... CD

... CD

An excellent little soundtrack that features some amazing rare Brazilian tracks from the 70s! Azimuth perform a great electric groover called "Melo Da Cuica", with a nice keyboard/cuica groove that's very tasty! Moraes Moreira does a hard electric version of "Se Voce Pensa" with some nicely-produced guitars! Joao Donato sings "Que Besteira", a great choppy electric track that matches the quality of anything on his legendary Quem e Quem album! Marcio Montarroyos lays down a very progressive fusiony track called "Makaha"! And Martinho Da Vila, Paulinho Da Viola, Luiz Melodia, and Beth Carvalho all do funky samba tracks. Very nice stuff – and tough to find! LP, Vinyl record album

Tighter than Jorge Ben's funky work from the early 70s – but still pretty darn great! The record's got Jorge working in a smoother vein than on his Philips sides, with the same sort of modern soul approach that Marcos Valle and other older Brazilian singers were using at the time. But since Jorge's always been a soulster from the start, the style works perfectly for his warm vocals and his keen talent for putting over a groove. Arrangements have kind of a brassy funky samba groove – and titles include "Ma Ma Ma Ma Mae", "Solitario Surfista", "Olha A Pipa", "Cae Cae Caetano", "Alo Alo, Como Vai?", and "A Cegohna Me Deixou Em Mardureira". LP, Vinyl record album

We don't know much about this guy, but this is a pretty sweet little set – a mixture of mainstream MPB and more soulful touches – all put together with some especially warm arrangements from Lincoln Olivetti! At some level, we'd almost be tempted to call this a set of Brazilian soul – especially due to the great use of keyboards, mellow grooves, and warm vocals on the record – but the overall style is a bit more mainstream, and gets slightly poppy at times too – a bit in a Free Soul sort of groove! Titles include "Num Paraiso", "Brenda", "Pensando Nela", "Renascendo Em Mim", "Saber Viver", "Nao Quero Mais", "Curtindo O Silencio", and "Menina Mulher". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... CD

A strange one! Gilberto and Rita team up in a live set – ostensibly trying to relive the glory days of Tropicalia, but more showing the new strength of MPB in the 70s. Rita's backing is by the Tutti Frutti rock band, who has the same kind of style as you'd guess from their name. Stick to the cuts that feature Gil's backing band Refavela – who are in a prime 70s funky mode, especially on the album's versions of "Odara" and "Domingo No Parque", which are both great. Rita and Gilberto duet on "Refestanca", "Get Back", and "E Proibido Fumar", which should show you where all the energy from "Prohibido Prohibidar" has gone! LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

An ambitious larger production from the team of Edu Lobo and Chico Buarque – the famous stage musical O Grande Circo Mistico, based on the poem by Jorge De Lima, and featuring a range of top-shelf performers that includes Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Milton Nascimento, Jane Duboc, Zizi Possi, Simone, and Tim Maia! The work has a serious style that's in keeping with some of Lobo's more contemplative work of the 70s – but also has some of the more dynamic horn arrangements that were also showing up in his work. And as you'd guess from the title, there's a bit of a "circus" feel in the air – but one that's musically playful, and never too kitschy. Titles include "Meu Namorado", "Sobre Todas As Coisas", "Na Carreira", "O Circo Mistico", "A Bela E A Fera", "A Historia De Lily Braun", and "Beatriz". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful album of sad-tinged bossa tunes sung by the enigmatic Ana Lucia – a really great vocalist who gets superb backings here from Oscar Castro Neves and the Zimbo Trio! The style of the album is slightly more emotive than the usual bossa album of the time – with a dreamy approach to the vocals that reminds us of some of our favorite French or Italian singers of the early 60s, all nicely juxtaposed with a mixture of jazz and string arrangements from Castro-Neves, and produced with a light and floating finish. There's kind of a watery brilliance to the whole thing that really matches the look of the cover – and titles include "Amei Tanto", "Andam Dizendo", "Acalanto", "Derradeira Primavera", "Valsa De Euridice", "Homem De Verdade", and "Tem Do". CD

