Latin | Brazil Vinyl 428 Items

You know it's going to be a heavy record when DJ / collector Mr Thing asks you to keep a look out for a copy on your next digging trip to Brazil. Add on top of that, being sampled by Madlib on the track 'Curls’ on his Madvillain album!

Taken from Waldir Calmon's 'Waldir Calmon E Seus Multisons' album on Copacabana (1970), from looking at this unassuming record cover featuring a middle-aged man sporting an impressive pair of glasses you wouldn't expect it to become the fabric to one of the songs from the iconic 'Madvillain’ album. But… like many things in life, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. 'Airport Love Theme’, like its name suggests, falls into full-on lounge territory. It is feel-good music made to be the soundtrack for a utopian world that never really was. Yet behind the silky-smooth groove is an addictive earworm waiting to be heard.

'Afro Som' taken from the same album, pushes things in a different direction towards a sound that is more firmly rooted in the Brazilian tradition. This quirky 60's-breakbeat-funk groove is reminiscent of French artist Jean Jacques Perrey's 'E.V.A.', also from 1970, in its melody and backbeat, where the Moog synthesizer of Perrey is replaced with a more orchestrated sound by Calmon. This track is magical, cinematic and breakbeat-laden with a hidden unknown exoticism.

Waldir Calmon had an active career in music working from the '50s right up until his passing in 1982. His career started early, forming his first ensemble at the age of fourteen, originally working in bands in nightclubs and writing jingles. He progressed in the early '50s to a long-running career working in television. In addition to his television work, he had success with his recording vocation, mixing in the same musical circles as greats such as Tom Jobi, João Gilberto and Doris Monteiro.

Proudly presenting, ‘Калі ты запытаеш (If You Ask)’, a brand new, blissed-out pop production with a ‘70s AOR touch, by the ever-on-point Soyuz (союз). Coming at a period between albums, the single features guest appearances from the sensational musicians, Biel Basile (O Terno, Sessa) and Anthony Ferraro (Toro Y Moi, Astronauts, Etc.). Friends of the band, they add their signature touch on the drums and synth respectively. To complete the package, Soyuz back the title track with a short but sweet, Wurlitzer-laden, MPB-tinged number, ‘Tenório’.

‘Калі ты запытаеш (If You Ask)’ tells the story of lost dreams. A track that can be interpreted either as a bittersweet longing for childhood times, or for a native place you can’t return to. For the writer Alex Chumak he suggests, "In my case, as in the case of many Belarusians, it’s both".

For this song, Alex chose to sing in his native Belarusian tongue. As he explains this language "to me feels underrepresented in pop music, also it’s a beautiful legacy and sonority that I wanted to share with the listeners of our project around the world". One of the key inspirations was a Belarusian band “Песняры” (“Pesniary”), who produced a host of great progressive folk, jazz fusion and AOR, from the ‘70s to the ‘90s, predominantly sung in Belarusian.

Another key influence was the music coming out of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais in the ‘70s, drawing inspiration from the sentimental and harmonious music of Beto Guedes, Lô Borges, Fernando Oly and Wagner Tiso.

Having parted ways with their drummer Anton, Soyuz needed to find a new way to produce songs. The answer was to go remotely. Alex contacted the brilliant Biel Basile, who had recorded Sessa's contemporary classic ‘Estrela Acesa’, in which Alex also participated. Utilising Biel and Sessa’s newly built studio in São Paulo, Soyuz had Biel record the drums directly to tape to get the rich sound they were after. Adding the final magic into the mix, California’s Anthony Ferraro provided a beautiful Solina String Ensemble synth arrangement, with drummer/recording engineer Albert Karch expertly assisting with the production.

To capture the essence of the single visually, Alex and the Brazilian one-man-industry visual artist Gabriel Rolim, spent a blazing sunny May day in Berlin shooting film and stills – one of which became the perfect cover image. We hope you enjoy this little nugget of Soyuz mastery, a sweet taster to savour while the new album is recorded.

A sublime expedition from Brazil to the sky, “Modo Avião” (Airplane Mode) sees São Paulo based trio Caixa Cubo jet further forth from the lineage of Brazilian instrumental music.

