One of the most mindblowing albums ever recorded – anywhere, anytime! This 1969 set stands as one of the greatest records ever cut by Gal Costa – done at the height of the Tropicalia movement, and featuring a sublime mix of styles that really gets the spirit of the movement right. Arrangements are by the legendary Rogerio Duprat – who effortlessly shifts the backings between stark electronics, sweet bossa, gliding strings, jazzy piano, and baroque orchestrations that dance around with a surprising amount of grooves! Tunes include some classics by Caetano Veloso, Jorge Ben, and Gilberto Gil – served up in amazing new versions by Gal and Duprat! Titles include "Nao Identificado", "Lost in the Paradise", "Que Pena", "Sebastiana", "Namorinho De Portao", "Divino Maravilhoso", and "Deus E O Amor". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the richest, most expressive albums ever from the great Gal Costa – a set from her immediate post-Tropicalia years, and one that shows that she's got a lot more to offer than just a wild sense of experimentation! Gilberto Gil is the musical director here – with help from Rogerio Duprat and Arthur Verocai – and the album's got the lofty feel you'd expect from all three talents – a rich blend of all the modern developments in Brazilian music that had taken place in the 60s, but infused with a newly rootsy sense as well – one that takes the whole thing back to a personal, expressive territory that's really wonderful. Instrumentationincludes work on keyboards by Wagner Tiso and Tenorio Jr, plus a bit of guitar from Roberto Menescal – and Gal does a great version of Caetano Veloso's "Relance" – alongside other tracks that include "Passarinho", "Da Maior Imortancia", "India", "Volta", and the funky "Pontos De Luz". The whole thing's incredibly beautiful – and it's got Gal in a wild bikini cover, too! CD

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One of the great records made by the cool French jazzy vocal group that included Ward Swingle and Christine LeGrand, and which did stuff that was much more straightforwardly jazzy than the semi-classical work of the Swingle Singers. This LP's got them backed by Jerome Richardson and his quartet, and has them running through a set of tracks associated with Ray Charles' Atlantic work. Cuts include "Stompin' Room Only, "Hit The Road, Jack", "Yes, Indeed", and "One Mint Julep", and all have a swingin' jazz vocalese sound. Cool stuff by one of the great lost groups of the 60's. LP, Vinyl record album

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Jamming jazzy work from Ekseption – one of the best jazz rock combos of the European scene, and one that works here with a fair bit of flourish on both keyboards and reeds! The rhythms are often rockish, and somewhat majestic at points – but they're offset with some more sensitive soprano and tenor sax work from Jan Vannick, and a host of keyboards from Rick Van Der Linden. Rein Van Den Broek plays trumpet and a bit of "octavoice" too – and titles include "Improvisation", "Meddle", "Flight Of The Bumblebee", "Romance", and "Peruvian Flute" – most from classical sources, but retuned for the jazz rock generation. LP, Vinyl record album

Groundbreaking analogue electronics from the Dutch team of Tom Dissevelt and Kid Baltan – two musicians who can be as playful as the tem of Perry & Kingsley, but also hit some of the darker modes of the academic circuit as well! The title is very well-put – as the record has a vibe that's very outer space at times – more of a sense of the area around the electronic elements at the core – which has them echoing out nicely into the cosmos, and reaching for so many different melodic modes, it almost feels as if they're trying to make contact with other civilizations! Some tunes have a playfulness that almost evokes the German new wave of 15 years later – others are very much in the best Dutch styles of the 60s – and the whole thing sounds sort of like a mad robot playing a crazy space organ on a merry go round while dropping acid. Titles include "Moon Maid", "Sonik Re-Entry", "Pianoforte", "Orbit", "Song Of The Second Moon", and "The Visitor From Inner Space". LP, Vinyl record album

The tunes are familiar, but the group is really coming into their own here – working with amazing arrangments from Charlie Calello, and this wild production from the great Bob Crewe! LP, Vinyl record album