A beautiful tribute to the genius of this landmark Brazilian poet/songwriter/diplomat/singer! Some tracks feature Vinicius singing, and others feature him speaking or reading his own work – and the album features appearances by Jobim, Toquinho, Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque, Susana De Moraes, and others. Titles include "Samba Em preludio", "Estamos Ai", "Depoimento De Chico Buarque", "O Haver", "Depoimento De Tom Jobim", "A Casa", "Vai Levando", "Agua De Beber", "Samba Da Bencao", and "Soneto A Lua". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful recording from the early 70s – cut at a time when the Brazilian poet Vinicius De Moraes was still alive and kicking, and had assumed his role as the grandfather of the bossa nova – by teaming up with younger guitarist Toquinho in very much the same way he worked with Baden Powell and Antonio Carlos Jobim in earlier years! This recording is one of the pair's best – and it features a warm interplay of easy going vocals, backed by guitar, recorded in a style that's both intimate, but not too sleepy – as lovely an illustration of the sentiments of Vinicius as you could hope to find, especially when both singers vocalize back and forth – almost as if reflecting the warmth of the world in which the bossa was born. Titles include "Dora", "Apelo", "Nature Boy", "Chega De Saudade", "Morena Flor", "Januaria", and "Canto De Ossanha". CD

Roberto Menescal oversees the production on this 1991 record from MPB 4. The album has the group performing compositions by some well known figures such as Lisa Ono, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Tracks include several by Dorival Caymmi such as "O Samba Da Minha Terra", "Requebre Que Eu Dom Um Doce", "E Dengo Que A Nega Tem" and "Nega Do Balaio Grande". Others include Jobim's "Samba Do Aviao", Veloso's "Sampa", Ary Barroso's "Camisa Amarela", and Gil's "Aquele Abraco". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Meina Voce Bebeu", "O Dia Se Zangou", "E Isso Que Eu Mereco", "Chora Viola", "Camarao Com", and "Maria Tristeza". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

A never-issued album by the great Hermeto Pascoal – recorded in the space between his 70s classics Slaves Mass and A Musica Livre – and every bit as amazing as those classics! The music here is fluid, open, and a fantastic mix of jazz and all of Hermeto's new ideas about musical structure – performed at a level that's highly organic, and with that completely individual vision that Pasocal brought to his sound from the start! This isn't typical Brazilian fusion of the time, but nor is it anything like the tighter sounds that Airto and Flora Purim were recording up in the US – instead, a musical mode that's completely in its own space, and which needs only one listen to convince you of the master's genius. The group here is overflowing with young talent – Lelo Nazario on keyboards, Nivaldo Ornelas and Mauro Senise on saxes and flute, Toninho Horta on guitar, Zeca Assumpcao on bass, and Ze Eduardo Nazario on drums – all important musical visionaries on their own, working together here to hit an even new level of creativity. Aleuda Chaves sings wordlessly on a bit of the record – and the whole thing has that blend of soaring sound and lyricism that marks Pascoal at his best. Titles include "Danca Do Paje", "Natal", "Casinha Pequinina", and "Mavumvavumpefoco". LP, Vinyl record album

