Man! This one's a stunning 70s set from the great Cal Tjader – a set that features Charlie Byrd on guitar, and some especially great electric piano lines from Mike Wolff – which makes for a cool electric/acoustic combination that really sends the album home nicely! The record's light years away from Byrd's Brazilian work of the 60s, or any of his mellower dates from later years – and Tjader really seems to have picked up a freer sense of rhythm from the Airto/Flora generation, which is no surprise, given their prominence on his local Bay Area scene. Other players include John Heard on bass, Joe Byrd on electric bass, and percussion from Mike Stephans, Dick Berk, and Mayuto Correa – all players who help change out the bottom grooves nicely from track to track. Titles include Joe Henderson's "Black Narcissus", Airto's "Tambo In 7/4" and "San Francisco River", Jobim's "Tereza My Love", Wolff's "Sad Eyes", and a version of "My Cherie Amour". LP, Vinyl record album

A great mix of jazzy Brazilian and bossa jazz numbers from the 60s onwards – all pulled from the rich catalog of Fantasy records – and related labels that include Milestone, Prestige, and Pablo! As with the first volume, there's a nice sense of evolution going on here, and a careful selection of less-obvious tracks – with an especially rare version of Jobim's "Dreamer", recorded as a 45 back in the 60s by Gary McFarland! Other titles include "Manha De Carnaval" by Freddie Hubbard & McCoy Tyner, "Bluchanga" by Mongo Santamaria & Joao Donato, "Samba De Orfeu" by Vince Guaraldi, "Tambu" by Cal Tjader & Charlie Byrd, "Nana" by Kenny Burell & Moacir Santos, and "Influencia Do Jazz" by Bola Sete. CD