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An incredible bit of Brazilian music – both funky and baroque, with amazing compositions by Egberto Gismonti, and great production by Roberto Menescal! The record's got swirling strings, off-kilter piano, and rolling basslines – with a groove that's impossible to describe, and which is indescribably beautiful! We love this one to death, and never tire of playing it. Darn hard to find in any format, and with the tracks "Janela De Ouro", "Ciclone", "O Mercador De Serpentes", and "Lendas" – plus a version of "Sonho" that's different than the one on the album from 1969. CD

Nothing too high society here – as these guys are a tight jazz ensemble, with a groove that fits the image on the cover – working here on a well-recorded set for the audiophile market! LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant work from the modernist underground late 50s Paris! Andre Hodeir was one of the city's best-known jazz composers and arrangers at the time – a key part of the postwar scene, and its development into its own style away from strictly American sounds. Hodier's working here with a great batch of French players that include Martial Solal, Roger Guerin, Pierre Gossez, and Pierre Michelot – plus the then-French resident Kenny Clarke. The music swings much more than on other sessions of this type, and works extremely well throughout at blending tight jazzy lines with very "out there" concepts – especially in a way that we never really see in 50's recordings like this. Christine Legrand is on vocals, and although this was years before the Swingle Singers did their thing, and especially before they went onto do avant garde material by Berio, she's got these insane vocals here that are simply astounding. Tracks include "Jazz Et Jazz", "Trope A Saint-Trop", "Jazz Cantata", and "Osymetrios". Very good stuff, and unlike anything else we can think of! LP, Vinyl record album

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A great one – and the kind of European jazz album that kicks like a Clarke/Boland Big Band album! Hans Koller directs a large-scale swinging big band of some of the best European and American expatriot players of the time – like Sahib Shihab, Benny Bailey, Donald Byrd, Johnny Griffin, and Albert Mangelsdorff – and the set screams with intense solos, and a tight groove that pushes past any of the cliches you could imagine for a set like this. One of the things that makes the session great is some groovy organ, played by Infried Hoffman, the German player who was in Klaus Doldinger's early group. Doldinger's also on here, and his sound is way better than on his 70's work. Titles include "Hip Hit", "Revelation", "Conversation", "Knodel-Waltzer", and "Blazy Bones Revisited". LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic session – one that brings together four of the hippest alto saxophonists of the time – Gary Bartz, Jackie McLean, Lee Konitz, and Charlie Mariano – all in a groove that's pretty darn unique! When all four horns blow together, the sound is amazing – and there's often some really wonderful currents in the rhythms, too – thanks to a rhythm trio that features Joachim Kuhn on piano, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Hank Bennink on drums! Worth it alone for the beautiful modal tune "Mode For Jay Mac" – and other cuts include "Du", "Fanfare", "Love Chorale", "Another Hairdo", and "Telieledu Rama". LP, Vinyl record album

