NARA LEAO - OS MEUS AMIGOS SAO UM BARATO
A wonderful album
from Nara Leao – and one that features her singing duets with some of the
greatest talents of the bossa era and beyond – an amazing lineup that includes
Tom Jobim, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Edu Lobo, Joao Donato, Carlos Lyra,
and others! The sound is wonderful – done with an intimate quality that brings
a slightly modern variation of older bossa modes – but with some of the cool,
dark inflections that Nara always has in her music. Instrumentation includes a
fair bit of acoustic elements, and titles include "Repente",
"Amazonas", "Cara Bonita", "Nono", "Joao E
Maria", and "Sarara Miolo". Great stuff – and one of her best
albums from the later years! ~ Dusty Groove
BETH CARVALHO - ANDANCA
Early and lovely
work from Beth Carvalho – a set that's quite different than her later albums,
with much more of a 60s bossa diva sound overall! Arrangements are by Lyrio
Panicali and Gaya, and the album's got a warmly flowing groove that's right up
there with more familiar sides from the Blue Brazil generation – such as work
by Doris Monteiro! The Som 3 combo back up Carvalho on most of the album's
tracks – making for some great groovy and jazzy elements – and the Golden Boys
join in on harmony vocals on a handful of other tracks too! Titles include
"Estrela Do Mar", "Maria Da Vavela", "Sentinela",
"Rumo Sul", "Maria Aninha", "Carnaval",
"Samba Do Perdao", and "Fechei A Parta". CD features 10
bonus tracks – including "Minie", "Essa Passou", "Meu
Tamborim", "Berenice", "So quero Ver", and
"Minhas Tardes De Sol". ~ Dusty Groove
ASTRUD GILBERTO - WINDY
One of the hardest
to find Astrud Gilberto records on Verve – and one of the best! Deodato, Don
Sebesky, and Pat Williams did the arrangements – and the sound here is a bit
different than some of the straighter Gilberto sets of the time – still very
bossa-inspired, but also in a style that mixes in some great Sunshine Pop and
60s easy influences too – particularly on the tracks arranged by Williams!
Tracks are all quite short, but get a heck of a lot of magic into a tiny space
– and the album features some really wonderful songs that break Gilberto's
pattern a bit – including versions of the Marcos Valle tracks "Crickets
Sing For Anamaria" and "Chup Chup, I Got Away" – plus takes on
"Windy", "Sing Me A Rainbow", "Never My Love",
and "Where Are They Now?" ~ Dusty Groove
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