Wonderful reissue from an old LP recorded with the sensitive Italian singer Ornala Vanoni together with Brazilian composer/poet/singer Vinícius de Moraes and his partner Toquinho. De Moraes is the composer of most of the lyrics covered in this Italian-sung album. There are fundamental songs here, such as "Sinal Fechado" ("Semaforo Rosso" in the Italian version), a classic by Paulinho Da Viola that was not found in bossa records very often - there was some animosity between the bossa party and the samba composers of the Carioca hills like Da Viola. It has an exquisite, unique melody, nevertheless. There are also de Moraes partnerships with names such as Jobim and Baden Powell, all splendid songs…

In the '70s, Badrena not only worked for several years with Weather Report, at that point one of the top modern jazz attractions, but also toured with the Rolling Stones as a supplemental percussionist. His credits on Zawinul albums such as Heavy Weather did more toward insuring ongoing employment then the wiggle of Mick Jagger's hips to a bongo, however. The association with so-called classic Weather Report led to sunny days with players such as Steve Khan and unfortunately to participation in the drek of Spyro Gyra as well.

A selection of twenty-nine emblematic tracks celebrates eight years of musical research and experimentation featuring Cuba’s musical avant-garde under the curation of Gilles Peterson with the backing of the Havana Cultura project. In 2008, DJ and globetrotter Gilles Peterson was approached by the melomaniac at the helm of Havana Cultura - an initiative to showcase and support Cuban creativity by Cuban rum maker Havana Club, - inviting him to Cuba to check out Havana's underground music scene with a view to making an album. While some might associate Cuba simply with salsa or Buena Vista Social Club, there was a new generation of artists teeming with new sounds, waiting for an opportunity to reveal their talent to the world…

Cuban alto saxophonist Yosvany Terry Cabrera's recording debut as a leader is an impressive affair. A young man already well in command of his main instrument, Cabrera's stunning palette of colors in his original compositions is wide-ranging. One of the many highlights is the lively, often humorous "El Burlón" (The Joker), which even tosses in a tongue-in-cheek quote from Thelonious Monk. The tension within the insistent "This Is It" features compelling solos by Cabrera and trumpeter Avishai Cohen. Bassist Yunior Terry Cabrera (the leader's brother) contributed "The Crying" and introduces it with a moody bass solo that sets the tone for his haunting ballad. The rhythmically complex "Subversive" showcases guitarist Mike Moreno, while the leader works a bit of Charlie Parker into his solo…

A master conguero, Santamaria at his best creates an incantatory spell rooted in Cuban religious rituals, quietly seating himself before his congas and soloing with total command over the rhythmic spaces between the beats while his band pumps out an endless vamp.

Tenor saxophonist/violinist Jose "Chombo" Silva was supposed to record with Jerry Gonzalez's Fort Apache Band, but a stroke in 1994 ended his career and (a year later) his life. Rumbajazz is a tribute to the late Chombo, consisting mostly of songs that he had previously recorded (including "Perfidia," "Perdido," "Mongorama," and "Guajira at the Blackhawk") plus a few tributes. Victor Payano and David Sanchez are heard on tenors, Ricardo Davia Canino plays violin on one song, and the other musicians include bassist Andy Gonzalez, trumpeter Jerry Gonzalez, and various percussionists. There are also two trios by the Gonzalez brothers and drummer Jimmy Rivera. A lightly swinging set of melodic music.

Chucho Valdes, Cuba's most famous jazz musician, has rebalanced the repertoire of his Afro-Cuban Messengers on Border-Free, mixing its American-jazz agenda (the group's name deliberately references both Valdes' roots and the late Art Blakey's classic soul-bop Jazz Messengers group) with more extended Latin-American input, and some Native American and Andalusian connections, too. Saxophonist Branford Marsalis, guesting on three tracks, is warmly romantic on tenor on the loping Tabu, agile and fluent on the Cuban dance-shuffle Bebo, and mercurial on a soprano-sax break full of north African microtonalisms on the hurtling, horn-hooting finale, Abdel.