Nara returns to her bossa roots in this nicely spare album from the mid 80s – one recorded with Roberto Menescal in the style that would dominate her work towards the end of the decade. Most of the tracks are bossa classics, played guitar and sung by Nara, with some light backing on rhythm and keyboards. Titles include "Wave", "Sublime Tortura", "Ate Quem Sabe", "Eu Preciso De Voce", "La Vem Voce", "Voce E Eu", "Telefone", and "Sabe Voce". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic! This is the French pressing of the Michel Legrand score to Jaques Demy's incredible 1965 film The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg. Every word of dialogue in the film is sung, and Legrand came up with an amazing array of themes to carry the emotion of the film. Embedded in here are lines that later became worldwide hits – like "I Will Wait For You" and "Watch What Happens" – but in this version, the songs are just themes in the huge pastiche of dialogue and narrative, and they lurk behind the score in a beautiful way. This is one of our favorite all-time soundtracks, and this French version has a very lovely cover with Catherine Deneuve standing amidst some umbrellas! Great 2LP version – with more material than the original LP release! LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic! This is the US release of the Michel Legrand score to Jaques Demy's incredible 1965 film The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg. Every word of dialogue in the film is sung, and Legrand came up with an amazing array of themes to carry the emotion of the film. Embedded in here are lines that later became worldwide hits – like "I Will Wait For You" and "Watch What Happens" – but in this version, the songs are just themes in the huge pastiche of dialogue and narrative, and they lurk behind the score in a beautiful way. This is one of our favorite all-time soundtracks, and this US version has a heavy cardboard gatefold sleeve, with a book in the middle that has lines from the film, and very nice pictures of Catherine Deneuve! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first moments of grooviness from Michel Legrand in the 60s – a set that takes his older orchestral style and fits it to a really mod set of rhythms! The album's filled with jaunty grooves – leaping sort of numbers that almost have a "yeh yeh" French pop approach, but which are instrumental throughout – topped with these swirling strings that step along at a clip to match the rhythms, and backed with lots of groovy organ from Legrand, and guitar from the legendary Elek Bacsik! There's even some wordless vocals scatting through the mix – and the sound's unlike anything else that Legrand ever did – a great precursor to his famous soundtracks, but a real standout record as well. Titles include the famous "Di Gue Ding Ding" – a cut you'll recognize right away – plus "Motor City", "Bandol", "Alcatraz", "Da We Da", "Monkey Business", "Manhattan Stroll", "Hi Girls", "Come Ray & Come Charles", and "Noix De Coco". LP, Vinyl record album

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An incredible later meeting by two of the most sophisticated musical talents of the bossa generation – and a record that's done in the same intimate, spare setting as Jobim's meeting with Elis Regina a few years before! Production is by bossa legend Aloysio De Oliveira – and the sound is relatively clean and simple – often just a bit of piano, guitar, and percussion behind the up-close and personal vocals of the tunes. Lobo & Jobim sing together on most of the record – in a double-voiced style that's almost a bit like that used on Jobim's incredible Matita Pere record from the 70s. Edu sings solo on "Chovendo Na Roseira", Tom sings solo on "Angela" – and the pair duet on the tracks "Canto Triste", "Vento Bravo", "Moto Continuo", "Pra Dizer Adeus", "Ai Quem Me Dera", and "Luiza". CD

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One of the biggest moments in the career of guitarist Harvey Mandel – an album based around his famous cover of "Cristo Redentor", a tune written by Duke Pearson for one of Donald Byrd's "with voices" albums, which was then turned into a spacey guitar classic by Mandel's trippy work. The tune's here in full force – backed up by an album of like minded tunes – 60s trippy guitar mixed with jazz influences, in a messed up Bay Area style that was every bit the product of its time as more famous rock albums coming out of the San Francisco scene. Titles include "Cristo Redentor", "Before Six", "The Lark", "Snake", "Long Wait", "Bradley's Barn", and "You Can't Tell Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A very nice set of electric guitar groovers from a young Harvey Mandel! The record has less of the trippy dippy feel of Harvey's later albums – and instead has some nice tight jazzy arrangements with his soulful guitar soloing over the top. There's a lot going on stylistically here without it ever going too far all over the map, getting off to a great start with the psych-blues-jazz groove of the title track, followed by a nice cover of Nat Adderley's "Jive Samba", and stays on a high level from there. and Abe "Voco" Kesh produced the record and it features horn & string arrangements by Shorty Rogers. Other tracks include "Poontang", "Boo Bee Doo", "Summer Sequence", "Short's Stuff", and "Just A Hair More". LP, Vinyl record album

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One of their Philips LPs, with more of a late 60's easy feel than their 70's funk LPs, but still a nice easy sound by the group that pioneered the genre. Tracks include "Shane", "Theme From A Summer Place", "Nevada Smith", and "Invitation". LP, Vinyl record album