Following in the footsteps of heroes like Azymuth, Antonio Adolfo, Cesar Mariano and Marcos Resende, with the tried and tested trifecta of synthesizers, bass and drums, Caixa Cubo have carved out their own idiosyncratic ideal of golden-era Brazilian jazz-funk and samba-jazz.

Encapsulating the vitality and experimentalism synonymous with Sao Paulo’s musical history, Caixa Cubo playfully straddle the elegant and the surreal, with masterful songwriting and the consummate musicianship of longtime friends and bandmates Henrique Gomide (keyboards) Noa Stroeter (bass) João Fideles (drums).

Caixa Cubo have been playing together for over 14 years - and that’s ‘playing’ in the truest sense of the word. As bassist Noa Stroeter explains:

“A story, a joke, images, invented words, people we met on tour, places, fictitious or not, have always been part of our creative process. And they are precious materials beyond the musical work itself. This dynamic has stayed with us to this day, and for me it is the characteristic that guarantees that no matter what, we will have fun working.”

Presenting a contemporary reimagining of Brazilian grooves from the 1970s, Modo Avião marks an evolution for Caixa Cubo’s music which delves deeper into the tradition of Brazilian instrumental music, while continuing to develop its rhythmic and harmonic possibilities. Utilising an extensive understanding of Brazilian music history and Brazilian rhythm in particular, the group explore the seemingly endless possibilities of fusing carnaval marches, frevo and Baião, with jazz, MPB and funk.

Recent Caixa Cubo releases include 2023’s “Agora”, which featured guest vocalists including Xênia França and Zé Leônidas; and 2020’s "Angela," which was hailed by BBC 6 Music, Gilles Peterson, and Bandcamp as one of the best albums of the year.

Caixa Cubo have performed at Jazzahead! in 2022 (Germany), Jazz à Vienne (France), Riverboat Jazz Festival (Denmark), Breda Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Blue Note São Paulo (Brazil) and Jazzkeller Frankfurt (Germany)

Helado Negro's This Is How You Smile, freely flickers between clarity and obscurity, past and present geographies, bright and unhurried seasons. A landmark release, This Is How You Smile embraces a personal and universal exploration of aura - seen, felt, and emitted - and showcases Roberto Carlos Lange's breezy, beautiful songwriting at its absolute best. This CD edition has been expanded with Live at KCRW, a full suite of songs recorded around the album's original 2019 release, updated artwork, and a high count of smile-inducing vibes.

First time vinyl reissue of this awesome 1978 Latin jazz-funk gem by Venezuelan guitarist Alex Rodríguez, featuring top musicians like Jorge Dalto, Nené Quintero and George Benson's band members Dennis Davis and Stanley Banks, among many others.Originally self-released and distributed in tiny quantities, "Búsqueda" has reached grail status among collectors worldwide. The album contains quite a few heaters for the dance floor, like 'El Mercado', and tight, keys and guitar punctuated fusion jams! (just check the groovy opener 'Cumana'.)Rodríguez is a classical and jazz trained guitarist who in the early days of his career joined some of the best orchestras in Venezuela, including Aldemaro Romero's Onda Nueva. He put together a brief project, La Retreta Mayor, in 1976 which only released one album and would later move to New York where he had the opportunity to record his own songs with renowned musicians of the city at that time, like Víctor Paz, Charlie Camalliari, Sam Burtis, Mario Bauza, Guillermo Edgil, Bernard Purdie, Jorge Dalto, among others.It took him a little more than a year writing the songs and preparing the material for "Busqueda" but in 1978 Alex Rodríguez would return to New York City. Jorge Dalto had spoken with Dennis Davis (drums), Stanley Banks (bass) who played together with George Benson, and Víctor Paz contacted Alex with Ronnie Cuber (saxes), an excellent saxophonist, who later recorded 'Cumana' on his own album "The Eleventh Day Of Aquarius".Before going to the recording studio they did a rehearsal to review the music, and the next day Dalto, Banks, Davis, Cuber and Alex Rodríguez were recording in the CBS studio on 52nd street in Manhattan.The production and mixing of the album were finished in Caracas, at Sono 2000 studios, with the participation of excellent Venezuelan musicians such as Nené Quintero, Lucio Caminiti, Edgar Saume, Carlos Acosta, Alberto Naranjo, Rolando Briceño, Leo and Frank Quintero, among others. The resulting album contains quite a few...

