Wicked funky fusion from Opa – a Brazilian-inspired set, and one with loads of great electric moments! Although originally from Uruguay, Opa are best known for their Brazilian-tinged albums on the soul/jazz Fantasy records label in Cali during the mid 70s – great placement, given that their sound is a bit like Azymuth – with a similar mix of South American roots and contemporary electric grooves! This album is actually their first – captured in America before their two classics on Fantasy – and featuring a sharp quartet that includes legendary pianist Hugo Fattoruso on keyboards – a great talent who'd already made jazz and bossa records in the 60s – working here with George Osvaldo Fattoruso on drums, percussion, and flute – plus Ringo Thielmann on bass. The core trio is also joined for this record by percussionist Pappo Atiles – and although there's some light vocal touches, they've got that breezy style that was often used in Brazilian jazz at the time – almost more instrumental than vocal. Titles include a great take on Edu Lobo's "Casa Forte" – plus "Back Home (The Inner City)", "Brother Rada", "African Bird", "Goldenwings", "Brooklynville", and "One & One & One Is Two". (Jazz, Brazil) CD

Wicked funky fusion from Opa – a Brazilian-inspired set, and one with loads of great electric moments! Although originally from Uruguay, Opa are best known for their Brazilian-tinged albums on the soul/jazz Fantasy records label in Cali during the mid 70s – great placement, given that their sound is a bit like Azymuth – with a similar mix of South American roots and contemporary electric grooves! This album is actually their first – captured in America before their two classics on Fantasy – and featuring a sharp quartet that includes legendary pianist Hugo Fattoruso on keyboards – a great talent who'd already made jazz and bossa records in the 60s – working here with George Osvaldo Fattoruso on drums, percussion, and flute – plus Ringo Thielmann on bass. The core trio is also joined for this record by percussionist Pappo Atiles – and although there's some light vocal touches, they've got that breezy style that was often used in Brazilian jazz at the time – almost more instrumental than vocal. Titles include a great take on Edu Lobo's "Casa Forte" – plus "Back Home (The Inner City)", "Brother Rada", "African Bird", "Goldenwings", "Brooklynville", and "One & One & One Is Two". (Jazz, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

Mr Bongo reminds us once again why they've been one of our favorite labels of the past few decades – delivering a masterful collection of rare funky dancefloor grooves around the globe for their Record Club Volume 3! True to form, it's vintage rare funk, bossa, Afro Soul and underground dancefloor rooted with a hearty focus on Brazil, including tracks by JB De Carvalho, Trio Ternura, Impacto 5 and others – and spans the globe further for tracks by legendary composer Galt MacDermot, Ghana's Gyedu Blay Ambolley, the Luther Davis Group and more. Includes "Fui A Umbanda" by JB De Carvalho, "A Gira" by Trio Ternura, "Coisa Sentimental" by Tobias, "Don't Stop" (unreleased long version) by Spaceark, "Let Me Try" by Kaleidoscope, "Peacock" by Splash, "You Can Be A Star" by Luther Davis Group, "Highlife" by Gyedu Blay Ambolley, "Ze Do Trem", "by Cesar Roldao Viera, "Dance Of Maria" by Elias Rahbani, "Coffee Cold" by Galt MacDermot and more. 20 tracks in all. (Funky Compilations, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

One of those records that no home should be without – not only a pivotal album in the growth of bossa nova in the 60s – but a set that also really helped set the career of tenorist Stan Getz on fire! The real credit here might almost go to guitarist Charlie Byrd – as Byrd was a big early proponent of bossa nova rhythms, and had already been experimenting with them on his records of the time – yet also gets a key extra "umph" here in the presence of Stan's tenor – a bold, rich, soulful sound that really helps give the music a lot of direction – in ways that still resonate strongly all these many years later! Getz is completely sublime – a master of tone and timing throughout – and perfectly fit to these tunes. Rhythms are mostly from Byrd's trio, augmented with some extra percussion – and titles include the classic "Desafinado", plus "E Luxo So", "Samba Dees Days", "Samba Triste", "O Pato", "Samba De Uma Nota So", and "Baia". (Jazz, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

One of those records that no home should be without – not only a pivotal album in the growth of bossa nova in the 60s – but a set that also really helped set the career of tenorist Stan Getz on fire! The real credit here might almost go to guitarist Charlie Byrd – as Byrd was a big early proponent of bossa nova rhythms, and had already been experimenting with them on his records of the time – yet also gets a key extra "umph" here in the presence of Stan's tenor – a bold, rich, soulful sound that really helps give the music a lot of direction – in ways that still resonate strongly all these many years later! Getz is completely sublime – a master of tone and timing throughout – and perfectly fit to these tunes. Rhythms are mostly from Byrd's trio, augmented with some extra percussion – and titles include the classic "Desafinado", plus "E Luxo So", "Samba Dees Days", "Samba Triste", "O Pato", "Samba De Uma Nota So", and "Baia". (Jazz, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

One of those records that no home should be without – not only a pivotal album in the growth of bossa nova in the 60s – but a set that also really helped set the career of tenorist Stan Getz on fire! The real credit here might almost go to guitarist Charlie Byrd – as Byrd was a big early proponent of bossa nova rhythms, and had already been experimenting with them on his records of the time – yet also gets a key extra "umph" here in the presence of Stan's tenor – a bold, rich, soulful sound that really helps give the music a lot of direction – in ways that still resonate strongly all these many years later! Getz is completely sublime – a master of tone and timing throughout – and perfectly fit to these tunes. Rhythms are mostly from Byrd's trio, augmented with some extra percussion – and titles include the classic "Desafinado", plus "E Luxo So", "Samba Dees Days", "Samba Triste", "O Pato", "Samba De Uma Nota So", and "Baia". This is the Verve master edition with 20-bit remastering, bonus track, new liner notes, photographs, cover art & more. (Jazz, Brazil) CD

One of those records that no home should be without – not only a pivotal album in the growth of bossa nova in the 60s – but a set that also really helped set the career of tenorist Stan Getz on fire! The real credit here might almost go to guitarist Charlie Byrd – as Byrd was a big early proponent of bossa nova rhythms, and had already been experimenting with them on his records of the time – yet also gets a key extra "umph" here in the presence of Stan's tenor – a bold, rich, soulful sound that really helps give the music a lot of direction – in ways that still resonate strongly all these many years later! Getz is completely sublime – a master of tone and timing throughout – and perfectly fit to these tunes. Rhythms are mostly from Byrd's trio, augmented with some extra percussion – and titles include the classic "Desafinado", plus "E Luxo So", "Samba Dees Days", "Samba Triste", "O Pato", "Samba De Uma Nota So", and "Baia". (Jazz, Brazil) CD