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A really fantastic final album from The Peddlers – the UK trio who effortlessly mixed jazz and soul in the 60s, but who work here in a more expanded format! All the best elements of the group's sound are still nicely in place – those raspy vocals, strong use of keyboards, and especially their great sense of a groove – one that's made them a favorite for samples for more sophisticated DJs and producers over the years! But here, the sound is maybe even cooler – thanks to work from the London Philharmonic. Group leader/singer/keyboardist Roy Phillips composed the whole thing, and the Peddlers are at the core – but they're also helped out by percussionist John Punter and guitarist Toney Walmsley, and Peter Robinson – who did the larger orchestrations. Titles include "This Strange Affair", "Raining In London", "Sequence Of Thought", "Did She", "Sequence Of Thought", "In Juxtaposition", "Under London Nights", "River Lives", "I Have Seen", "Impressions", and "A Year And A Day Metamorphosis". 2LP set features a rare bonus album – with tracks from singles that include "Nothing Sacred", "Manah", "Sing Me An Old Song", "Have You Ever Been To Georgia", and "Back Alley Jane". LP, Vinyl record album

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An excellent early gem by one of Brazil's greatest singers! The record captures Elis Regina at a prime early stage – when her voice was raw and filled with emotion, and when she was backed by some excellent arrangements that blended jazz, bossa, and more complicated vocal settings. The material is handled extremely well – and the set list includes many early versions of songs by some of Brazil's best writers, like "Cancao Do Sal" by Milton Nascimento, "Sonho De Maria" by Marcos Valle, "Tem Mais Samba" by Chico Buarque, "Lunik 9" and "Roda" by Gilberto Gil, "Pra Dizer Adeus" by Edu Lobo, and "Boa Palavra" by Caetano Veloso. LP, Vinyl record album

Elis Regina hits the London scene of the late 60s – with amazing results that make the album one of her best from the early years! The style here is still quite bossa-oriented, but backings are done by Peter Knight – who'd worked with Scott Walker and some of the other hip British singers at the time – so the sound's a bit different than Elis' Brazilian records, too. Knight's quite sensitive to Regina's way of interpreting a tune – and he nicely follows the soaring, jazzy vibe that Roberto Menescal had given her at home. But the groove's also a bit more open and fluid too – with some slight Brit Easy touches that Really send the whole album home! Titles include a great version of "Upa Neguinho", plus "O Barquinho", "Zazueira", "Giro", "A Volta", "Corrida De Jangada", "Watch What Happens", and "Wave". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Aguas De Marco", "Upa Neguinho", "Canto De Ossanha", "Reza", "Suenos Dorados", and "O Barquinho". LP, Vinyl record album

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Beautiful versions of some of Milton Nasimento's best songs – sung by one of the greatest voices in Brazil, suitably backed by arrangements that bring out all the warmth and joy of the compositions. The tracks are pulled from different recordings by Elis, over the years 1966 to 1979, but the sound is remarkably consistent despite the range of years – and the album is both one of Elis' best later ones, and a great introduction to Nascimento's writing. Titles include "Vera Cruz", "Cancao Do Sal", "Nada Sera Como Antes", "Cais", "Credo", and "Conversando No Bar". CD

2 amazing albums from Elis Regina – back to back on a single CD! First up is Elis Como Et Porque – one of our favorite albums ever from the incredible Elis Regina – a record that really has her hitting new levels in her style – moving past simple bossa into a realm of music that's all her own! The backings are arranged by Roberto Menescal, who also moves into some great new territory here – a soaring, spacious mode that's way different than his gentler bossa – and which really has some of the growing complications that were showing up in Brazilian music at the end of the 60s. There's a fair bit of jazz in the mix, but also a fair bit of majesty too – and the tunes soar out with a much livelier feel than some of Regina's later albums. Titles include amazing renditions of "Canto De Osssanha", "O Barquinho", "Giro", "O Sonho", "Casa Forte", and "Vera Cruz" – plus a tasty version of Michel Legrand's "Recit De Cassard", from Umbrellas Of Cherbourg. On Elis Regina In London, Elis hits the London scene of the late 60s – with amazing results that make the album one of her best from the early years! The style here is still quite bossa-oriented, but backings are done by Peter Knight – who'd worked with Scott Walker and some of the other hip British singers at the time – so the sound's a bit different than Elis' Brazilian records, too. Knight's quite sensitive to Regina's way of interpreting a tune – and he nicely follows the soaring, jazzy vibe that Roberto Menescal had given her at home. But the groove's also a bit more open and fluid too – with some slight Brit Easy touches that Really send the whole album home! Titles include a great version of "Upa Neguinho", plus "O Barquinho", "Zazueira", "Giro", "A Volta", "Corrida De Jangada", "Watch What Happens", and "Wave". CD