Record Store Day 2023 limited run / regional release limited to 1000 copies.
New one-off limited-edition heavyweight special-edition yellow vinyl pressing exclusively for Record Store Day 2023 of Soul Jazz Records’ Gipsy Rhumba: The Original Rhythm of Gipsy Rhumba in Spain 1965 – 1974, with a 28-page booklet and download code. The extensive booklet in this release contains definitive sleevenotes by the musicologist Jose Manuel Gómez, record designs and stunning photography from the celebrated photographer Jacques Leonard.

Soul Jazz Records’ Gipsy Rhumba is the first album outside of Spain to focus on one of the most exciting musical culture clashes ever. In the early 1960s, Gypsies from the Catalan region of Spain, primarily known as the creators of Flamenco, came up with a fascinating hybrid style – Gipsy Rhumba – which blended the Latin and Rhumba music of Cuba and the Caribbean together with their own Flamenco, as well as the emerging Rock ‘N’ Roll from America.

“A capsule of supercharged clapping and joyous vocals” -- The Guardian

“Must-have”. “You all know Gipsy Kings’ blend of flamenco and Latin rhythms … but where did this convergence of Latin music styles occur? This compilation demonstrates how mid-1960’s Barcelona hot-housed gypsy musicians who employed the rumba rhythm… Gipsy Rhumba unearths a forgotten corner of Europop.”-- The Sunday Times

“Musicologists aren’t the only ones who will enjoy pulling at the threads that bind this particular sound clash … Messing with the traditional form is daring at any time, but the result was something quite fantastic, potent and intriguing, full of marvelous grooves and compelling rhythms.”-- Irish Times

“A victory for gipsy party music… A collection worthy of conquering the world”--Dagens Nyheter, Sweden

“Punchy, rhythmic and popular …specialist Rhumba research starts here with this compilation released by the London Soul Jazz label. Another genre of pop history.” -- Junge Welt, Germany

Captain Planet has teamed up with 2 long-time collaborators (Zuzuka Poderosa & Raphael Futura) for a new Brazilian disco funk song, "Moqueca." The song harkens back to Brazil's legendary funk parties in the 70's and early 80's - where soundsystems bumped legends like Tim Maia, Sandra Da Sa & Gilberto Gil - while infusing some fresh contemporary energy and extra thump for today's dancefloors. Zuzuka's bright vocals bounce over a bubbly bassline, syncopated percussion and wormy vintage synthesizers, while an additional punch is brought in the form of horn arrangements by the prolific maestro Todd Simon, another frequent Captain Planet collaborator.

"Moqueca" takes inspiration from the Brazilian dish of the same name, a nationally famous fish stew that varies across the regions of Brazil. In her lyrics, Zuzuka talks about the origins and variations of Moqueca, starting with the style from Espirito Santo, her home state, and continuing to Moqueca Baiana, from Bahia, which incorporates African influences and ingredients. The result is a song that is as much an homage to Brazilian music as it is its food, culture and people.

In 1975, under the oppressive air of military dictatorship in Brazil, brothers Lelo and Zé Eduardo Nazario invited bassist Zeca Assumpção to join their musical experiments in a basement under Sao Paulo’s Teodoro Sampaio Street. As teenagers, the trio had already been playing together in Hermeto Pascoal’s Grupo, alongside guitarist Toninho Horta and saxophonist Nivaldo Ornelas, and it was while working together under Hermeto’s direction that the Paulista rhythm section (as they were then known) began to realise their own potential.

With many nightclubs and venues closed in the mid-70s and government censors dictating the output of radio, TV and art galleries, many Brazilian artists fled during the years of dictatorship. But underground, Grupo Um were fusing avant garde ideals with contemporary jazz and Afro Brazilian rhythm; making phenomenally free and expressive music - in stark contrast to the sterile, conservative conditions being imposed above ground.

