Joyce Moreno (known mononymously simply as Joyce in Brazil) is one of the country’s finest exports, bringing a sultry and joyful voice to bossa nova, Música Popular Brasileira and jazz. She’s been covered by artists like Annie Lennox, Gerry Mulligan and Omara Portuondo, but this piece, a one-track opus, is Continue Reading
Brazil
Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo – Só Não Toca Quem Não quer (1987) – Remastered
Brazil’s finest living export (to my ears, anyway) has been quite active over the past few years, but it’s nice to see some forgotten releases getting some exposure. The personnel on this album plays some wonderfully, uniquely Brazilian fusion. Hermeto Pascoal: Bandola, Piano, Teclados (Keyboard), Flugelhorn, Harmonium, Flauta Baixo (Bass Continue Reading
Nyokabi Kariuki – Peace Places: Kenyan Memories
When I hear the words Avant-garde in relation to contemporary classical music, I think normally of some me composers who pull out old, clichéd tropes. This release from Kenyan composer Nyokabi Kariuki is so stunningly weird that the album has given itself the right to be termed Avant-garde correctly.
Hermeto Pascoal – Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo
As magnificently weird as most Hermeto Pascoal albums are, this one holds a special place in my heart, as it sounds like a more Amazonian Mahavishnu Orchestra jamming with Bill Bruford, Jeff Berlin and maintaining a healthy jazz thread all the while.
Gui Duvignau – Baden
Bassist and composer Gui Duvignau was born in France, but raised in Brazil. In his latest album, he interprets some classic work by the legendary Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, whose work left an indelible mark on the samba and bossa nova scene worldwide.
Jeff Gburek + George Christian – Thrown Extremes
During the next few weeks, I’ll be catching up on releases I could not get to in 2021. This one is really a gem that I’m surprised I didn’t get to earlier, but thanks to Jeff Gburek reminding me of it, I can happily present this release he did in Continue Reading
Kawol Samarqandi and George Christian – Telegraph Paths
The Internet, for all the garbage one finds on it, amazes me some days. This album, a collaboration of a friend of the blog, George Christian (out of Brazil), collaborates with Kawol Samarqandi (based in Japan) and release this collection on a Spanish record label, Bestiar and an Australian label, Continue Reading
Alex Malheiros – Tempos Futuros
The London-based record label Far Out Recordings is killing me a little these days! I was honored to receive tracks from Alex Malheiros’ new album, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be picking it up on disc, but I loathe having to wait too long such treasures to come out. Still, Continue Reading
SHAPER – More Remixes
Every now and then, a crunchy, loud, nearly abrasive (but pleasantly so) release is needed to shake me out of having too much calm in my day. Our dear friends at Porto Alegre’s finest experimental label, The Church of Noisy Goat have released another heavy release full of rough post-Industrial Continue Reading
Various Artists – The Psychedelic Sounds of The Blog That Celebrates Itself, Volume II
The Blog That Celebrates Itself was a website and record label based out of São Paolo, Brazil which dedicates itself to promoting shoegaze and other underground artists from all over the world, of course specializing in young Brazilian acts. This particular comp leans more towards pop-psych music, with covers from Continue Reading