A seminal album from the great reedman David Boykin – a set recorded right at the end of the 90s, with an excellent group full of members who'd all go on to do wonderful things in years to come – Nicole Mitchell on flute, Chad Taylor on drums, and Josh Abrams on bass – plus a bit of vocals from Glenda Zarah Baker as well! The tracks are a great mixture of long and short, quiet and powerful – really marking Boykin as one of the key talents to inherit the mantle of the AACM legacy, and find a way for it to move forward strongly, and proudly, well into the 21st Century. Titles include "Hypnotic", "Portal 7", "Blue Corn Bop", "Affections Of Alienation", "Abductions & Experimentations", and "Astro Lilly". CD

Roge is the kind of singer who should be huge, if the world had any justice – yet, like some of the best from his scene in Brazil, he's also got this instant charisma that grabs you right away, but which avoids all the cliches of American stardom! The record's got Roge sliding into the sort of raspy charms we love in a Brazilian legacy that stretches back through Seu Jorge and Marcos Valle – a voice that's unadorned and so instantly compelling, you find yourself following it immediately, even past the boundaries of language. Instrumentation on the set is focused, but nice and lean – usually acoustic guitar over rhythms, augmented by enough contemporary production to make you know you're hearing a 21st century set, but not in any sort of clubby or too-slick sort of way. Titles include "Existe Uma Voz", "Pra Vida"," Yemanja", "Curyman", "Misterio Da Raca", "Se Eu For Falar Da Amor", and "Camara". CD