A never-issued album by the great Hermeto Pascoal – recorded in the space between his 70s classics Slaves Mass and A Musica Livre – and every bit as amazing as those classics! The music here is fluid, open, and a fantastic mix of jazz and all of Hermeto's new ideas about musical structure – performed at a level that's highly organic, and with that completely individual vision that Pasocal brought to his sound from the start! This isn't typical Brazilian fusion of the time, but nor is it anything like the tighter sounds that Airto and Flora Purim were recording up in the US – instead, a musical mode that's completely in its own space, and which needs only one listen to convince you of the master's genius. The group here is overflowing with young talent – Lelo Nazario on keyboards, Nivaldo Ornelas and Mauro Senise on saxes and flute, Toninho Horta on guitar, Zeca Assumpcao on bass, and Ze Eduardo Nazario on drums – all important musical visionaries on their own, working together here to hit an even new level of creativity. Aleuda Chaves sings wordlessly on a bit of the record – and the whole thing has that blend of soaring sound and lyricism that marks Pascoal at his best. Titles include "Danca Do Paje", "Natal", "Casinha Pequinina", and "Mavumvavumpefoco". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty cool collection of work by Gilberto Gil – featuring one disc of hits, and another of rarities! The hits – or "sucessos" – are from his years at Warner and Som Livre, when Gil was working in a mode that was slicker and funkier than his 70s stuff for Philips, but still pretty nice overall. The "raridades" are even better, though – and include tracks that were b-sides to singles, from films, from collections of samba, or tributes to other artists. The 2CD set has 27 tracks in all – and titles include "Gaivota", "Senhor Delegado", "Macapa", "Gimme Your Love", "Pra Fazer O Sol Nascer", "Saudade Da Bahia", "Mico Preto", "Luar", "Esoterico", "Estrela", "Guerra Santa", and "Um Trem Para As Estrelas". CD

A fantastic album of sharply-tinged jazz tracks from Hermeto Pascoal – one that we'd rank up there with some of his best records ever! The sound is very much in the spirit of Pascoal's A Musica Livre album – but also has an approach that's a bit more angular, and almost a bit more experimental at times – especially in the way Hermeto's sax work is blended with some odd vocalizations that really give the set a unique feeling! Hermeto himself plays flute, soprano sax, and piano – and the album's got a grippingly fresh feel that takes hold from the very first note! As with all of Pascoal's best work, the end result is an album that sounds unlike anything we can think of – except perhaps another one of his gems! Titles include "Ilza Na Feijoada", "Spock Na Escada", "Mestre Radames", "Desencontro Certo", and "Monte Santo". CD

Jazz versions of classics by Antonio Carlos Jobim – all done by a group arranged and directed by guitarist Mario Adnet, and featuring guest work from Joyce, Helio Delmiro, Romero Lumbambo, and others! The sound here is really fresh – not merely just a reworking of Jobim's original ideals, but a recasting of them in lightly arranged modes that often take on the shapes, colors, and textures of work by Moacir Santos – styles that are warm, but often have some sharper edges underneath, thanks to great interplay between the instruments. Bits of horns, guitar, piano, and percussion all come together with a tremendous sense of grace – and titles include "Tema Jazz", "Sue Ann", "Domingo Sincopado", "So Danco Samba", "Paulo Voo Livre", "Polo Pony", and "Bate Boca". CD

Believe it or not, the title's a pretty good way to describe this modern Brazilian rock release – as the music's a mish mash of newer beats and grooves, grounded in a hip hop/dance tradition, mixed with samples of older Brazilian rock influences – including stuff by Os Mutantes, Gilberto Gil, and Caetano Veloso. We like this one a lot better than we expected, and we hardly mind the modern elements, when we can get an occasional treat like a sample of "Bat Macumba", or a remake of "Maracatu Atomico". The latter track is included here in 4 different mixes, and other tracks include "Sangue De Bairro", "Mateus Enter", "O Cidado Do Mundo", "Maco", "Um Passeio No Mundo Livre", and "Baiao Ambiental". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice selection of modern samba and percussion tracks – all pulled from the catalog of the great Far Out label, the London-based imprint with a strong drive to cut quality Brazilian music, all under the aegis of top DJ Joe Davis. The set's a good one if you don't know some of the work on the label – and it includes a number of percussive tracks by the Grupo Batuque ("Onda Leve", "Percussion Livre", "Ole Ola", "Na Cadencia Do Samba", and "Tocrida Do Gama"), plus more modern cuts like "Brasileiros e Ingleses" by Roc Hunter, "Ausgang" by Azymuth, "Bandito Batucada" by Natural Element, and "Batucada Com Mingo" by Mingo Araujo and Pascoal Meirelles. Nicely packaged, with a nice set of notes on Brazil's love affair with football and samba! CD