Just like Hermeto Pascoal’s Viajando Com O Som from the following year, Starting Point was recorded over two days at Vice-Versa Studios, by revered engineer Renato Viola. The studio was one of the best in Sao Paulo and musicians communicated with engineers through cameras and a monitor, allowing the group complete immersion in the process. They also made use of the studio’s hemispherical tiled room, which served as an acoustic reverberation chamber.

The album begins with Zé Eduardo Nazario’s thunderous drum solo on “Porão da Teodoro”, before clearing the clouds with the lone Berimbau which opens “Onze Por Oito”. Built around a hypnotic electric bass line, heady Fender Rhodes improvisations, and more rip-roaring drums, it’s a rapturous, electrifying freak-jam in 11/8.

Like some invertebrate deep-sea curiosity, the free-form “Organica” is made up of Lelo Nazario’s playfully eerie prepared piano, with Zé Eduardo’s percussion flurries darting around Assumpçao’s double bass. The equally non-conformist, percussion-only piece “Jardim Candida” features many of Zé Eduardo’s home-made instruments, including a long saw blade played with vibraphone sticks and violin bow. While working with Hermeto, Zé Eduardo famously built his own all-in-one percussion set-up known as the “Barraca de Percussão” (Percussion Tent) - the first of its kind in Brazil, which he would also use on Hermeto Pascoal’s Viajando Com O Som and throughout his career.

“Suite Orquidea Negra'' (Black Orchid Suite) was written by Lelo Nazario as the score for an imaginary movie - the story of a rare, black orchid which produced a substance meant to cure all diseases, but which had mysteriously disappeared from the laboratory… “As a screenplay it’s not very good” reflects Lelo in jest, “but the music ended up being very interesting, the way its parts are chained to one another carries a little of the mystery I imagined for the movie.”

The album closes with the triumphant “Cortejo dos Reis Negros” (Procession of Black Kings) - a groovy variation on the Maracatu rhythm, with a two-note bassline underpinning piano improvisations, exultant wordless vocals, cuicas, slide-whistles and a very special guest appearance from Zé’s dog Bolinha.

Starting Point was to mark the inception of one of Brazil’s most daring instrumental groups. Their debut now sits in the lofty echelon of otherworldly 70s Brazilian music, alongside the likes of Marcos Resende & Index’s self-titled debut, Cesar Mariano & Cia’s Sao Paulo Brasil, Azymuth’s debut and indeed Hermeto Pascoal’s Viajando Com O Som. But just like all of those titles, which were either shelved or largely ignored at the time, Grupo Um - so radically ahead of their time - struggled to find a label to release their debut album. So Lelo kept the tapes safe in his archives, which is where they sat for almost half a century. Finally, almost fifty years later, this mesmerising piece of history is here, and it was only the beginning...

The time has come again: Another edition of the much-loved and highly praised by critics from all around the globe compilation «Paz E Futebol» will be released on Sonar Kollektiv. After 2006 and 2016 this is already the third sequel of this terrific series of light-footed Brazilian gems and other rarities transporting the Brazilian feel for the ball musically.

Two times Jazzanova took care of the collection, now Junior Santos is responsible for digging up the tunes. The Brazilian drummer and producer is a true expert when it comes to Brazilian music. He already caught the attention of Jazzanova’s Jürgen von Knoblauch with the 2014 released compilation «Brazilian Disco Boogie Sounds (1978-1982)» on Favorite Recordings. Together the two diggers selected eight songs that fit simply perfectly. Due to licensing reasons, the digital compilation features 2 additional songs. Chico de Abreu and an unreleased track by Beto Luiz called "Uma Canção Que Fale” chosen by Juergen von Knoblauch.. Although the contributions originate from three different decades (1979 - 1992) they all have the discoid and boogiesque vibe in common mainly to come alive in productions from Maranhão, Rio and Bahia.

The release is accompanied by extensive liner notes by Junior Santos (in Portuguese and English). Just now in the colder and greyer season this compilation is great fun and radiates so much joy like only Brazilian music can.

