14 songs. (Neo Soul, Brazil) CD

Brazilian grooves all over the place – and a wonderful assortment of tunes from the Warner, Atlantic, and Elektra vaults of the 60s and 70s! The set list goes way past the pop-bossa numbers that you might think from the cover, which is a cop from an old Atlantic compilation of the 60s – and includes some lesser-known tracks cooked up in Brazil during the 70s, as well as some of their American counterparts. Titles include "Celebration Suite" by Airto, "Jive Samba" by Jon Hendricks, "Eu Bebo Sim" by Osmar Milito, "Mr Funky Samba" by Banda Black Rio, "From The Lonely Afternoon" by Flora Purim, "Mas Que Nada" by Ella Fitzgerald, "Upa Neguinho (live)" by Elis Regina, "Tim Tim Por Tim Tim" by Joao Gilberto, "Crickets Sing For Anamaria (inst)" by Marcos Valle, "Manha De Carnival" by Louie Ramirez, "Barsanova Brown" by Eddie Cano, "Batuque" by Marcos Valle, and "Maria Fumaca" by Banda Black Rio. (Funky Compilations, Brazil) CD

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A warmly intimate album from Joao Gilberto – one that has the singer and guitarist in the same special space as his wonderful albums from the early 70s - a bit more sophisticated than the bossa years, but equally personal throughout! The set was co-produced by Helen Keane – who was bringing real magic to the records of pianist Bill Evans at the time – and music is by a core combo that includes American jazz musicians Ralph Grierson on keyboards and Grady Tate on drums – with some additional larger arrangements from Claus Ogerman, but used in a way that never clutters up the sound at all. Instead, Joao sounds beautiful right up front in the mix – with those sublime raspy vocals, and perfectly-placed lines on acoustic guitar – on titles that include a fabulous reading of "Estate", plus Jobim's "Wave" and "Zingaro", and the tracks "Caminha Cruzados", "Tin Tin Por Tin Tin", and "Besame Mucho". LP, Vinyl record album

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All the elements that make the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim so wonderful – summed up perfectly in the title of this American session from the 60s! The sounds are full of the gentle love that Jobim always brought to his writing and performance – a sense of space and style that really set him apart from so many other composers of the time – all given just the right sort of string charts from arrangers Gaya and Dedoato, whose work here echoes the space of the leader – so that things are far from the soppy use of strings on American instrumental records of the time. Other Brazilian talents are on hand to ensure that the sound is perfect – including Baden Powell and Marcos Valle on guitar, Luiz Eca on piano, and Oscar Castro Neves as well – on titles that include darkly sophisticated versions of bossa classics like "Preciso Aprender A Ser So", "Berimbau", "Samba Torto", "Chuva", and "Imagem". Nice stuff, and with a lot more bite than the "love and strings" title might imply! LP, Vinyl record album

The wonderful world of Antonio Carlos Jobim gets a whole lot bigger on this American release from the 60s – thanks to a collaboration with the great Nelson Riddle, the arranger whose work made so many of Frank Sinatra's albums so great! Riddle really understands the jazzy elements at the core of Jobim's tunes – and backs his guitar and vocals with a great 60s California take on the bossa nova – one that's never trying too hard to cross over, and which instead really respects the genius of Jobim at the core! Antonio sings on most tracks – some even with English lyrics that are really great – and titles include "Useless Landscape", "Bonita", "Surfboard", "She's A Carioca", "Aqua De Beber", and "Favela". LP, Vinyl record album

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This is hardly the encyclopedic set you'd expect it to be from the title – but it is a great set of tracks that Baden recorded for Warner/Atlantic at the end of the 70s, with a beautifully rootsy feel that makes the material some of his best of that decade! Forget the date of the material, because the overall feel is similar to some of Baden's best (and most sophisticated) work of the late 60s. His guitar playing is wonderfully complex, but even better is his singing – which by this point has matured to a fantastically dark style that perfectly matches his playing and songwriting. Titles include "Refem Da Solidao", "Valsa Numero Um", "Odeon", "Feinha Pro Poeta", "A Lenda Do Abaete", "Berimbau", "Canto De Ossanha", and "Naquele Tempo". Also features "Gente Humilde", recorded in 1994 with Louis Marcel. This set is similar to the older Musica collection – but it features 6 songs that weren't on that one, and vice versa. CD