Sweet work from Joyce – a very intimate album that really reminds us of her classics from years back! Most of the set just features Joyce's vocals and guitar – but as you'll know if you love her as much as we do, that alone is enough to make the record wonderful – a slyly seductive blend that few other artists could carry off this well! The style is rooted in bossa, but inflected with jazz – and yet carried off with an individual style that nobody else can touch. Titles include "Adeus America", "Puro Ouro", "Vela No Breu", "Manha No Posto 6", "Viva Meu Samba", "Rio Meu", and "Mascarada". CD

A gorgeous album of Brazilian vocal jazz – a set that blends bossa roots, Brazilian jazz, and some of the sunnier touches you might find coming from Bay Area interpretations of the music in the late 70s/early 80s – such as work by Joyce Cooling or Viva Brasil! Patricia King handles the lead vocals and piano – and she's got this wonderfully soaring style that's also a bit like some of the hipper European vocalists who emerged in the wake of Tania Maria's important 70s recordings in Paris. Orlando handles guitars and a bit of vocals too – and the group has great basslines, flute, and plenty of percussion to really keep things lively – all of which makes for one of the best examples we've ever heard of this sort of style. Titles include "Sambawalk", "Choro Sambaiao", "Cancao Da Chuva", "Calma Mulher", "Num Dia Azul", and "Sinal Verde". CD

A totally unique album from the Brazilian scene of the 60s – a set that was recorded right in the middle of the big Tropicalia years, but which has more of the earthier touches that would emerge in the Brazilian scene during the 70s! Yet there's also a sense of tight arrangement here too – a bit like the soulful crackle that came from some of the EMI/Odeon sessions, but served up with a more folklyric sense of instrumentation – lots of percussion, cuica, and other regional elements – sometimes topped with a single horn, or maybe just a string flourish – but never in a way that dampens the earthy energy at the core! The sound is fantastic – mostly instrumental, although with some spare vocals too – and titles include "Agua Viva", "Ritual Negro", "Desengano Da Vista", "Dual", "Arabindu", "Quem Sou Eu", "Advertencia", and "Sem Sombra". CD

Samba is their gift – and we're all that much richer for it! Os Ipanemas return here in one of their best albums so far – a beautiful blend of earthy percussion, samba rhythms, and just a bit of bossa jazz – put together with a style that's personal and spontaneous, recorded without any extra fanfare – and in a mode that's almost more authentic than similar recordings from the 60s! Leave it to the Far Out label to get a session like this done the right way – because there's none of the too-slick sounds of some revival sessions, nor any of the fake roots that just come off as tired over-hashed ideas. Instead, what we've got here is a lively, organic batch of music that shows that percussionist Wilson Das Neves and guitarist Neco are still growing strongly in their talents – aided here by an array of guest players on trumpet, trombone, flute, and a fair bit of extra percussion – and sounding especially nice on those tracks where Wilson's warmly crackling vocals simmer nicely with the grooves! Titles include "Imperial", "Malandro Qando Vaza", "San Roque", "Valsamba", "Treze Trinta E Nove", "Folia No Samba", "Taioba", and "Samba Pra Mim Mesmo". CD

An incredible record from Marcos Valle – maybe our favorite-ever of his recent-revival years! The sound here is sublime – a warm blend of funky rhythms, bossa roots, and larger orchestrations – all very much in the spirit of those legendary albums that Valle recorded for EMI/Odeon right at the start of the 70s – soaring, sophisticated, and never without a groove! Valle did all the arrangements for the set, but gets some great help on strings and horns from Jesse Sedoc – whose touches are really a key part of the Odeon-styled sound here – and a number of the tracks feature female vocals duetting with Marcos' lead, in a mode that's just like his classic work with Anamaria! Titles include "Prefixo", "Vamos Sambar", "Novo Acorde", "1995", "Esphera", "Eu Vou", "Papo De Maluco", and "Baiao Maracatu". CD

A fantastic setting for the sublime vocals of Marcos Valle – the Brazilian singer who first rose up during the bossa years, soon expanded into mindblowing styles of his own – and has then had a few great revivals over the years! Yet this record may well give Marcos the fresh spin he really needed – while also respecting the soulful, jazzy currents of his early 70s work – set up with the kind of perfect arrangements and production that Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad have brought to this Jazz Is Dead series – but which comes out sounding completely different here, thanks to the qualities of Valle's vocals – which maybe sound more rhythmic and jazzy than we've heard in years. Incredible throughout – with titles that include "A Gente Volta Amanha", "Our Train", "Gotta Love Again", "Oi", "Isso E Que Eu Sei", "Quiera Bem", and "Nao Saia Da Praca". (Deep Funk, Brazil) CD