Still untouched by human settlement barely 500 years ago, the islands of the Southwest Indian Ocean, Mauritius, Reunion Island, Rodrigues and the Seychelles were colonized by Europeans (French, English and Dutch) from the end of the 16th century on and operated as trading posts on the Indian route. Slaves were deported from Africa and Madagascar to cultivate coffee, spices and sugar cane. On the margins of the plantations, during clandestine gatherings, they exorcised their daily lives through percussion, singing and dancing. It is the tschiéga, chéga or sega, from Mozambique and Malagasy influence.

The gradual appropriation by the Creole populations of Western instruments and European melodic traditions (quadrilles, waltzes, polkas, scottish, romances, mazurkas), as well as the cultural contribution of committed workers from India laid the foundations of the modern sega.

This crossroads of influences was to continue to grow, especially from the 1950s, when the first phonographs arrived, playing all kinds of varieties but also jazz, soul, rock'n'roll, and even Cuban or Brazilian music.

For the Sega, these were the first steps towards a period of intense creativity that would cover the 1960s and 1970s. Amplified instruments arrived, and electric guitars, basses, drums and keyboards quickly replaced violins and accordions. Record production exploded and saw the advent of many micro-labels featuring genius arrangers such as Marclaine Antoine, Gérard Cimiotti, Eric Nelson, Claude Vinh San, or Narmine Ducap who explored the Sega in its many facets. Psychedelic keyboards, fuzz guitars and undulating basses invited themselves on the furious ternary polyrhythms of drums, ravannes, bongos, claves, triangles and maracas, to produce a unique style.

Here are some pearls from this golden age of the segas of Mauritius, Seychelles and Reunion Island that are compiled in this volume 2 for our greatest pleasure!

This new 7-inch by S-tone Inc., that includes two brand new tracks, confirms Stefano Tirone’s 20-year old collaboration with Brazilian songwriter Toco. “Try My Love” is a fluid, relaxed and dreamy funk song that blends soul jazz with a ‘70s downtempo drumming groove. “Odoya”, featuring Toco on vocals, is a bit more faster composition, that would perfectly fit as a soundtrack of a typical Italian police movie from the same decade! Simply fantastic!

Stefano Tirone is an eclectic artist, open to a wide range of different music genres. This new 7-inch, that includes two brand new tracks, confirms his 20-year old collaboration with Brazilian songwriter Toco. Working on these songs for Stefano was like going back to the years when he used to listen to Acid Jazz music, especially to the records produced by the Mizell brothers. Their influence here is obvious from the first notes: the funk in “Try My Love” is not as high-fueled as in James Brown’s songs but, as the legendary brothers taught us, by blending a hint of soul jazz with the ‘70s downtempo drumming groove, we get a fluid brew, relaxed and dreamy. This is exactly what “Try My Love” is about. “Odoya”, featuring Toco on vocals, is a bit more faster composition, that would perfectly fit as a soundtrack of a typical Italian police movie from the same decade! Simply fantastic! - - - Stefano Tirone è un artista eclettico e aperto a una vasta gamma di generi musicali. Questo suo nuovo 45 giri, che contiene due nuove tracce, conferma la sua ventennale collaborazione con il cantautore brasiliano Toco. Lavorare a queste canzoni è stato per Stefano come volgere lo sguardo agli anni in cui era solito ascoltare dischi della scena Acid Jazz, specialmente quelli prodotti dai fratelli Mizell. La loro influenza è evidente sin dalle prime note: il funk di “Try My Love” non è carico di energia come quello di James Brown ma, come i leggendari fratelli ci hanno insegnato, dall’unione di un pizzico di soul jazz con il groove di batteria ‘downtempo’ tipico degli anni ‘70 otteniamo una miscela fluida, rilassata e sognante. Esattamente ciò che si respira in “Try My Love”. “Odoya”, brano che vede la partecipazione di Toco alla voce, è una composizione dal ritmo leggermente più sostenuto, perfetta come colonna sonora di un tipico ‘poliziottesco’ italiano! Eccezionale!

