A wonderful album – one that takes us back to the early 70s sound of Hermeto, Airto, and Flora Purim! Hermeto Pascoal arrranged and produced the record, and it's based around the jazzy vocals of Brazilian singer Aleuda, who reminds us a bit of Flora in her early days, but with a tone that's a bit higher and sharper. The backing is performed by a crack group of Brazilian jazz and fusion players that includes Mauro Senise, Zeca Assumpcao, Robertinho Silva, and Hermeto himself – and the album feels like a rare lost session that might have been cut for Milestone during the heyday of the West Coast Latin scene of the mid 70s. Titles include "Ceara", "Oferenda", "Galope", "Jurema", "Passarinho", "Rede", and "Fofoca". CD

Brazilian fusion from Denmark – a really wonderful set from this cool Scandinavian combo! The record feels a fair bit like some of the Brazilian jazz coming out of the west coast of the US during the 70s – soaring, soulful, and put together with a breezy brilliance that almost takes off into hipper new directions than work coming out from Brazil at the time. And like most of that other work, this album's a hip mix of acoustic and electric jazz elements – great keyboards folded in alongside tenor sax, bass, and percussion – and topped with vocals on a few cuts too! There's a nicely free sense to the rhythms – but one that's never too open-ended – and for comparison's sake, the material also feels a bit like some of the best grooves on the early volumes of the Glucklich series on Compost. Titles include "Black Wing", "The Girl With Three Faces", "Would You", "When I Close My Eyes", "7:47 To Rio", and "From Dusk Towards Dawn". (Jazz, Brazil) LP, Vinyl record album

Two post-CTI gems from Deodato – back to back on a single CD! Whirlwinds is sweet keyboard soul from Deodato – a set that steps off nicely from the strengths of his big hits on CTI, hitting a similarly flowing groove that's really great! The instrumentation here is a bit more expanded than before, but never in a way that buries the keyboards – and Deodato's right out front on a range of electric keys that get some great support from John Tropea's finely-honed work on guitar! Titles include "Havana Strut", "Whirlwinds", "West 42nd Street", and a nice cover of Steely Dan's "Do It Again". And heck, even the album's version of Glen Miller's "Moonlight Serenade" manages to come off like a funk tune! Artistry is a live set from Deodato – but one that's very much in the mode of his best CTI studio sessions – with soaring, over the top keyboard work that's totally great – backed by some tightly compressed guitar, bass, and drums, with just enough funk in the mix to keep things interesting! As with other Deodato records from the time, there's a mix of moods here that comes together nicely – a range that goes past his easy hits, and shows Deodato to be one of the hippest, most soulful keyboard talents of his generation. Titles include a great version of "Super Strut" that grooves for over 8 minutes, and which has some firey guitar that really competes with Deodato's work on the keys – and other tracks include "Farewell To A Friend", "Pavane For A Dead Princess", "Rio Sangre", and "Jivin". (Jazz, Brazil) CD

Two post-CTI gems from Deodato – back to back on a single CD! Whirlwinds is sweet keyboard soul from Deodato – a set that steps off nicely from the strengths of his big hits on CTI, hitting a similarly flowing groove that's really great! The instrumentation here is a bit more expanded than before, but never in a way that buries the keyboards – and Deodato's right out front on a range of electric keys that get some great support from John Tropea's finely-honed work on guitar! Titles include "Havana Strut", "Whirlwinds", "West 42nd Street", and a nice cover of Steely Dan's "Do It Again". And heck, even the album's version of Glen Miller's "Moonlight Serenade" manages to come off like a funk tune! Artistry is a live set from Deodato – but one that's very much in the mode of his best CTI studio sessions – with soaring, over the top keyboard work that's totally great – backed by some tightly compressed guitar, bass, and drums, with just enough funk in the mix to keep things interesting! As with other Deodato records from the time, there's a mix of moods here that comes together nicely – a range that goes past his easy hits, and shows Deodato to be one of the hippest, most soulful keyboard talents of his generation. Titles include a great version of "Super Strut" that grooves for over 8 minutes, and which has some firey guitar that really competes with Deodato's work on the keys – and other tracks include "Farewell To A Friend", "Pavane For A Dead Princess", "Rio Sangre", and "Jivin". (Jazz, Brazil) CD

