Here is Vince Guaraldi's breakthrough album – musically, commercially, in every which way. After numerous records as a leader or sideman, for the first time a recognizable Guaraldi piano style emerges, with whimsical phrasing all his own, a madly swinging right hand and occasional boogie-influenced left hand, and a distinctive, throat-catching, melodic improvisational gift. The first half of the program is taken up by cover versions of tunes from the Antonio Carlos Jobim/Luiz Bonfa score for the film Black Orpheus, recorded just as bossa nova was taking hold in America. These are genuinely jazz-oriented impressions in a mainstream boppish manner, with only a breath of samba from Monty Budwig (bass) and Colin Bailey (drums) in the opening minute of "Samba de Orpheus"; an edited version of this haunting song was issued as a 45 rpm single. But DJs soon began flipping the single over to play the B-side, a wistful, unforgettably catchy Guaraldi tune called "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" that opens the North American half of the album.

Drawing on rock, salsa, and jazz, Santana recorded one imaginative, unpredictable gem after another during the 1970s. But Caravanserai is daring even by Santana's high standards. Carlos Santana was obviously very hip to jazz fusion – something the innovative guitarist provides a generous dose of on the largely instrumental Caravanserai. Whether its approach is jazz-rock or simply rock, this album is consistently inspired and quite adventurous. Full of heartfelt, introspective guitar solos, it lacks the immediacy of Santana or Abraxas. Like the type of jazz that influenced it, this pearl (which marked the beginning of keyboardist/composer Tom Coster's highly beneficial membership in the band) requires a number of listenings in order to be absorbed and fully appreciated. But make no mistake: this is one of Santana's finest accomplishments.

Legendary bassist EDDIE GOMEZ has been on the cutting edge of music for over four decades. The Latin GRAMMY® award-winner’s impressive resume includes performances with jazz giants such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Evans, Gerry Mulligan and Benny Goodman. Eddie’s unique sound and style can be heard on hundreds of recordings spanning the worlds of jazz, classical, Latin jazz, rhythm & blues, popular and contemporary music.

The pairing of Afro-Mallorcan vocalist Concha Buika and Afro-Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes has apparently been a long time coming. But they are here together on this lovely recording, featuring songs from a wide variety of composers, in a handful of duets, or with the Valdes' band backing them. El Ultimo Trago - translated as "The Last Drink" is as much a tribute to Mexican singer Chavela Vargas, a major influence on Buika.

One has been repeatedly hailed as the world's best guitarist, the other is Russia's most successful musician. And together, Al Di Meola and Leonid Agutin are simply unbeatable. For their album "Cosmopolitan Life", the two have created a unique sound, giving crossover a new dimension. Is this sophisticated pop for adults, then? Or popular world music? No matter, the sounds created by this fantastic duo will seduce every music-lover. Dreamily beautiful pop tunes meld with Russian jazz, Gypsy rhythms and Argentinian tango.

Playing hand percussion and drum kit with a variety of different stars and lesser knowns, Acuna spans the breadth and depth of Latin-based rhythms from his native Peru through Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and other South American locales. Notables Giovanni Hidalgo, Luis Conte, Anthony Carrillo, and Paoli Mejias join a varying sized cadre of singers and fellow percussion helpmates to stroll through this multi-cultural mosaic of percussive splendor. Of the smaller ensemble tracks, "Bemlerias" is a 6/8 song with electric bass and keyboards on the more contemporary side, while "L.A. Rap" sports Spanish trash talk, and the ten-minute "Descarga at Dawn" is the ultimate cha based workout for quintet with Acuna on the kit.

The 1970s were banner years for Airto Moreira–not only because of his association with Chick Corea's Return to Forever and his work on wife Flora Purim's Milestone dates, but also, because of the generally superb work he did under Creed Taylor's supervision at CTI from 1972-74. One of the five-star gems that the Brazilian percussionist recorded for CTI was Fingers, which employs Purim on percussion and vocals, David Amaro on guitar, Hugo Fattoruso on keyboards and harmonica, Jorge Fattoruso on drums and Ringo Thielmann on electric bass. Produced by Taylor and recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's famous New Jersey studio, this LP demonstrates just how exciting and creative 1970s fusion could be.

Alex Acuna ( drummer for the famous Weather Report ) and world class session drummer is well known but his work with the "Unknowns" remains unknown to the vast majority of the jazz fusion listening public!

Hermeto Pascoal (born June 22, 1936) is a Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in Lagoa da Canoa, Alagoas, Brazil. Pascoal is a greatly beloved musical figure in the history of Brazilian music, known for his abilities at orchestration and improvisation, as well as being a record producer and contributor to many other Brazilian and international albums.

In 2008 the world famous guitarist, Al DiMeola and the virtuoso Hungarian flute player, Eszter Horgas played together in Hungary to perform the remake of Bizet's "Carmen." The concert was recorded and leadto a remarkable album called "He & Carmen." The music combines classical, Latin and jazz elements to create a unique, atmospheric and passionate concert. The guitar and the flute, two very exciting instruments make a beautiful pair. The variety of the musicians, the American Al DiMeola, the Cuban Gumbi Ortiz, the Italian Peo Alfonsi, the Hungarian Eszter Horgas and the others made the performance even more original, bringing their own culture, adding their own personality to create a truly unique album.

The good news for connoisseurs of music that is as surprising as Jazz, mysterious as flamenco and the molten mix of these with every other musical idiom, is that Colina Miralta Sambeat – otherwise known as the CMS Trio – has released just their first album of 2015. The repertoire is driven by music that is sinuous, lyrical and magical. And there could hardly be a trio of musicians that created this music and is more self-effacing, scholarly and so filled with ingenuity that their proverbial cup does runneth over. And it does so with the simple joy of playing alto saxophone, contrabass and percussion with compelling brilliance so as to communicate through extreme virtuosity, the simple joy of traversing the musical topography of the world with the eyes and ears of children.

One of the great piano masters of all time, Oscar Peterson scores on this wonderful collection of three discs. Put simply, if you are a fan, this is just what you expect from Mr. Peterson, top notch interpretations of a wide variety of classic songs. As they say, when Oscar plays it, oftentimes it's as though you've never heard it before!

Vinicius de Moraes was the lyricist for many of Antonio Carlos Jobim's most durable melodies, and his death in 1980 understandably dealt the great Brazilian composer a devastating blow. That he greatly missed de Moraes is quite obvious in this lovingly performed, posthumously released concert, recorded (upon the tenth anniversary of de Moraes' death) at Rio's Centro Cultural do Brasil with just a chamber-sized selection of players from Jobim's band of family and friends. A few well-known pieces are included - there is a very touching rendition of "Insensatez" that makes this often-played tune seem freshly minted - but most of the selections are among the less familiar fruits of the collaboration, along with a few songs that de Moraes wrote with Carlos Lyra and Toquinho…