Two sun shine soaked, Latin infused Eddie Palmieri joints from the 1978 album Lucumi, Macumba, Voodoo get the official, remastered reissue treatment – with original copies of the 7” trading hands for upwards of £60.
Born in New York to Puerto Rican parents, multi Grammy award winner Palmieri is a stratospheric salsa master. And for the Lucumi, Macumba, Voodoo LP he assembled a powerhouse, 30 strong jazz orchestra, featuring the likes of Dom um Romao, Steve Khan, Lew Soloff, Jon Faddis, Hiram Bullock and Palmieri’s brother Charlie.
In an era dominated by disco, ‘Spirit Of Love’ took to the dancefloor, drawing on the glamour and magnetism of the late ‘70s. Palmieri’s distinctive style still weaves its way through though, melding Afro-Caribbean rhythms with modern jazz. ‘Spirit Of Love’ is full to the brim with striking vocals, cow bells and big horn sections, blended with psychedelic guitars that riff off against clavinet touches and expressive Montunos melodies. Spirit of the salsa, for the disco dancer!
On the flip ‘Lucumi, Macumba, Voodoo’ is a masterpiece of Latin fusion, with Palmieri’s unique arrangements squeezing that Puerto Rican flavour out of every added instrument. Trumpet blasts and sax solos marry with woops and whistles and Latin chants. Couple that with sensuous piano melodies and irresistible percussive elements and it’s a recipe of Caribbean spice that’ll liven up any record collection.

The Tropicália art movement of the late 1960s, with flourishes in visual art, poetry, theatre and music, is one of Brazil’s most adored cultural concoctions. It was a movement which began out of necessity, shortly after a repressive military dictatorship seized power after 20 years of peaceful democracy. The term Tropicália first came from the mind of Brazilian visual artist Hélio Oiticica, whose eponymous piece consisted of a sandy maze bordered by tropical Brazilian flora and, at the end, a television set.

Through satirizing symbols of their homeland and rejecting a pre-established national culture, the Tropicalists constructed a new form of “aggressive nationalism” outside of an innately anti-imperialist Left and an unthinkingly patriotic Right. By refusing to accept underdevelopment as their identity and excitedly “devouring” disparate culture (low and high brow, domestic and foreign, etc.), the Tropicalists carved out a unifying creative space, a universal sound, different from the older, bourgeois bossa nova movement and the newer, undiscerning rock movement.

Caetano Veloso’s self-titled debut solo album is one of the most important and influential Brazilian (and, dare we say, South American) albums of all time. With the release of this seminal album, Veloso would become the leading voice of Tropicália.

The songs on this album immediately connected with people. Alegria, Algeria was his breakout hit that gained traction as a hymn for liberty advocates, juxtaposing images of Coca Cola, guerrilla groups, bombs and Brigitte Bardot as part of the everyday experience. The album’s first song Tropicália was an anthem for the whole movement; it’s a fragmented allegory, a structure borrowed from friends

in the concrete poetry scene, touching on divergent cultural symbols, events, allusions and idioms, nimbly representing and critiquing the many contradictions in the new Brazilian dictatorship.

Superbacana (translated as “Supergroovy”) follows a hyperbolic superhero’s use of technology to fight a gang of cowboys led by the money-hungry Uncle Scrooge, serving as allusions to American imperialism and greed felt in their country, all in the rapid-fire structure of a comic book. The subtext in all these songs, which the dictatorship would not immediately catch, were that these repressed but glaring contradictions, not the bountiful sunny paradise that the military regime was pushing, were the true national identity.

Unfortunately, these cleverly veiled jabs in Veloso and his contemporaries’ bodies of work gained greater and greater exposure as the movement became more and more popular, leading to the arrest, imprisonment and forced exile of Veloso and many of his cohort. Despite these difficulties, the Tropicalists continued creating in exile, strongly influencing artists both at home and abroad.

This is the first authorized North American vinyl issue of Caetano Veloso. Whether you’re a longtime fan or first-time listener, Third Man Records could not be more proud to spread the compelling story of this album, this artist and the Tropicália movement.