A third classic set from the team of Elis Regina and Jair Rodrigues – two artists who hardly worked together in later years, but who were one of the greatest teams going in 60s Brazil! As with previous volumes, the album's recorded live – in a mode that has each artist on their own on some tracks, then trading lines back and forth on others – especially the extended "pot-pourri" numbers that Elis and Jair really helped to popularize at the time. Backings are extremely tight and jazzy – more so than on some of the Regina studio albums – and there's a crackling sense of energy throughout the whole thing – not just from the combo, but also from the audience too, who really go wild during the set! Titles include "Manifesto", "Amor De Carnaval", "O Ser Humano", "Imagem", and "Marcha Da Quarta" – and two longer "pot-pourri" tracks. LP, Vinyl record album

Rita Reys meets Oliver Nelson – and a host of other great jazz talents, including Lee Konitz, Benny Bailey, Sahib Shihab, and Klaus Doldinger! The tracks on the set are all standards, but they're done in the tightly swinging style of Nelson's best backing work for vocalists at the time – complete with those warm tones and colors that always made his work some of our favorite in this mode. The mode is a bit different for Reys, who we normally know from more fragile settings – but it works especially well here, and almost seems to compensate for a faltering quality in her vocals at the time. Titles include "The Very Thought Of You", "Quiet Nights", "The Second Time Around", "If I Were A Bell", "Ill Wind", and "Wives & Lovers". LP, Vinyl record album

The long hair and casual image on the cover really says a lot about the sound of the record – as vocalist Catherine Ribeiro works here with some very open, experimental grooves from Alpes – all at a level that has that freewheeling, open-minded sound of the French scene at the time! A few years earlier, and Ribeiro would have been more of an intellectual folk singer – but here, her vocals are blended with more cosmic performances by Alpes – who use organ, guitars, and the especially cool "cosmophone" to create flowing tracks that are often given a bit of bubbling percussion at the bottom – mixing electric and earthy in this really great way. These guys are far less posturing than other prog bands of the time – in a way we really appreciate – and titles include "Diborowska", "Aria Populaire", "Dingue", "Alpes 2", and "Alpilles". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those records that you might not know anything about, but which hardly also needs any introduction – because from the very first moment, the sound will tell you that you're onto something completely different and special! There's no easy way to describe the music of Catherine Ribeiro – because at some level, she's got an avant folk quality that's a bit like her contemporaries on the Saravah label – but at another, she's much more freewheeling and experimental – a bit like Nico on her early 70s masterpieces, especially in the way that the music blends striking vocals with organ and acoustic guitar. Yet neither of those references are quite correct, either – but we can promise that once Ribeiro's got you in her grasp, it's very hard to get away – as you'll discover on tunes "Poeme Non Epique", "Silen Voy Kathy", "15 Aout 1970", and "Sirba". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those key records that shows the really unique side of the French scene at the start of the 70s – an underground world that was a bit hippie, certainly trippy, and very open to other ideas too – wrapped up in a sound that was both cosmic and intellectual at the same time! Catherine Ribeiro sings here with the group Alpes – a combo who might be more prog in another setting, but who get a more sensitive sound and style from Ribeiro's vocals – while still allowing themselves to take off on flights of fancy when they want – sounding especially cool on their use of "cosmophone" and "percuphone"! The groove moves between long electric solos and more dramatic vocal moments from Catherine – and titles include the side-long "Un Jour La Mort" – plus "Roc Alpin", "Paix", and "Jusqu'A Ce Que La Force De T'Aimer Me Manque LP, Vinyl record album