Africa and Latin America together have moulded American popular music since the beginning of the twentieth century. African influences have led to the development of jazz, gospel and blues while successive waves of dance music from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Jamaica have largely determined its rhythm. Dance forms and musical stylings such as habanera, bolero, tango, rumba, conga, samba, baion, calypso, mambo, charleston, cha-cha-cha, bossa nova and twistall have their origins outside the USA. This compilation aims to demonstrate just how far back the roots of Latin jazz stretch, well beyond the partnership that Dizzy Gillespie forged with Chano Pozo in founding cubop, the post-war marriage of bebop with Cuban music.

With this strong, mainly Latin influenced debut, add a chapter on Erquiaga to the book of smooth and breezy, and slightly exotic, smooth jazz guitar. Produced by Andy Narell and featuring Narell's steel pans on one cut and the jamming support of Peter Erskine, Jimmy Johnson, Bob Sheppard, and Mitch Forman, this collection goes down smooth and easy. There are moments of frenetic inspiration, but for the most part, it's more of that nice and easy pop jazz with Latin spice. An impressive debut from an artist we unfortunately didn't hear enough of as the '90s rolled by.

Quarteto Brasil is made up of four veteran Brazilian musicians, with a fifth as an added guest on several tracks. Led by pianist Cristуvгo Bastos, who also wrote and arranged most of the compositions played on the session, the group includes saxophonist Ze Canuto (who plays soprano and alto), bassist Bororo (listed as an acoustic bassist, though it sounds like he's using an electric bass), drummer Jurim Moreira and percussionist Marcalzinho. This disc is not typical bossa nova, as the musicians are very forward thinking and take plenty of chances, especially in Bastos' engaging "Subdindo a Rocinha."

This is a remarkably consistent set flowing naturally from one tune to another…The contributions from pianists Eduardo Simon, and Mark Soskins and from New Orleans drummer Ricky Sebastian are superb, providing a consistently subtle and sympathetic backdrop to Mann's flute…It is a rewarding listen; gentle, lyrical and very well produced. If you like your Jobim you won't go wrong here.

Recorded live in Zurich, this is one of the finest recordings by Jerry Gonzalez & the Fort Apache Band. Mixing together bop and post-bop with Latin jazz, Gonzalez's ten-piece group consists of his trumpet and congas, tenor saxophonist John Stubblefield, trombonist Papo Vasquez, pianist Larry Willis and a six-piece rhythm section including four percussionists. Gonzalez and his band show that it is possible to turn even such numbers as "Nefertiti," Miles Davis' "Eighty-One" and Thelonious Monk's "Jackie-Ing" into heated Afro-Cuban jazz.

Sergio Mendes took a deep breath, expanded his sound to include strings lavishly arranged by the young Dave Grusin and Dick Hazard, went further into Brazil, and out came a gorgeous record of Brasil '66 at the peak of its form. Here Mendes released himself from any reliance upon Antonio Carlos Jobim and rounded up a wealth of truly great material from Brazilian fellow travelers: Gilberto Gil's jet-propelled "Roda" and Joao Donato's clever "The Frog," Dori Caymmi's stunningly beautiful "Like a Lover," Harold Lobo's carnival-esque "Tristeza," and Mendes himself (the haunting "So Many Stars" and the title track). Mendes was also hip enough to include "With a Little Help From My Friends" from the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper LP…

The mark that the recording of Caravanserai and Love Devotion Surrender had left on Carlos Santana was monumental. The issue of Welcome, the band's fifth album and its first with the new lineup, was a very ambitious affair and was regarded by traditional fans of Santana with even more strangeness than its two predecessors. However, issued as it was at the end of 1973, after Miles had won a Grammy for Bitches Brew and after Weather Report, Return to Forever, and Seventh House had begun to win audiences from the restless pool of rock fans, Santana began to attract the attention of critics as well as jazz fans seeking something outside of the soul-jazz and free jazz realms for sustenance. The vibe that carried over from the previously mentioned two albums plus the addition of vocalist Leon Thomas to the fold added a bluesy, tougher edge to the sound showcased on Caravanserai.