A wonderful album from the lovely Joyce – one of her best of recent years! The record features Joyce working with bossa maestro Joao Donato – who plays acoustic and electric piano, sings, and helps Joyce with some of the arrangements – and the overall style of the album is very much in the vein of some of his most beautiful work. The set was with contributions from Brazilian jazz players like Paulo Moura, Gilson Peranzzetta, and Tutty Moreno – and Joyce is in fantastic form, singing and playing acoustic guitar with all the soulful passion of her best early recordings. The production is great, too – and the album has a rawer edge than some of Joyce's other work from the 90s – nicely stripped-down, with a rasp in both her vocals and the work of the other jazz players. Titles include "Bananeira", "Anos 30", "Drume Negrita", "Tudo Bonito", "Gala Tanta", "Falta De Ar", "Adolescensia", and "So Tinha De Ser Com Voce". CD

A great album from one of Ivan Lins' best periods – a great shift in his music, with a sound that's made the album one of his all-time classics! The set has him adapting more of a jazzy sound than on earlier records – dropping some of the baroque arrangements for a sound that's leaner, meaner, and stripped down in a way that really gets the spirit of his great compositions across to the listener. The small backing combo features Gilson Peranzzetta, who plays some excellent electric piano, which gives the album a moody groove that places it somewhere between the early 70s work of Joao Donato and Milton Nascimento. Titles include "Lenda Do Carmo", "Sorriso Da Magoa", "Palhacos E Reis", "Corpos", "Demonio De Guarda", and "Nao Ha Porque". CD

Gal's in the prime of her sexy diva style here – singing in a sweet warm style with smooth jazzy arrangements that bring out a whole new side of her career. Obviously, the album's not as groundbreaking as some of her early work – but the quality is very high, and Gal's voice is always wonderful, no matter what the setting. Arrangements are by Gilson Peranzzetta and Lincoln Olivetti – and titles include "Meu Bem, Meu Mal", "Canta Brasil", "Roda Baiana", "Festa Do Interior", "Massa Real", and "Estrela, Estrela". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure Joyce album from the late 80s, and a very nice set of mellow readings of Jobim classics, performed with help on keyboards from the great Gilson Peranzzetta. Joyce's guitar and vocals are in the lead, and Peranzzetta plays electric piano and a bit of synth, in washes of sound that feel a bit like some of the more recent recordings on the Lumiar label. Titles include "Wave", "Canto De Ossanha", "Garota De Ipanema", "A Felicidade", and a fantastic scat version of "Surfboard/Samba De Uma Nota So"! CD

A beautiful album by Ivan Lins – truly one of his greatest records, and a real gem that stands out as one of the best in his already-excellent catalog! The set has Ivan stepping out strongly from his sound of the 70s – working with Gilson Peranzzetta in a set of arrangements that have touches of jazz and a deeply expressive soul that matches Lins' growing vocal confidence wonderfully. Lins' voice is in top form, and the material is extremely strong (in fact, most of the songs are so good, and so catchy, that we've hardly noticed that they weren't in English!) Titles include "Vira", "Arlequim Desconhecido", "Barco Fantasma", "Novo Tempo", and "Coracao Vagabundo". CD