A wonderfully warm album from Eddie Chacon – a set that draws key inspiration from the music of Pharoah Sanders, yet takes it in a completely different direction overall! The set's a soul album, not a jazz outing – with Chacon's raspily mature vocals crackling nicely over plenty of Fender Rhodes and laidback rhythms – often inflected with some warmer jazzy instrumentation that includes especially nice use of flute and percussion, but always in a way that slides into the groove of the vocals and Rhodes, not the other way around. John Carroll Kirby produced the set, and brings plenty to the record too – but it's Eddie's wonderfully charming vocals that really lead the way, on titles that include "Holy Hell", "Same Old Song", "The Morning Sun", "Far Away", "Comes & Goes", "Step By Step", and "Haunted Memories". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A nice step forward for Ceu – and a record with a bit more of an edge than we might have expected! The set's still heavy on those sweet Brazilian vocals with an old school vibe – but the production, although often spare, has this nice raspy quality we really love – subtle elements that underscore the lyrics with a gently creative mode – a bit like the sounds you'd hear from other releases from the Kassim/Moreno Veloso camp – although perhaps not as edgey as those. Still, we've gotta give producer Gui Amabis credit for keeping things interesting on Ceu's behalf – on tracks that include "Amor De Antigos", "Falta Dear", "Contravento", "Palhaco", "You Won't Regret It", "Sereia", and "Fffree". LP, Vinyl record album

A recent live performance by Italian soundtrack legend Fabio Frizzi – recorded in America as part of a tour designed to support Frizzi's surprising return to the spotlight in recent years! In fact, the Frizzi heard here is even more in the spotlight than ever before – still using the evocative modes of his soundtrack creations, but also putting forward more vocal songs as well – handled by a group of younger musicians working with Frizzi, in a style that moves between the keyboard soundtrack styles of the 80s generation, and some of the more full-on sounds of earlier Italian prog! The whole thing was recorded in a church – and titles include "Suono Aperto", "Oltre La Soglia", "Silver Saddle", "With You", "Movin On", "Chaco", "Bunny Love Song", "Zombi 2", "Sette Note In Nero", "Rusty Games", "The Weeping Woman", and "Un Gatto Nel Cervallo". 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

A subtle album of magical beauty from Egberto Gismonti – and a lesser known record that features him mostly in a solo piano mode. The work's still quite lively, though – filled with wonderful little touches and whimsical moments that often dip down into more somber playing – and the whole thing's really one of Gismonti's best in such a format! Titles include "Cigana", "Karate", "Loro", "Palhaco", and "Baiao Malandro". CD

A really great change in the music of Swedish guitarist Johan Lindstrom – music that expands the vision of his previous record, and also explores some more song-based territory – while still allowing for lots of musical contributions from other players we love on the Moserobie label! You know something's different when Elvis Costello steps in on the first track for a bit of spoken lyrics to a song he wrote with Lindstrom – and things continue to move in other ways throughout – with vocals from Sofie Livebrandt on two tracks, amidst work from Jonas Kullhammar on saxes and flute, Per Texas Johansson on clarinet and tenor, Jesper Nordenstrom on piano and organ, Mats Aleklint on trombone Torbjorn Zetterberg on bass, and Konrad Agnas on drums! Most tracks are relatively short, but work together well – and there are definitely moments of improvisation amidst some of the more structured elements of the record – on titles that include "What What", "Homeward", "Trombone Interlude", "Edwards Chacone", "Music Orbit Box", "Septet Serenade", "Echoes Across The Dunes", and "Worms Of Underground". CD

Roberto Magris on piano, Alfredo Chacon on vibraphone and congas, Dion Kerr on bass, and Rodolfo Zuniga on drums. CD