A great later album by Jobim – one that has him working with "the new band", which includes younger talents like Danilo Caymmi on flute and vocals, Sebastiao Neto on bass, Jacques Morelen baum on cello, and Paulo Jobim on guitar and vocals. Jobim's voice is wonderfully aged and booze-soaked – a perfect vehicle for the darkly jazzy approach of the material. Arrangements are somewhat lighter than his late 70s work, which is a good thing – as it lifts the spirits of the tracks strongly, creating the perfect mix of joy and sadness that characterized his best bossa work. Tracks include "Chansong", "Brasil Nativo", "Bebel", "Gabriela", and the goofy "Samba do Soho". "Chansong" includes the somewhat stupid line "You look so sexy with my pince-nez, let's hijack this concord to the bahamas!" – but the overall quality of the material is quite high. LP, Vinyl record album

A rare 80s set from Astrud Gilberto – cut at a time when she was hardly doing any new recording at all! As you'll guess from the title, the album has Gilberto teaming up with German groovemaker James Last – who handles all the orchestrations for the record, and shows a surprising sensitivity towards Astrud's bossa styles in his music. Last can sometimes be a bit over the top, but he's quite subtle here – leaving lots of room for Gilberto's sweetly sensitive vocals, and the music of her core combo, which features Romero Lubambo on guitar and Dudu Da Fonseca on percussion. Paulo Jobim guests on vocals and guitar on a few tracks – and titles include "Agua De Beber", "Champagne & Caviar", "Samba Do Soho", and "Saci". LP, Vinyl record album