A sweet blend of west coast jazz and Brazilian rhythms – and one of our favorite records ever from trombonist Raul De Souza! The session's got a more soulful, jazzy feel than some of Raul's other dates from the 70s – not nearly as tight as his sets for Capitol, with an earthy undercurrent in the music, thanks to the production efforts of Airto, who spearheads the session. Horns are by JJ Johnson, with some slight echoes of his soul soundtrack work of the period – and other players include Ted Lo on keyboards, Richard Davis on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – plus a bit of guest alto sax from Cannonball Adderley on a few tunes. Titles include "Water Buffalo", "Dr Honoris Causa", "Canto De Ossahna", "Nana", "Festival", and "Chants To Burn". (Jazz, Brazil) CD

One of the moodiest Verve albums from Astrud Gilberto – a set that has some surprising arrangements by Gil Evans – working here on one of his few 60s dates with a singer! Astrud's blue-tinged vocals work perfectly with Evans' backdrops – and Al Cohn also takes over the helm on two of the album's tracks, but still does a very good job of keeping the groove. There's a nice mix of sadness and lightness in the set – and titles include a wonderful version of "Berimbau" that actually features berimbau playing by Dom Um Romao, a great take on "El Preciso Aprender A Ser So" with English lyrics, and the titles "Bim Bom", "Lugar Bonito", "Frevo", and "Once Upon A Summertime". CD reissue adds 6 tracks from 1967's A Certain Smile album with Walt Wanderley. CD

A lost bit of 70s fusion from the west coast – a group led by percussionist Manolo Badrena, with lots of nice Brazilian jazz touches! Many of the tracks have lyrics – soulful and sunny, somewhere in between late 70s work by Flora Purim and Seawind – and the overall groove is like some of the excellent 70s work on CTI/Kudu Records – especially the electric session that would bring in some strong percussion on the bottom! The whole thing's really wonderful – with some keyboard lines that almost link the record to early albums by Azymuth – and musicians include Hugo Fattorso on Fender Rhodes and percussion, Abraham Laboriel on bass, and Maria Fatima and Sybil Thomas on vocals. Titles include "Clube Da Esquina", "Got Some", "Canales", "Fly Away", "Yana", "Amor Lejano", and "Claro Que Si". (Jazz, Brazil) CD

Three wonderful albums from this legendary Brazilian singer – all presented in a single set! First up is Nothing Will Be As It Was Tomorrow – a record that's quite different from Flora's earlier work, but in a way that we find very compelling! The record was produced by Leon Ndugu Chancler, and it's got a smooth fusion sound that's kind of in a southern California R&B mode, played by a huge range of excellent Brazilian and west coast talents that include Patrice Rushen, Dorothy Ashby, Fred Jackson, Raul De Souza, Toninho Horta, and Airto. While this sound overwhelms the core of Flora's usual Brazilian jazz approach, it also expands some of the tracks to a great groove – with Flora's vocals on top, stretching out in a whole new way! Includes a great English language version of the Milton Nascimento classic "Nada Sera Como Antes", plus the cuts "You Love Me Only", "I'm Coming For Your Love", "Corre Nina", "Angels", "Bridges", and "Fairy Tale Song". Every Day Every Night is a beautifully soulful record from Flora Purim – still awash with touches from her Brazilian roots, but also done with a great 70s LA sound! Airto's helping Flora out on production, but the real hero here is Michel Colombier – who handles most of the arrangements and wrote a good deal of the tunes with Purim and Airto – mixing his own expansive studio talents with their organically-forged groove, in a way that makes the record a real standout from the California fusion scene of the 70s! Players include Randy Brecker, Lee Ritenour, George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Harvey Mason, and other jazz heavyweights – and titles include "The Hope", "I Just Don't Know", "In Brasil", "Blues Ballad", "Why I'm Alone", "Walking Away", and "Samba Michel". Carry On is one of Flora Purim's more R&B-sounding albums from the 70s, produced by George Duke with an appreciation for Flora's Brazilian jazz roots, but with a smoother sound that's in keeping with Duke's own work of the time! The combination is pretty sweet – a professional culmination of the mixture of fusion and Brazilian jazz that had been happening in the San Francisco scene during most of the 70s, and featuring many of the musicians who had helped make that groove so strong. Players include Airto, Sheila Escovedo, Joe Farrell, Ronnie Foster, Bobby Lyle, and Larry Williams – and tracks include "Niura Is Coming Back", "From The Lonely Afternoon", "Freeway Jam", "Beijo Partido", "Corine", and "Love Lock". Includes bonus tracks too – "Tango Blues" and "Sad Song". CD