The final chapter of Lula Cortes amazing run of music in 70s Brazil – a small label release that brilliantly blends together a range of psychedelic influences – all with a gritty edge that's quite different than what you might expect from the date of the album! Things here are every bit as tripped out as on some of Lula's other albums from years before – trippily poetic, occasionally folksy, and sometimes touched with heavier electric moments that really offset the gentler, more organic moments. The reissue features full notes on the music by Cortes himself – and the package offers a rare chance to hear an album whose original pressing was supposedly destroyed before it was ever released! Really great sound, and a lovely package that more than lives up to Lula's amazing music. LP, Vinyl record album

Raul Seixas looks a bit less freaky on the cover here than on some of his 70s records, but his sound is still nice and lean, and definitely on the edgier side of MPB – as befitting his initial role in the group Secos E Molhados! Seixas has really learned how to express himself at a deeper level, and the record allows him a few more introspective tracks next to the harder rockers – maybe the maturing balance that Lou Reed was seeking in his music at the time – on titles that include "Segredo Da Luz", "Aquela Cosa", "So Glad You're Mine", "Carimbador Maluco", "Lua Cheia", "Quero Mais", "Nao Fosse O Cabral", and "DDI". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite Brazilian artists of all time – stepping out here with a record that really lives up to all the faith we've had in his music over the decades! Back at the start of the 90s, Valle had all but disappeared from the recording world – but since that time, he's continued to mature and grow as an artist – really stretching himself, expanding his sound, and moving forward his groundbreaking styles of the 60s and 70s, which continue to influence new generations as time goes by! Here, there's some of the warmth of the soul records that Marcos cut in the 80s, including his collaborations with Leon Ware – but with touches of more unusual, more personal elements too – so that you'll have a sweet electric sound on one number, and a more pronounced acoustic element on the next – all made even more interesting by some of the collaborative help on the album's compositions, which include contributions from Moreno Veloso, Domincio, Kassin, and Emicida. Titles include "Se Proteja", "Pelo Sim Pelo Nao", "Rastros Traros", "Nada Existe", "Posto 9", "So Penso Em Jazz", "Lugares Distantes", and "Cinzento". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album by Marcos Valle after years and years away from the studio – a set that really reintroduced his talents to a whole new generation! The set was recorded for the Far Out label in London – a then-new imprint who were doing a great job to bring back a Brazilian groove that had been lost since the 70s – and Valle was one of a few key artists they had a big hand in reviving! The record's got a great modern bossa nova feel, with a good electric sound, and lots of nice moody grooves on piano and guitar, plus nice vocals by Marcos himself – sounding a bit older than on his 80s soul records, but in a way that really makes the album crackle with charm! Titles include "Novo Visual", "Nordeste", "Bar Ingles", "Bahia Blue", "Cidade Aberto", and a remake of "Vontage De Rever Voce". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique album from the legendary percussionist Nana Vasconcelos – one that continues the groundbreaking tradition of his 70s work, but with a very special style here! Some of the tracks use overdubs, so that Nana is mixing berimbau, percussion, voice, and other percussion instruments with a sonic complexity that lives up to the best tradition of ECM at the time – still rootsy, but really showing the modernist elements that lie in his music as well! Egberto Gismonti adds in guest guitar on one long track, and there's a bit of strings on the record too – but most of the energy comes from Nana himself. Titles include "O Berimbau", "Vozes", "Ondas", and "Dado". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderfully evocative work from Egberto Gismonti – a set based around the music of Hecto Villa-Lobos, but taken to much more creatively modern territory! The older compositions are a wonderful match for Gismonti's free-thinking approach to music – and the tunes are really opened up with a sense of soaring that you won't find in other Villa-Lobos recordings – a bit of jazz, plus more complicated flourishes as well. The group's a small combo – with instrumentation that includes flutes, soprano sax, percussion, and xylophone – and Gismonti himself plays both piano and keyboards, bringing a bit of an electric feel at times. Titles include "Dansa", "Bachiana No 5", "Cantiga", "O Trenzinho Do Caipira", and "Pobre Cega". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album by Marcos Valle after years and years away from the studio – a set that really reintroduced his talents to a whole new generation! The set was recorded for the Far Out label in London – a then-new imprint who were doing a great job to bring back a Brazilian groove that had been lost since the 70s – and Valle was one of a few key artists they had a big hand in reviving! The record's got a great modern bossa nova feel, with a good electric sound, and lots of nice moody grooves on piano and guitar, plus nice vocals by Marcos himself – sounding a bit older than on his 80s soul records, but in a way that really makes the album crackle with charm! Titles include "Novo Visual", "Nordeste", "Bar Ingles", "Bahia Blue", "Cidade Aberto", and a remake of "Vontage De Rever Voce". CD

Guitarist Laurindo Almeida returns to a bit of his roots here – but he also shows off a lot of the jazz experience he's picked up along the way! The album features Almeida working solo on acoustic guitar – although possibly overdubbed alongside himself at times – and while the set begins with the serious title composition, things never get too much in the realm of classical guitar – and instead have Almeida skirting many different styles, including a bit of bossa guitar – and working with this uniquely echoey recording style that makes each note resonate with a richly expressive sound! Titles include "Cool Cat Keeps Coat On", "Holiday For Strings", "Songs From Black Orpheus", "The Summer Knows", and "Star Dust". (Jazz, Brazil) CD

Guitarist Laurindo Almeida returns to a bit of his roots here – but he also shows off a lot of the jazz experience he's picked up along the way! The album features Almeida working solo on acoustic guitar – although possibly overdubbed alongside himself at times – and while the set begins with the serious title composition, things never get too much in the realm of classical guitar – and instead have Almeida skirting many different styles, including a bit of bossa guitar – and working with this uniquely echoey recording style that makes each note resonate with a richly expressive sound! Titles include "Cool Cat Keeps Coat On", "Holiday For Strings", "Songs From Black Orpheus", "The Summer Knows", and "Star Dust". (Jazz, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful live material by Chico – and the best record he's made in years! The set has a similar feel to the recent Gal Costa live set on BMG – with 2 discs worth of material, recorded with backing by a great little combo in an intimate live setting. Chico's voice is incredibly warm, and he accompanies himself on acoustic guitar throughout most of the album. It's fantastic stuff all the way through – and a real tribute to the stamina of Chico's power as an artist. Titles include "Paratodos", "Amor Barato", "Sem Voce", "Cecilia", "Aquela Mulher", "Injuriado", "As Vitrines", "Vai Passar", "Joao E Maria", and "Capitol Do Samba". CD

Sweet and jazzy pop from early 70s Brazil – a great little album that we'd rank with our favorites by Marcos Valle and Edu Lobo! Arthur Verocai isn't nearly as well-known as those two, but he works in a similar territory – taking jazz, large arrangements, and nice touches of electric funk – and working them into a groove that has the soaring and ambitious feel of the best post-Tropicalia work of 70s Brazil! This rare gem was self-produced, and fell of the map almost as soon as it was released – but it really deserves wider recognition, and shines with a depth that makes it an instant classic to our ears! Titles include "Presente Grego", "Caboclo", "Pelas Sombras", "O Mapa", "Sylvia", "Karina", "Velho Parente", and "Dedicada A Ela". LP, Vinyl record album