Tags: Latin Jazz

Review: A key accelerant in the early 70s MPB melting pot; decorated sessionist, composer and band leader Salvador's 1971-released album is a fizzing brew of bossa, samba, funk, carioca brought together with energy and a fused rawness that has led to OG copies regularly going for around 200. The range is everything in this fourth album; from the sudden floor filling party flourish of the opener "Uma Vida" to the Beatles-like narrative oddity "O Rio" to the orchestral boogaloo of "Number One", this is Salvador at the peak of his fusionista powers.

Review: Mistura Pura is an alias for Italian jazz funk artist Federica Grappasonni, who first came to light via the 2018 album Hollywood Spritz on Ubiquity. After a follow-up two years later, finally Grappasonni is back with this classy 7", which we can only assume precedes another long player for Ubiquity soon after. 'Vamo Vive' and 'Ed E' are everything you could wish for from her welcome return, bursting with infectious groove and exquisite musicality. Cop this smoking hot single now and be the first to spread the good word about this stellar artist and her latest sounds.

Review: Chris Bangs is widely, albeit not so, known for coining the term 'acid jazz'. If it weren't for him it's likely we wouldn't have modern day future jazz pushers like Soul Jazz or Brownswood. This new compendium, 'Firebird', charts the DJ and producer's latest sonic explorations, blurring the boundaries between every influence from contemporary jazz, UK electronic dance, and Latin dance styles from bossa nova to salsa. It also contains several examples of what is known as his 'East Coast' sound, which pays homage to the fusion of jazz and funk and which spread throughout UK nightclubs as far back as the early 80s.

Review: 52 years after it was first released in 1970, Hermeto Pascoal's self-titled debut long player remains a remarkable one. It was born in the A&R studios in New York and features a heavyweight cast of collabs including Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, Joe Farrel and Googie Coppola. There are even some stars of the Brazilian jazz scene of the time making appearances such as Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, who also took care of production. From elevator jazz tunes like 'Hermeto' to laid back and sunny bliss-outs like 'Flor Do Amor' the sis another jewel in the crown of Far Out.

Review: The Warm World Of Joao Gilberto from 1963 welcomes you deep into the iconic sounds of the so-called Godfather of bossa nova. Brazilian legend Joao pretty much invented the sound and this collection is a comprehensive selection of some of his most pivotal works from 1958 to 1961. While listening you can hear a nascent bossa sound emerging from the speakers as the formerly rare unknown and then late 20-something explored new rhythms and rich harmonies that make for mesmerising and addictive listening. The album is something of a grail so snap up this reissue while you can.

Review: The late, great Jose Padilla was a big fan of the work of Stan Getz, whose easy-going, sun-soaked and accessible take on jazz - and especially his more Latin-tinged offerings - appeared frequently in the Balearic legend's DJ sets. Jazz Samba Encore, the saxophonist's 1963 collaboration with Brazilian jazz guitarist Luiz Bonfa, remains one of the most unashamedly joyous sets in his catalogue. Reissued here in a Japanese edition, it sees Getz and Bonfa trading solos over luscious bossa-nova and samba grooves. There are plenty of standout moments, with our picks including the dreamy 'Sambalero', the sparkling breeziness of 'Samba De Duas Notas (Two-Note Samba)', the glorious 'Suadade Vem Correndo' and smoky closing cut 'Ebondy Samba'.

Review: Following Far Out's reissue of Agustin Pereyra Lucena Quartet's La Rana, the label continues its memorialisation of the late, great Argentinian guitarist's music, with the first ever direct from tape, audiophile reissue of Pereyra Lucena's self-titled debut album from 1970. Hailing from Buenos Aires, Augustin was nonetheless obsessed with the music of Brazil; this combined with his Argentinian roots to produce a sound entirely his own. After being scouted in a nightclub, by musician and guitar craftsman Jorge Demonte, Agustin was invited for an audition at Argenitinian label Tonodisc, and before he knew it, was in the studio recording his first album. The album's atypical bossas and spiritual swinging sambas, composed by many of Agustin's heroes, were elevated to new heights by Agustin's dazzling arrangements and phenomenal guitar playing. The almost cosmic reaches Agustin achieved with his sound are balanced against the stylish sophistication and breezy nature of the music.

Review: With this CD edition to complement the main LP reissue, we're once again met with the beauteous multi-instrumental talents of Agustin Pereyra Lucena, Argentina's finest. His self-titled debut record from 1970 is quite literally a 'bossa nova' (direct translation, 'novel swelling', 'new upswell'), doing justice to the genre name with a dialectical, pioneering regional take on already-established styles like samba and the aforementioned, informed by his outsider status as an Argentinian looking in on Brazil. Atypical for its time, Agustin's guitar playing never quite settles into any looping riff, instead revelling in free-associative improvs and overdubs of the crispest quality, both low and high in pitch range.