Cristina Branco is a critically acclaimed Portuguese fado artist who has mesmerized audiences worldwide with her soulful voice and profound musicality. With a career spanning over two decades, Branco has released numerous successful albums, captivating listeners with her unique interpretations of traditional fado and her exploration of contemporary musical expressions. Recognized for her exceptional artistry, Branco has garnered international acclaim and established herself as a leading figure in the world of fado. With an unwavering passion for traditional fado, she delivers a poignant homage to this emblematic musical genre deeply ingrained in Portuguese culture. Mark your calendars for her upcoming 18th studio album, “Mãe” (“Mother”) release on September 22nd.

Bebel Gilberto releases her new album via [PIAS] Recordings. Entitled Joao, the album is a collection of songs made famous by her father João Gilberto, widely regarded as the “father of Bossa Nova music. João Gilberto passed away in 2019 after a 70 year career in music. Bebel began singing with him as a small child and the songs she sings on this new album have been with her all her life. Says Bebel- "João" is a love letter to my father. Since my first album I've never really covered any of my Dad's music. Now it's time to present to the public the songs from João Gilberto that have influenced me since I was born- and even before”.

Two Brazilian artists pay tribute to Villa-Lobos and the Amazon rainforest… Sebastião Salgado is a world-renowned photographer who has been working since the 1990s to protect and restore the Atlantic forest and water resources of the Rio Doce valley in Brazil. The Italian-Brazilian conductor Simone Menezes is passionate about the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos and his symphonic poem Floresta do Amazonas, for which she created a suite for large orchestra and soprano. Together they travel the world to present an exhibition of Salgado's photographs, combined with concerts conducted by Simone in which the photographs are projected, the photographer having associated each musical phrase with one of his images… The music of this monumental project has been recorded with the Philharmonia Zürich and soprano Camila Provenzale. Ten photos by Salgado, each more striking than the last, are included in the booklet that accompanies this recording, which is completed by another tribute to Amazonian nature, by Philip Glass, with an extract from his Aguas da Amazonia.

A sublime 70s session from Moacir Santos - a set that mixes the complex grooves he forged in 60s Brazil with the warmly jazzy sound of American fusion - all in a result that's totally unique! The album's quite different than any other electric Brazilian sets recorded in the US at the time - a complex album that's filled with soul and imagination - and not just an electrification of earlier styles from Brazil. Santos' vision here is wonderful - and he works with his own arrangements, and key help from producer Dale Oehler - who knows how to bring in all the right electric elements without losing the edge of Moacir's music. Players are great too - and include Jerome Richardson on soprano sax, Oscar Brashear on trumpet, Don Menza on tenor, Gary Foster on alto, Larry Nash on Fender Rhodes, Clare Fischer on piano, and Jerry Peters on organ…

Terra feels like an attempt to move Mariza into the musical mainstream. She's already established herself at the forefront of fado, as one of the leading performers of the emotive Portuguese style, and there's no doubt she possesses a wonderful voice. But the addition of several guests, such as Chucho Valdés, Ivan Lins, and Tito Paris (among others) seems to open up the seams between fado and other genres, including Brazilian music and jazz. It does so relatively subtly, and she keeps her base pretty firmly in fado (witness the glorious "Ja Me Deixou"). Her duet with Paris on "Beijo de Saudade" is a highlight, and the voices play off each other gloriously, hers pure and clear, his gruff and harsh. Ultimately, the question is whether it all works, and it does, because it doesn't try to do too much, just a small re-positioning, although what the future will bring remains to be seen.

Hot off her 2022 GRAMMY win for Best Latin Jazz Album, Mirror Mirrorwith Chick Corea and Chucho Valdés, superstar pianist, singer, composer and arranger Eliane Elias returns to her Brazilian bossa nova roots with her forthcoming album Quietude. A luscious collection showcasing her alluring vocals with her virtuosic instrumental jazz and piano mastery, the recording features songs by such legendary composers as Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Dorival Caymmi along with Dori Caymmi who joins her on vocals for the closing track of the recording.

The title here is an ironic one. Hard Bossa is not "hard" at all. In fact, it is a low-key, gentle affair that has elements of breezy MPB, some Alcione-style samba, and some dreamy and jazzy bossa, and it flows from top to bottom. Joyce's softness and bounciness are everywhere present, and her guitar playing is as sharp as ever. Backed by a band that includes Tutty Moreno on drums and percussion, Lula Galvao on guitars, and upright bassist Jorge Helder, Joyce also employs the wonderful Ana Martins (who comes off sounding like a young Elis Regina) to sing lead on "Todos Os Santos," and vocalist Paulo César Pinheiro (who is her writing partner on most of these tracks), who sings lead on "Nome de Guerra." Joyce wrote or co-wrote everything on the set, and the romantic "Crianca," the shimmering "Juparana," the scattish title track, and the nostalgic "London Samba" are standouts…

On her first album, Fado em Mim, Mariza covered four songs by the late queen of fado, Amália Rodrigues, drawing a specific parallel to her predecessor. On her second album, Fado Curvo, she covers only one, "Primavera," which may suggest that she is starting to put her inspiration behind her. But she remains true to the traditional sound and mood of fado, even if the album title implies that she is giving it her own twist. Producer Carlos Maria Trindade provides spare, acoustic, and rhythmic arrangements, focusing on the Portuguese guitar of Mário Pacheco, but for the most part he stays out of the singer's way, using the accompaniment merely to anchor her expressive vocals.

Moacir Santos is a Brazilian composer, arranger and saxophonist from the first team of Brazilian Jazz. He's one of those artists who are underrated by the big audiences but widely known by those who appreciate inspiration, beauty, intelligence when applicable to music composition and arrangement. This is the second of his three albums for Blue Note Records. A natural follower to the first "The Maestro" (from 1972), also a memorable album with the unique Santos' way of doing the thing what includes an intricate shape of samba, an uncommon way of dividing that is unique in his compositions, a kind of registered mark which identifies Santos…

Back in 1964, saxophonist Stan Getz made one of those perfect albums. He teamed up with famed Brazilian songwriters and guitarists, Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim, and delivered one of the best records in his career: Gezt/Gilberto (Verve, 1964). The combination of the wistfully vibrant bossa nova and the sensual saxophone sound of Getz proved to be irresistible. History has a way of repeating itself and now it is time for yet another crucial meeting between a group of Brazilian musicians and an American saxophonist. Harry Allen could be considered one of the most prominent heirs to the sound of Getz, so it was only a matter of time before he would find the ideal partner to make an album with a perfect Brazilian sound. In fact, his partner found him. In the elaborate notes to the album Something About Jobim, producer and bassist, Rodolfo Stroeter, tells the story of the album. When his good friend, record producer Søren Friis of Stunt Records, gave him a bunch of records to listen to, one of them especially caught his attention.

Granted, the four separate versions of Viva! La Woman's sublime "Sugar Water" are unnecessary, but the rest of the material on Cibo Matto's follow-up EP Super Relax is superb. No longer relying solely on Yuka Honda's slice-and-dice samples, the duo's sound is considerably more organic this time out; "Spoon" locks into an infectious groove worthy of Luscious Jackson, while the live "BBQ" is breathlessly manic. The highlights, however, are the two covers: the first, a rendition of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Aguas de Marco" (also found on the benefit LP Red Hot and Latin) opens up a vast new global playground of exotic textures and rhythms for the group to romp around in, while their exemplary take on the Stones' "Sing This All Together" proves Honda and vocalist Miho Hatori are equally capable of tackling straightforward rock and roll.