Marcos Valle was the Renaissance man of Brazilian pop, a singer/songwriter/producer who straddled the country's music world from the early days of the bossa nova craze well into the fusion-soaked sound of '80s MPB. Though his reputation in America never quite compared to contemporaries like Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, or even Tom Ze, Valle is one of the most important and popular performers in the history of Brazilian pop.

A master of the Brazilian guitar, not to mention the greatest guitarist of the 20th century in the whole of South America… This solo recital by Baden Powell was recorded in Belgium at the 1987 International Guitar Festival that took place in Liège, where Powell took his listeners beyond the frontiers of bossa nova and into the realms of jazz, classical music and the best of MPB, the name of popular music in Brazil. The result is nothing less than a rare artistic accomplishment that combines feverishness music with tranquillity. Frémeaux & Associés, who published the master’s previous two albums, have joined forces with Guy Lukowski, the city of Liège and producers Baden Powell Produções Artisticas to make this extraordinary recording available to all. At the peak of his artistry, the guitarist shows a sparkling virtuosity that is totally subjugating.

A real standout from the great Shorty Rogers - and a smoking set that has him turning his many talents towards the world of bossa nova! By the time of this set, Shorty was as great an arranger as he was a trumpeter - really one of the go-to guys around LA for hipper soundtracks and vocal dates - and he really shows off his skills on a set of lively arrangements that pop and sparkle a lot more than other American bossa jazz outings of this nature! The set features lots of acoustic guitar and percussion - and bold trumpet and flugelhorn solos by Shorty.

In response to the 2004 debut album, which became an instant classic, Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux experimented with various musical paths. Many songs are thus recorded. The songs that are relevant to each album's theme are released. But many covers would remain under wraps, while others, although ready for release, were relegated to the vaults. These previously unreleased recordings are featured on "Curiosities". 2004 - 2019. For the last fifteen years, Nouvelle Vague has been resuscitating, sometimes introducing, dozens of songs from the New Wave and Punk repertoires – some quite well known, others almost forgotten. But the story is far from over.

Claudine Longet's third album continues the middle-of-the-road tendencies of her first two, leading off with an oddly jaunty reinterpretation of "Falling in Love Again," Marlene Dietrich's theme song, whose jaded world-weariness Longet replaces with her own pleasantly insubstantial persona. With its cinematic background noise staging and odd ragtime piano accents, it recalls Harpers Bizarre's playful deconstruction of pre-rock standards. More successful are the straightforward bilingual version of the title track, one of the evergreen tunes of '60s easy listening; the oft-recorded Alan Gordon and Gary Bonner sunshine pop tune "Small Talk"; and a mournful, skeletal version of Randy Newman's little-known early tune "Snow" that's among Longet's finest interpretations of her career. Even better is Longet's take on the Bee Gees standard "Holiday"; Longet's endearingly pitch-poor, lispy vocals are tailor-made for this spooky, unconventional song, which arranger Nick DeCaro gives a suitably off-kilter arrangement featuring a chorus of wordless Longets between the strings and the increasingly florid piano accompaniment. Longet's next album, the masterful Colours, would benefit from even more of this gently psychedelic experimentation.

A superior Brazilian jazz singer, Ana Caram takes a slight detour on this CD, stretching her repertoire while mostly still performing in a style influenced by bossa nova. One does not get to hear such songs as "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," "Smile," and "As Time Goes By" in a bossa nova setting that often. Also unusual is that Michel Freidenson plays all of the instruments other than the reeds (which are performed by Lawrence Feldman), and most of his electronic instruments sound real enough not to be an issue. The focus throughout is on Caram's lovely voice and she excels on this material, showing that it really is not what you sing but how you sing it. Recommended.