A nice mix of 70s salsa and more traditional themes – part of the ever-evolving Pacheco sound during the great years of Fania, served up here with richly-ranged vocals from Hector Casanova! Casanova seems to push things a bit more than Pete El Conde Rodriguez did with Pacheco before – not only in terms of his vocals, but also in the overall aesthetics of the tunes, which seem to have a pan-historical feel. Titles include "Agua De Clavelito", "La Mulata", "Si La Tierra Tiembla", "Chamaca", "Me Llevaron La Cartera", "El Rey", and "Sale A Buscar". LP, Vinyl record album

Overlooked later genius from Gato Barbieri – a trio of albums served up in one nicely priced package! Gato Para Los Amigos is some of Barbieri's best work of the 80s – an excellent live set from 1981 that's kind of a return to the drawn-out intensity of his years at Impulse! The group's got a good mixture of percussion, keyboards, and guitar – and the tracks on the set are mostly Latin-tinged numbers that offer a perfect foil for Gato's soulful and exploratory blowing – those haunting long lines we first fell in love with on his records for Impulse and Flying Dutchman! Titles include "Bolivia", "Carnavalito", "Brazil", "Viva Emiliano Zapata", and "Latino America". Que Pasa is a surprisingly nice late 90s effort from Gato Barbieri – at the time, his first new album in over a decade – and a set put together with a nicely contemporary feel with help from keyboardist Philippe Saisse! Saisse produced the set, and he really gives the record some of the warmly soulful moments of his own great music – an approach that's somewhat deeper than smooth jazz, and which makes more than enough space for Gato's well-blown saxophone solos. There's a bit of backing vocals on the set, and the approach here is definitely soul-based – but it's got a solid bottom that hearkens back to some of Gato's best R&B-inspired work of the 70s. Titles include "Mystica", "Dancing With Dolphins", "Straight Into The Sunrise", "Indonesia", "The Woman I Remember", and "Cause We've Ended As Lovers". Che Corazon is one of Gato Barbieri's most ambitious albums – a record that mixes core jazzy grooving with some larger orchestral parts – but all at a level that still moves along nicely! Sweet keyboards glide alongside Gato's reed lines – which come out strongly in the lead, with that sharp-cutting sense of soul that we've always loved so much. The overall sound is smoother than the early days, but no less soulful – and titles include a great remake of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You", plus "Eclipse", "The Woman On The Lake", "1812", "Encounter", and "Sweet Glenda". CD

Titles include "Viejo Carrusel", "La Ultima Copa", "Anuque Me Maten", "Isaciable", "Copas Y Amigos", and "Rebeldia". LP, Vinyl record album

The title here definitely gets it right – as Locobeach work in a trippy blend of old school cumbia modes – which is maybe no surprise for a group whose members also worked in Los Amigos Invisibles and Chicha Libre! The sound here mixes plenty of surf-styled guitar with percolating rhythms, strong keyboard lines, and even a bit of accordion – a leaner take on some of the Colombian styles of years back – and recorded with a definite ear for some of the more offbeat sides of the spectrum, especially on cuts that amp up the psychedelic production even more! Titles include "Six On The Stairway To Seven", "Javelin", "The Devil Is A Charmer", "We Haven't Been Introduced", and "Mira Quien Llego". LP, Vinyl record album

Leila Pinheiro's first album – first issued back in 1982, with a spare and jazzy post-bossa style that reminds us of some of Gal Costa's work from the same period! Leila's vocals are wonderful – slightly deep with lots of jazzy phrasing, set to arrangements that drift along in a mixture of electric and acoustic instrumentation – a wonderful blend, and one that gives the record a depth that you don't always find in some of Pinheiro's more recent recordings. The set includes songs by Francis Hime, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Donato, and Cateano Veloso – and titles include "Tudo Em Cima", "Bons Amigos", "A Porta", "Coracao Vagabundo", "Lua De Cetim", and "Nossa Rua". LP, Vinyl record album

Much more obscure than his 70s albums – and features work with Dona Nuema, Nelson Sargento, Creusa, Paulo Marques, Nuno Veloso, and others! CD

With Francisco Alves, Silvio Caldas, Carlos Galhardo, Mario Reis, Almirante, Lamartine Babo, Castro Barbosa, Patricio Teixeira, and Murillo Caldas. LP, Vinyl record album