One of the greatest moments ever from saxophonist Gato Barbieri – and that's saying a lot, given that by the time of this recording, he'd already had a great 60s run as an avant jazz musician, and started the 70s with a string of albums that criss-crossed jazz and South American musical styles! Yet Last Tango In Paris may well be Barbieri's crowning achievement – a sublime record that draws on all the richer, more emotive themes of his Latin America projects, but gives them new focus in the arrangements of Oliver Nelson – who ensures that the music is never too cheesy or overdone – quite a feat, given the sexy setting of the film! Gato draws a lot from Argentine tango, but often uses his own sax solos in place of a more familiar bandoneon – in a way that pushes the "new tango" mode of the time even farther – especially when set amidst Nelson's wonderful orchestrations. Titles include many versions of the "Last Tango" theme, plus the tracks "Girl In Black", "Jeanne", "Why Did She Choose You?", "It's Over", and "Fake Ophelia". (Soundtracks, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest moments ever from the great Galt MacDermot – an album that he recorded for his own small label, in the time after he scored big bucks with the soundtrack to Hair – and was able to work on so many other different creative projects! The album's fantastic – tight, funky, with lots of choppy bits, but also some spare keyboard moments too – sampled famously by a few hip hoppers over the years, but more than great enough on its own. Titles include the classic "Space" – plus "Tango", "Woman Is Sweeter", "Moving Clothes", "Perfume Bottles", "Merry Go Round", "Princess Gika", and "Radio Rock" – plus some cool "Fragments" tracks. (Soundtracks, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Japanese drummer George Ohtsuka returns here to his Maracaibo group – a combo with a mix of fusion and Latin influences, but stretching out on long tracks that aren't nearly as smooth as other contemporary work of this nature! The group features Mabumi Yamaguchi on tenor and soprano sax, Tsunehide Matsuki on guitar, and Toshiyuki Sekine on Fender Rhodes – plus guest work from Miroslav Vitous on bass and Nana Vasconcelos on percussion and voice! Tracks are nice and long – more open than other Japanese projects of this nature – and titles include "Spring 80", "American Tango", "Maracaibo Corpone", and "Mucarabu". CD