Genre > Latin

Track Listing:

1. Dom Quixote
2. Não Vá Se Perder por Aí
3. Dia 36
4. Dois Mil E Um
5. Algo Mais
6. Fuga No. II
7. Banho de Lua (Tintarella di Luna)
8. Rita Lee
9. Mágica
10. Qualquer Bobagem
11. Caminhante Noturno

Originally released in 1969, Gal Costa's second album is one of the finest releases to come out of Brazil's Tropicalia movement. Featuring song writing and vocal help from two of the original Tropicalismos, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa flows effortlessly between shredding psychedelia and smooth bossa nova. An essential record for anyone that appreciates the far reaches of Brazilian popular music. Includes the classic tracks "Baby" and "Não Identificado."

Gal Costa Gal Costa Track Listing

1. Não Identificado
2. Sebastiana
3. Lost in the Paradise
4. Namorinho de Port
5. Saudosismo
6. Se Vocensa
7. Vou Recomecar
8. Divino, Maravilhoso
9. Que Pena (Ela Ja NGosta Mais de Mim)
10. Baby
11. Coisa Mais Linda Que Existe
12. Deus O Amor

On Rokia Traoré’s 2005 Nonesuch debut, Bowmboi, the Malian-born, European-bred singer and songwriter drew inspiration from the rich musical legacy of her homeland, but added a decidedly contemporary lyrical sensibility and a sophisticated persona. Her shaven-head look was as elegantly spare and immediately striking as the arrangements of her songs. Ali Farka Touré, the legendary Malian bluesman, had been one of her earliest champions, and European audiences eagerly embraced her. The Washington Post compared Traoré to Paul Simon: “Bowmboi is dominated by acoustic instruments and is built upon musical traditions that would have been familiar to her great-grandparents in Mali. But the singer transforms those source materials as thoroughly as Simon might; she surrounds her melodies with odd, moody harmonies and infuses her lyrics with irony and nuance.”

On Tchamantché (cha-MAHN-chay — meaning “the middle,” or figuratively, “the search for a balanced path in life”), Traoré swaps her acoustic guitar for a vintage Gretsch while still employing the almost otherworldly sound of the ngoni, a traditional, lute-like instrument. She overlays her vocals with feathery harmonies and gives each track a hypnotic, percussive groove. The results are mesmerizing, hauntingly stripped-down, with more overt connections to the blues and jazz that Traoré has long admired. In fact, she performs a stunning rendition of the Billie Holiday classic, “The Man I Love,” transforming the song into a kind of brooding blues. The fierce intelligence, musical daring and emotional candor she displays suggest nothing less than a young Nina Simone.

From the start, Traoré has been an iconoclast as record-maker and performer: She invited label-mates Kronos Quartet to guest-star on two tracks from Bowmboi. The director Peter Sellars, a frequent John Adams collaborator, asked Traoré last year to join his Mozart-themed New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna, where, in a theatrical presentation, she re-imagined Mozart as an African griot. Traoré spent the summer playing with a western-style rhythm section at various European festivals. She will be bringing her latest songs to North America in early 2009. Though Tchamantché has deep roots, Traoré isn’t anchored to tradition, or even to the sound of her past recordings. As she says,“I wanted a new beginning. As if I was someone just starting their career. I love new experiments and trying to do things differently. I wanted to take that Gretsch sound and do everything in a different way.”

Rokia Traore Tchamantche Track Listing

1. Dounia
2. Dianfa
3. Zen
4. Aimer
5. Kounandi
6. Koronoko
7. Tounka
8. Tchamantché
9. A Ou Ni Sou
10. The Man I Love

Though he's been off the scene for many years, Joe Bataan is back in great form with this excellent new hard-core Latin Soul release from Vampisoul. Joining Joe for this special project is the Barcelona based Latin funk group Los Fulanos. With the King Of Latin Soul, Mr. New York revisits and revamps some of his most beloved anthems as well as some more obscure numbers. And with avid fans all over the world, this "Ordinary Guy" is poised to bring his extraordinary message of "Peace, Friendship, Solidarity" to a new generation for the first time, as well as once again to the old folks who never forgot him in the first place. Salsoul indeed!.

Joe Bataan With Los Fulanos The King Of Latin Soul Track Listing

1. The Bottle
2. Johnny's No Good
3. Special Girl
4. Latin Soul Square Dance
5. Gipsy Woman
6. Rap-o-clap-o 2008
7. Subway Joe
8. I Wish You Love
9. Mestizo
10. Puerto Rico Me Llama

Track Listing:

1. Introduction Theme
2. Descargo Fania
3. Anacaona
4. Quitate Tu

Track Listing:

Side One

1. Top Top
2. Benvinda
3. Tecnicolor
4. El Justiciers
5. It's Very Nice
6. Portugal De Navio

Side Two

1. Virginia
2. Jardim Electrico
3. Lady, Lady
4. Sarava
5. Baby

Track Listing:

Side One

1. Top Top
2. Benvinda
3. Tecnicolor
4. El Justiciers
5. It's Very Nice
6. Portugal De Navio

Side Two

1. Virginia
2. Jardim Electrico
3. Lady, Lady
4. Sarava
5. Baby

Track Listing:

1. Trompeta Toccata
2. Night Watch
3. Mamacita
4. The Fox

Originally released in 1970, Forca Bruta is an absolute classic from one of Brazil's most consistently great artists. Despite being embraced by the Tropicalia movement (with Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa both covering his songs) there is no psychedelic meandering to be found within these grooves, this set is pure samba-soul. Jorge Ben is backed here by the innovative Trio Mocotó who never overplay and allow his soulful vocal delivery and samba guitar to be the centerpieces.

Jorge Ben Forca Bruta Track Listing

1. Oba la Vem Ela
2. Ze Canjica
3. Domenica Domingava Num Domingo Toda de Branco
4. Charles Junior
5. Pulo, Pulo
6. Apareceu Aparecida
7. O Telefone Tocou Novamente
8. Mulher Brasileira
9. Terezinha
10. Forca Bruta

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