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An incredible album from Brazilian rock legend Raul Seixas – easily one of the most important artists to emerge after the Tropicalia generation – and a singer with a sound that's as striking as his image on the cover! The album's got an explosive blend of styles – everything from psychedelic samba to country rock to easy rock tunes – all bound together by the strong sense of presence that helped Seixas elevate to become one of Brazili's most controversial rock stars of the time, all with the kind of legacy you might expect from the cover image! The sound is great – very different than what American and Anglo groups were doing at the time, although with sly nods to their modes from time to time – and titles include the English track "How Could I Know", plus "As Minas Do Rei Salomao", "Mosca Na Sopa", "Cachorro", "Al Capone", and the strange electronic "Introducao". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic work from Nina Simone – and an album that definitely lives up to its title! Nina Simone certainly emerged as the high priestess of soul during her monumental stretch for Philips Records in the 60s – as she moved way past jazz, way past some of the folk she'd begun tapping into, and into this new righteous territory that paved the way for countless other hip singers to come! Simone does a great job of mixing gutbuckety roots with hipper, 60s soul inflections – and the set's a treasure trove of great tunes – including her awesome reading of "Work Song", plus "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", "Come Ye", "I Hold No Grudge", "I'm Going Back Home", "I'm Gonna Leave You", "Take Me To The Water", and "The Gal From Joe's". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent Philips work by Nina – a set of tracks that mostly features spare combo backings from Rudy Stevenson on guitar and flute, Bobby Hamilton on drums, and Lisle Atkinson on bass. One track, "For Myself", features arrangements by Horace Ott – and another, "Images", was recorded live – but overall, the album's got a warmly intimate feel that's really great, and which has Nina singing in that perfect righteous mode of the time. Titles include "Chauffeur", "The Other Woman", "This Year's Kisses", "Nearer Blessed Lord", "Ballad of Hollis Brown" and "Don't Explain". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic Nina – recorded live on a variety of familiar numbers, but in that incredible mode that always transforms songs completely, lifting them from their roots and turning them into amazingly fierce proclamations of power and emotion! The tracks are longish, at a level that allows for a bit of improvisation that shows that Nina's spirit was always burning creatively – and the album includes a great version of Nina's classic "Mississippi Goddam", plus "Plain Gold Ring", "I Loves You, Porgy", "Don't Smoke In Bed", and "Go Limp". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest Zoot Sims albums of the 60s – a very smoking live set, recorded in the UK with a hip British rhythm section! Zoot's blowing in front of the Stan Tracy trio – a group led by pianist Tracy, with a style that was every bit as swinging as it was modern and fresh. The style makes for a very different approach than some of Sims' American albums of the time – a bit more edgey, with tracks that cut into the groove in unusual ways. Ronnie Scott and Jimmy Deuchar join the group for one track – "Desperation" – and other titles include "Love For Sale", "Autumn Leaves", "Somebody Loves Me", and "Gone With The Wind". CD

Swedish pianist Lars Sjosten plays mostly in a trio format – but also gets some help from Bertil Lovgren on trumpet, and Gunnar Bersten on baritone! LP, Vinyl record album

All the great ones – "Stay Awhile", "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me", "Wishin & Hopin", "All Cried Out", "I Only Want To Be With You", and "In The Middle Of Nowhere". LP, Vinyl record album

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Lovely work from this overlooked Japanese pianist – a really great player who hits some warmly soulful grooves in this mid 70s set! The album features Kunihiko Sugano's trio working with an extra percussionist – a player who doesn't step in much, but who manages to bring a special sort of sound to the set – a snappingly soulful bottom that seems to push the piano even more than before, taking Sugano's normally lyrical sound and stretching it out with some warmly grooving energy. Titles include great takes of "On A Clear Day", "Route 66", "Stella By Starlight", and the original "Erromanga". LP, Vinyl record album