Quite possibly the clearest moment of genius ever from the legendary Hermeto Pascoal – a tremendous album that helped reshape instrumental Brazilian music for many years to come! At one level, the record shares a sound with some of the fuller, richer orchestrations going on in the post-bossa years – especially the work of Edu Lobo and Marcos Valle – but at another, it's filled with the kind of inventive instrumental interplay that's always made Hermeto so great, but which has never come off so perfectly as it does here! As you might expect from Pascoal, there's some especially great reed passages – crafted in a flurry of colors and tones – but there's also a warmer, more flowing quality to the whole album – less of the dark notes and pointy edges that show up often in Hermeto's work from later years. Bits of strings help the whole thing glide tremendously – and the record's a genre-busting blend of jazz, Brazilian roots, and complicated arrangements – unlike anything else we've ever heard, and still one of our favorite albums of all time! Titles include "Bebe", "Asa Branca", "Carinhoso", "Plin", "Gaio Da Roseira", and "Sereiarei". CD

Quite possibly the clearest moment of genius ever from the legendary Hermeto Pascoal – a tremendous album that helped reshape instrumental Brazilian music for many years to come! At one level, the record shares a sound with some of the fuller, richer orchestrations going on in the post-bossa years – especially the work of Edu Lobo and Marcos Valle – but at another, it's filled with the kind of inventive instrumental interplay that's always made Hermeto so great, but which has never come off so perfectly as it does here! As you might expect from Pascoal, there's some especially great reed passages – crafted in a flurry of colors and tones – but there's also a warmer, more flowing quality to the whole album – less of the dark notes and pointy edges that show up often in Hermeto's work from later years. Bits of strings help the whole thing glide tremendously – and the record's a genre-busting blend of jazz, Brazilian roots, and complicated arrangements – unlike anything else we've ever heard, and still one of our favorite albums of all time! Titles include "Bebe", "Asa Branca", "Carinhoso", "Plin", "Gaio Da Roseira", and "Sereiarei". CD

Quite possibly the clearest moment of genius ever from the legendary Hermeto Pascoal – a tremendous album that helped reshape instrumental Brazilian music for many years to come! At one level, the record shares a sound with some of the fuller, richer orchestrations going on in the post-bossa years – especially the work of Edu Lobo and Marcos Valle – but at another, it's filled with the kind of inventive instrumental interplay that's always made Hermeto so great, but which has never come off so perfectly as it does here! As you might expect from Pascoal, there's some especially great reed passages – crafted in a flurry of colors and tones – but there's also a warmer, more flowing quality to the whole album – less of the dark notes and pointy edges that show up often in Hermeto's work from later years. Bits of strings help the whole thing glide tremendously – and the record's a genre-busting blend of jazz, Brazilian roots, and complicated arrangements – unlike anything else we've ever heard, and still one of our favorite albums of all time! Titles include "Bebe", "Asa Branca", "Carinhoso", "Plin", "Gaio Da Roseira", and "Sereiarei". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful early gem from Nara Leao! This one has a similar feel to her classic O Canto Livre album – in that it's got a deeper approach than some of her bossa work, with a mix of some of the more complicated, slightly folksy styles used by singers like Geraldo Vandre or Chico Buarque De Hollanda. The sound is wonderfully dark – a moodier approach to the music than used by some of Nara's contemporaries – without any of the sweeter styles you'd get from other Brazilian female singers of the 60s. Titles include Nara's great single "A Banda", plus "Favela", "Funeral De Lavrador", "Cancao Do Bicho", "Faz Escuro Mas Eu Canto", "Ladainha", and "Ana Vai Ambora". Arrangements by Geni Marcondes – and a great cover! LP, Vinyl record album