NEW RELEASES FROM MONDAY MICHIRU, CHANTE MOORE, EYDIE GORME

MONDAY MICHIRU - BRASILIFIED

Here's some really cool work from Monday Michiru – and a record that reminds us all over again why we love her music so much! The album's got Monday serving up all the Brazilian sounds you'd guess from the title – but always with that positive, upbeat style we've always dug in her music – a vibrant sort of energy that's very different than not only other singers of Brazilian music, but also from most of Michiru's contemporaries on the underground scene! The instrumentation is quite jazzy throughout – thanks to arrangements from Simone Giuliani and Alex Sipiagin – but there's also plenty of groove, too – a great mix of Brazilian roots and jazzier funk, of the sort you'd find on older projects from guys like Gilles Peterson or Patrick Forge. Monday's vocals sound better than ever in this setting – really reaching for the skies with a new sense of glory – and titles include "Sunrise", "Things I Say", "Zanzibar", "Bossamore", "Celebrate", "New Morning", "Beautiful People", and "Bedtime Story".  ~ Dusty Groove

CHANTE MOORE - MOORE IS MORE

Chante Moore is back with a vengeance and she is doing what she does best – keeping it smooth and special, and really letting her great vocals stretch out and flow! The album's got a mostly laidback vibe – tunes that are well-produced, but without any too-commercial modes too – that special sort of space between the mainstream and underground that Chante's always inhabited – and which comes off well here with studio help from Chris Big Dog Davis, Kawme, Midi Mafia, Derrick Kinsey, and others. The tunes include a few surprising choices, but most of the numbers are right on the money for the well-tooled Chante Moore aesthetic – titles that include "Baby Can I Touch Your Body", "Alone", "Talking In My Sleep",  "Don't Make Me Laugh", "Mrs Understood", and "On & On". ~ Dusty Groove

EYDIE GORME - BLAME IT ON THE BOSSA NOVA (INCLUDES BONUS TRACKS)

A classic has finally been reissued with additional bonus tracks! Easily the grooviest album that Eydie Gorme ever cut – a set that's well known for its classic title track, but which is filled with breezy bossa numbers throughout! Few other American singers ever got the light, lively spirit of bossa this right back in the 60s – and although Eydie could sometimes be an overly-expressive singer on other records, she's got a compact touch here that's perfect for the jazzy arrangements of Nick Perito and Billy May – which themselves often use a bit of Hammond organ from Dick Hyman to give the tracks lots of Walter Wanderley-ish sort of grooves! Other instrumentalists include Pacheco on flute and Mundell Lowe on guitar – and titles include the classic "Blame It On The Bossa Nova", plus "The Coffee Song", "The Message", "One Note Samba", "The Gift", "Almost Like Being In Love", "Moon River", "Desafinado", and "Dansero". CD features two bonus tracks – "Oba Oba" and "Sweet Talk" – both arranged by Deodato!  ~ Dusty Groove