A groovy groovy treasure! The work of The Swingle Singers is well known to any fan of 60s French tunes – as their groundbreaking approach to vocalese had a huge influence on other pop, easy, and soundtrack work of the time. This nicely-done set features jazz scat versions of tunes by all three members of the Bach family, Handel, and Vivaldi – with tracks that include "Air", "Badinerie", "Gigue", "Prelude No 7", "Solfeggietto", "Allegro", and "Preambule". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent set that has the vocal talents of the Swingle Singers backed by the sweet and mellow instrumentation of the Modern Jazz Quartet! Given that John Lewis & Co were essentially local residents in Paris for so many years, it's amazing it took them until 1966 to hook up with Ward Swingle's hip vocal group – but the album's more than worth the wait, as the MJQ really help open things up, and take the Swingles into more complicated territory than before. Milt Jackson's vibes are especially great alongside the groovy vocals – and titles include "Little David's Fugue", "Vendome", "When I Am Laid In Earth", "Air For G String", and "Three Windows". CD

Romantic bossa work from the lovely Sylvia Telles – an album that predates her 60s albums for Elenco, and which almost has an equal amount of jazz in the mix as well! Sylvia was one of the few Brazilian singers of her generation who could work equally well in English as well as Portuguese – and one track here is an extended medley of the American standards "All The Way", "The Boy Next Door", and "They Can't Take That Away From Me" – sung in a lightly jazzy style that's totally great. Other tracks are a mix of bossa standards by Jobim, Roberto Menescal, Joao Gilberto, and others – recorded with backings that are light and sweet, and which sometimes include a bit of harmony vocals in the chorus – a nice touch, and one that gives the record a nice sense of variety! Titles include "Dindi", "Nao Gosto Mais De Mim", "Gardez Moi Pour Toujours", "Samba Torto", "Corcovado", "Tete", "Chora Tua Tristeza", and "Oba-La-La". CD

An incredible celebration of a decade of music from the team of Toquinho and Vinicius De Moraes – not a greatest hits collection, but instead a set that features new reworkings of their classics – all interwoven together in this really great way! The raspy vocals of Vinicius and the guitar of Toquinho are still at the heart of the music – but the arrangements are also slightly fuller, too – and feature piano from Antonio Carlos Jobim – and lots of great little touches on flute, sax, and percussion along the way – maybe even making for more overall beauty here than on the pair's earlier recordings. Most numbers feature a few songs, done in "pot-pourri" style – and other titles include "Cotidiano No 2", "A Tonga Da Mironga Do Kabulete", and "Samba De Orly". CD

A much funkier record than Thijs' earlier "jazz meets classical" sessions – and a record done with plenty of sweet fusion touches! Thijs plays flute and Fender Rhodes on the set – and there's additional keyboards on most tracks, plus some additional help from west coast fusion luminaries, as the set was recorded in LA. A few tracks have sweet vocals that kind of drift in and out of the mix, and others are more instrumentally-focused – going for the choppy, fragmented style of Leer's best work. Titles include "Street Rondo", "Eddy", "Little Brother", "O My Love", "Peacemaker III", "Little Sister", and "What You See". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the building blocks of the late 60s Tropicalia scene in Brazil – and a standout solo debut from the young Caetano Veloso! The album's got an approach that's as dynamic and trippy as its cover image might imply – the same amazing blend of sounds and styles you'd hear on contemporaneous records by Gal Costa or Os Mutantes – served up with similar wit, wisdom, and charm! Caetano's vocals are amazing throughout – filled with raspy power that goes beyond the barriers of language – and the production has loads of surprising elements tripping through the mix – some rootsy, some slightly orchestrated – but with a softer approach that resonates strongly with more psychedelic use of organ and guitar. The album's as powerful today as it was decades ago – an essential recording that holds up beautifully year after year! The kickoff track is "Tropicalia" (surprisingly enough!), and the album is a non-stop ride through gems like "Alegria, Alegria", "Onde Andaras", "Paisagem Util", "Ave Maria", and the groovy "Soy Loco Por Ti America", written by Gilberto Gil. LP, Vinyl record album

