Tag: Brazilian
Bassist of the legendary Brazilian fusion trio Azymuth, Alex Malheiros, who has also contributed his pioneering space-funk sound on records by Jorge Ben, Milton Nascimento, Roberto Carlos, Marcos Valle, Mark Murphy, and others, has recently released a brilliant new album on Far Out Recordings, appropriately titled Tempos Futuros.
As we move into the warmer months of summer, it’s great to see that many of the record shops that were either closed for over a year and/or only doing online sales are finally opening up again. In my opinion, it doesn’t get much better than a Saturday trip (or any day really) to the local record shop(s). Somewhat similar to last year, this year’s typical annual Record Store Day has been broken up into not just one, but two Saturdays (or what is being referred to as “Drop 1” & “Drop 2”) on June 12th and July 17th.
For the seventh release in what continues to be an absolutely brilliant Jazz Is Dead series, Los Angeles based producers/multi-instrumentalists Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad have teamed up with legendary Brazilian composer and pianist João Donato on a superb new full-length album.
In what comes with a remarkable backstory, London’s Far Out Recordings has reissued for the first time ever, the 1970 forgotten masterpiece from Brazilian composer, singer, and guitarist José Mauro, titled A Viagem Das Horas. This exciting new issue of the recording also includes three previously unreleased and unheard tracks from the original studio sessions.
The London-based Afro-Brazilian soulful jazz duo known as Da Lata, featuring multi-instrumentalist and producer Chris Franck and legendary DJ and producer Patrick Forge (Dingwalls) have returned with an incredible new twelve-inch single featuring new renditions of two essential Brazilian jazz dance classics in Manfredo Fest’s 1979 “Jungle Kitten” and Raffaela Renzulli Ensemble’s 1987 “Asking Eyes”.
Far Out Recordings reissues, for the first time ever on vinyl, two groundbreaking Latin jazz recordings, titled Mora! and Mora! II from Mexican-American percussionist and former member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Francisco Mora Catlett.
Following a digital release of last September, the seventh album from highly talented São Paulo jazz-funk trio Caixa Cubo, titled Angela, sees an eagerly-awaited vinyl release through the London-based label Heavenly Recordings.
London’s Far Out Recordings has unearthed the previously unreleased 1976 self-titled debut jazz-funk album by Brazilian keyboardist, composer, and bandleader Marcos Resende and his group Index. This incredible album was recorded prior to the group’s only other release, the highly sought after 1978 album Festa Para Um Novo Rei.
Similar to the work that goes into reissuing a rare recording can probably also be said for a well-crafted compilation. Often years in the making, there are a number of elements, including discovery, theme, selection of tracks, licensing, and a complimentary editorial component. This past year, a number of brilliantly timeless and curated compilations were released, some highlighting a specific genre or region, while others focused on an artist or a label. Regardless, here are some of the favorites from the past twelve months.
Not only did we see a ton of great new music released in 2020, there was also an abundance of extremely hard-to-find recordings being reissued throughout the year. Similar to how difficult it was to put together the “Favorite Albums” list, it has been just as challenging to dive into all the great reissues, and generate a similar “Favorites” list.
