A great chapter in the wonderful career of Brazilian guitarist Fabiano Do Nascimento – a set that has him filling up his sound a bit, while still allowing his acoustic instrument to stand in the lead – an approach that makes for a record that's even more colorful and moving than before! Vittor Santos adds some larger arrangements to the record, and Arthur Verocai contributes a bit of strings – but neither arranger seeks to dominate the sound, and instead they just augment all the warm colors and beautiful tones of the guitar – which still stands strongly upfront in the mix. Many of the songs are the same as on his Yuktu record, but handled differently – and titles include "Noite", "Pelas Ruas", "Rio Tapajos", "Flower Of Life", "Novo Dia", "Curumin", and "Stalagmites". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible music from Seu Jorge – and that's saying a lot, given how much we've loved all of his previous records! This time around, Jorge really knocks it out of the park – by stepping away from some of his tighter styles, and going for a looser, more organic approach that's totally great – forged strongly with the cool combo Almaz, which features members of Nacao Zumbi, and bassist Antonio Pinto – the guy behind the great music in City Of God! The result is a record that's completely fresh, new territory for Jorge – but a set that also still holds onto all the best charms of his previous records too – and given that he's always seemed poised for superstardom and global crossover, it's even more incredible that he's made such a rootsy record like this! The record's filled with cool covers – all given the Almaz twist – tunes by Kraftwerk, Roy Ayers, Michael Jackson, Jorge Ben, Tim Maia, and others – completely reworked, and tuned up with spare instrumentation that's mostly guitar, bass, and drums. Titles include "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", "The Model", "Cala Boca Menino", "Girl You Move Me", "Juizo Final", "Cirandar", "Tempo De Amor", and "Rock With You". LP, Vinyl record album

A contemporary record, but one that's got an amazingly timeless feel – like the best early 70s material from Brazilian artists like Airto, Hermeto Pascoal, or Egberto Gismonti! The music of Fabiano Do Nascimento has a similar genre-breaking quality to these giants – not straight jazz, but very jazzy in parts – not traditional Brazilian roots, either – but very schooled in the strongest elements from decades of creativity on that scene – all wrapped up in this fresh, new blend that's completely mesmerizing right from the start! Most instrumentation is acoustic, and relatively simple – guitar, percussion, drums, and vocals – but the arrangements are wonderful, and fold these familiar elements together in ways that are completely unique. The legendary Airto guests on the record – but the vision here is clearly that of Fabiano Do Nascimento – as he mixes together works by Hermeto Pascoal, Baden Powell, and other Brazilian composers with some bold new ideas of his own. Titles include "Forro Brasil", "Minha Ciranda", "Etude", "Primeira Estrella", "Tupi", "Se Ela Preguntar", "Tocatta Em Ritmo De Samba", and "Nana". CD

A really beautiful second album from Fabiano Do Nascimento – and a set that really blows away his debut! This record's got an "instant classic" vibe right from the start – the kind of set that you could easily listen next to 70s gems by artists like Lo Borges, Milton Nascimento, or Edu Lobo – with a sound that hangs between the complexity and soul of all three of those artists – but a presentation that's also very personal and unique! Fabiano plays acoustic guitar throughout, with a cascading vibe that's incredibly compelling – and often offset by light flute and percussion, which skitter alongside his beautiful vocals – in ways that are always upbeat, but never too polished – really preserving this organic core in his music! The sound is sublime – sophisticated, but very organic – and if you know us at all, we're not ones to throw around the term "classic" lightly when it comes to Brazilian music. Titles include "Planalto", "Baiao", "Brasilerinho", "Ja Que Tu", "Oye Nana", "O Tempo", "Canto De Xango", and "Louva A Deus Mantis". CD

Maybe the most personal album to date from Fabiano Do Nascimento – a set that continues the Brazilian acoustic guitar legacy of players like Baden Powell, Egberto Gismonti, and some of the older greats – but which finds a way to express its sound in a very contemporary way! Fabiano plays a variety of guitars here, but also mixes the record with this airy sound that layers in bits of wordless vocals and other effects – all used gently, but beautifully – with this spacious, open sound that really fits the image of the landscape on the cover, yet which also has a lot more warmth than that picture too. There's almost an ECM vibe to the record at times, but the sound is a bit more dynamic – and titles include "Noite", "Ykytu", "Pelas Ruas", "Flower Of Life", "Corrida", "Planalto", and "Rio Tapajos". LP, Vinyl record album

A wild little record from this little-known American singer – a set recorded in Germany at the end of the 60s, with a compelling mix of jazz, bossa, psychedelic, and funky touches! Don's got this weird sort of raspy vocal approach a times – a rumbling style of putting over a lyric that's a nice contrast to the sweeter blend of jazz and Latin instrumentation used in the backdrop! The set features some wonderful work from key talents on the German groove scene at the time – including guitar from Sigi Schwab, and arrangements from Ingfried Hoffmann – both of whom contributed a number of original tunes to the set! Titles include "Danza", "Titicaca", "Ananas", "Inca Uyu", "Blue Bossa", "Duerme Negrito", "Sugar Cane", and "Charangito". Also features 2 bonus cuts – "On The Road Again" and "In My Fantasy". (Vocalists, Brazil) CD

Although it's hard to understand from the perspective of over a decade (especially one that's seen Tom Ze rise to fame again), when this compilation was first put together, the music of Tom Ze had all but fallen off the musical map of Brazil. Ze was one of the founding fathers of Tropicalia – and unlike other members of that group, who rose to great fame during the 70s, and straighted up their act a bit, Ze always remained a committed modernist, as you'll hear on this sampling of 13 tracks from his rare releases on a number of labels. The style's incredibly hard to pin down – and in fact, we might describe the recordings as being "anti-style" – but if you've heard any of Ze's work, you know you're in for a treat. Titles include "Ma", "Doi", "Hein?", "Cademar", "Um Oh E Um Ah", and "A Felicidade". CD

A groundbreaking collection of work from the legendary Tom Ze – and a record that really helped introduce his genius to the world outside of Brazil! Although it's hard to understand from the perspective of over a decade – especially one that's seen Tom Ze rise to fame again – when this compilation was first put together, the music of Tom Ze had all but fallen off the musical map of Brazil. Ze was one of the founding fathers of Tropicalia – and unlike other members of that group, who rose to great fame during the 70s, and straightened up their act a bit – Ze always remained a committed modernist, continually inventive well into the 70s and 80s – really coming up with amazing sounds that are always compelling, challenging, and often have a nicely quirky feel as well. The style's incredibly hard to pin down – and in fact, we might describe the recordings as being "anti-style" – but if you've heard any of Ze's work, you know you're in for a treat. The collection brings together material from a number of different labels – and titles include "Ma", "Doi", "Hein?", "Cademar", "Um Oh E Um Ah", "Augusta Angelica E Consolacao", "O Riso E A Faca", "Ui", and "A Felicidade". LP, Vinyl record album