A beautiful little record from the Brazilian scene – served up by a trombonist who's got a great ability to mix Brazilian rhythms, jazzy grooves, and American soul! The approach is one that you might recognize from contemporary trombonist Raul DeSouza, who moved to the US in the 70s, and cut some great records for Capitol – but Zeca's working here back in Brazil, with a vibe that's much closer to the core – and adding in all these raspy soul vocals that sound completely sublime next to the upbeat instrumentation on the record! The set's heavy on keyboards, and has a nicely jazzy vibe – one that you may recognize from the title track's showing up in some great Ed Motta collections over the years. In fact, there's a quality here that's not far from Ed's more recent AOR tribute recordings – as you'll hear on titles that include "Boa Nova", "Papo Coracao", "Rota-Mar", "Exilio De Coracao", "Em Busca De Mim", and "Gavea Um Beijo De Cinema". Features two bonus tracks – "Ave Anne" and "Tema Do Brisa". (Brazil, Soul) CD

The debut album from Stargard – a set that turned the trio into strong soul stars, after a brief and mistaken role in the film Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band! Given the failure of that cinematic endeavor, it's amazing that MCA signed the girls up – but it's also clear that the group have a vibe that's really waiting to shine in the spotlight – partly the disco female mode that others had been working already, but also maybe more of a sense of identity too – one that makes them way more than just a trio of vocalists in the hands of a club producer – especially given the way they really hit some surprising deep soul moments on the set. Production is by Mark Davis, with some help from Gene Page – and titles include "Three Girls", "Don't Change", "Theme From Which Way Is Up", "The Force", and "Disco Rufus". CD