famous by the album's landmark groover "Crickets Sing For Anamaria" – an English-language version of Valle's earlier "Os Grilos". Other titles are all great too – and sport English lyrics that hardly ever got much exposure. In addition to the great "Crickets Sing For Anamaria", other titles include "The Face I Love", "She Told Me She Told Me", "Pepino Beach", "Chup Chup I Got Away", and "Batucada". LP, Vinyl record album

A groundbreaking moment in Brazilian pop culture! The 3rd International Festival of Song in Rio was fraught with controversy – Brazilian music was at a crossroads, and the new experiments of some of the younger groups didn't really sit well with the more conservative audiences in the country (or the newly repressive government.) This 3rd volume features artists who recorded for Odeon – and includes a rare version of "Dia De Vitoria" sung by Marcos Valle with Golden Boys, and arrangements from Eumir Deodato – plus the tracks "Dois Dias" by Dori Caymmi, "Meu Sonho Antigo" and "Negroide" by Taiguara, "Tempo De Partir" by Clara Nunes, "Pra Nao Dizer Que Nao Falei Das Flores" by Vocalistas Modernos, "Mare Morta" by Mary Lauria, "Plenilunio" by Luiza, and "Sonho" by Maria. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing leap forward for the incredible Walter Wanderley – a record that has him mixing his earlier bossa groove with the wider vision of late 60s A&M/CTI – supported by an amazing cast of American and Brazilian artists! The vibe is wonderful from the very first note – a refinement of bossa with the more sophisticated scoring touches of CTI – arrangements from both Deodato and Don Sebesky, working wonderfully to support Wanderley's lead keyboard lines on organ and electric harpsichord! The record's arguably more sophisticated than most work of this nature coming from Brazil at the same time – and with classic production by Creed Taylor, the sound is sublime through and through! A few tracks feature a slight bit of vocals – from Milton Nascimento, Anamaria Valle, and others – and instrumentalists helping on the session include Hubert Laws on flute and Marvin Stamm on flugelhorn. Titles include great versions of "Open Your Arms", "When It Was Done", "Reach Out For Me", "Ponteio", "Surfboard", "Baiao Da Garoa", "Capoeira", and "Ole Ole Ola". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful bossa – and one of Leny Andrade's best albums! The record was recorded way back in 1965, when Leny was starting her career, years before she went onto become one of Brazil's most famous jazz singers. She's working here with Deodato, who did a beautiful set of jazzy arrangements that work perfectly with Leny's rich voice – warm and airy, with a sweetly skipping quality throughout! The whole thing's really jazzy and wonderful – without any of the heavier styles of Leny's later work – and titles include "Tema Feliz", "Samba De Rei", "A Resposta", "Banzo", "Cliche", "Samba Em Paris", and "Coisa Nuvem". LP, Vinyl record album

A groovy blend of bossa themes and some of the lighter pop treatments that Bonfa often received – not really a problem for us, as the approach always filled out his sound a bit more, and made for some catchy tunes with a very groovy style! Tracks include "Bahia Soul", "Dois Amores", "Song Of The Hills", "Dreamy", "Samba De Orfeu", "Na Paz Do Amor", and "Rancho De Orfeu" – and arrangements are by Deodato, Bonfa, and Arnold Goland. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning early bossa session by Wanda Sa – the singer who recorded for Capitol in the US under the name Wanda De Sah – but who sounds even better here in her native Brazil! Roberto Menescal put the session together, and it's filled with all of the inventive twists and turns of his own 60s work on Elenco – bits of organ, piano, flute, and percussion all sliding around magically underneath the vocals – played by a variety of groups led by Menescal, Tenorio Jr, Luiz Carlos Vinhas, and Deodato! But even more than the instrumentation, Wanda's vocals are really the star of the set – a bit breathy and nicely restrained – almost like Nara Leao in her youth, and perfectly recorded in the best RGE tradition! Titles include "Adriana", "Tristeza De Nos Dois", "Vagamente", "Vivo Sonhando", "Encontro", "Inutil Paisagem", and "E Vem O Sol". LP, Vinyl record album

A heavy-hitting album of keyboard funk that's right up there with the best Deodato work for CTI! Brazilian arranger Daniel Salinas was clearly influenced by the success that his fellow countryman Deodato was having in the US during the early 70s – and he's working here in a style that would have made CTI proud – one that blends larger orchestral backings with tight electric rhythms, jazzy soloing, and a few nicely placed moments of Brazilian percussion! The real star of the set is keyboardist Sergio Sa – who plays Fender Rhodes on the standout track "Staussmania" – a killer bit of dancefloor electric jazz that has a very strong "2001" feel! Sergio also wrote the nice little groover "Baiao" – which comes across with a slight sort of Airto/Hermeto mix of percussion and reeds – and the album also features a great fuzzed out take on Donovan's "Atlantis", plus the super-beautiful soundtracky groove "Like A Rainy Night"! LP, Vinyl record album