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A pretty darn groovy album of tracks – issued here with a title that says "FM Stereo Programacao Especial", which we think means that it was a promo-only album for radio. The cuts are very nice breezy bossa-inflected instrumental tracks on the record, with kind of a nice 70's FM sound to them! Zimbo does their usual post-bossa groove, with a groovy mix of piano, bass, and drums – on titles like "Que Maravilha", "Chove Chuva", "Tatuagem", "Carinhoso", "Ana Luiza", and "Bala Com Bala". LP, Vinyl record album

Kind of a nothing cover – but the set features some great material – including "Chanson D'Helen" from Les Choses De La Vie, sung by Romy Schneider and Michel Piccoli – plus "Le Tourbillon" from Jules Et Jim by Jeanne Moreau, "L'Eau A La Bouche" by Serge Gansbourg, "Chanson De Slogan" by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, "Heureux Qui Comme Ulysse" by Georges Brassens, "No Hay Problema" by Art Blakey, and "Saint Tropez Blues" by Marie Laforet. LP, Vinyl record album

A mid-60s collection of some of the big songs that were rocking the Brazilian festivals of the time – early work by Gilberto Gil, Elis Regina, Claudette Soares, Geraldo Vandre, Jair Rodrigues, Nara Leao, and others! LP, Vinyl record album

A great album of samba tunes – with work by some surprising guests! The album's got a style that's both rootsy and more mainstream, depending on the track, and depending on the way the music is interpreted – and overall, the collection has a few numbers that really make it worth picking up. Elis Regina does a wonderful job on the tune "Tiradentes"; MPB4 bring a strong harmony approach to the track "Iaia Do Cais Dourado"; and Nara Leao sings "Nordeste Seu Povo Seu Canto E Sua Gloria" with some nice folksy touches. Other tracks include "Chica Da Silva" by Erasmo Carlos, "Oropa Franca E Bahia" by Trio Mocoto, and "Misticismo Da Africa Ao Brasil" by Erlon Chaves E Banda Veneno. LP, Vinyl record album

Mid 80s work from Maria Bethania – and a really nice record! The style here is lighter than some of her 70s classics – almost jazzy, and moving along in a slightly breezy style that has Maria singing in a positive and bright kind of style. The album's almost more personal than other work – in that she's a bit less intimidating, and comes to the listener with an honest, open approach. Titles include "ABC Do Sertao", "A Hora Da Estrela De Cinema", "Nossos Momentos", "A Home Da Cidade", and "Sucesso Bendito". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most mindblowing albums ever recorded – anywhere, anytime! This 1969 set stands as one of the greatest records ever cut by Gal Costa – done at the height of the Tropicalia movement, and featuring a sublime mix of styles that really gets the spirit of the movement right. Arrangements are by the legendary Rogerio Duprat – who effortlessly shifts the backings between stark electronics, sweet bossa, gliding strings, jazzy piano, and baroque orchestrations that dance around with a surprising amount of grooves! Tunes include some classics by Caetano Veloso, Jorge Ben, and Gilberto Gil – served up in amazing new versions by Gal and Duprat! Titles include "Nao Identificado", "Lost In The Paradise", "Que Pena", "Sebastiana", "Namorinho De Portao", "Divino Maravilhoso", and "Deus E O Amor". LP, Vinyl record album

A wild little concept album from the Four Seasons – one that's packaged in newspaper-style cover, and which presents tunes that almost have that late 60s British "snapshots of life" approach to pop – particularly that put forth by The Kinks on Village Green Preservation Society. The album's a true genius effort from Bob Gaudio – now risen to the ranks of producer for the group, and also the key songwriter for the album too – working here in tandem with the great Jake Holmes, a wonderful choice for a record like this! Arrangements are inventive, playful, and definitely at a level that shows some influence from Pet Sounds or Sgt Peppers – but there's also a focused, all-pop approach to the tunes too – one that's hook-heavy even when trippy, and which shows that the Four Seasons were as great at psychedelic and Sunshine Pop as any of the groups they'd inspired over the years. Titles include "Saturday's Father", "Wall Street Village Day", "Wonder What You'll Be", "Soul Of A Woman", "Something's On Her Mind", "American Crucifixion Resurrection", and "Mrs Stately's Garden". LP, Vinyl record album