Nova 001 (1976)

The second recording and first studio set by the L.A. Four matched together Bud Shank on alto and flute, guitarist Laurindo Almeida, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne for a diverse yet consistently enjoyable program. The selections range from "Dindi" and "Manteca" to "St. Thomas" and a 13-minute exploration of "Concierto de Aranjuez." As usual, the band mixes together bossa nova and Brazilian jazz, some touches of classical music, and cool-toned bop. Recommended as a strong example of the group's appealing sound.

This is the CD reissue of an album recorded in 1976. At this point, Nascimento had an experience with fusion in the Som Imaginario, and with jazzers such as Herbie Hancock (who had recorded with him in the previous year's Milton) or Wayne Shorter (Native Dancer). In this album, Nascimento experiments economically with orchestra, trying to recover his roots, the culture of the Minas Gerais state, whose already strong civilization made possible an expressive Baroque and sacred music in the 17th century. Therefore, the atmosphere here is not as swinging, but it reaches deeper emotional dimensions.

This 1976 album by the late saxophonist Stan Getz is a reunion of sorts with Joao Gilberto, the great Brazilian guitarist and singer, and the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim (or Tom Jobim), along with the stylish and nonintrusive arrangements of Oscar Carlos Neves. The trio changed the world in the early 1960s with its Getz/Gilberto albums. With Neves, they almost did it again, but with all of the crap falling down around them in the musical climate of the mid-'70s - fusion, disco, overblown rock, and the serious decline of jazz - this disc was criminally overlooked at the time. Joining these four men in their realization of modern bossa and samba are drummers Billy Hart and Grady Tate, percussionists Airto, Ray Armando, and Ruben Bassini, bassist Steve Swallow, pianist Albert Dailey, and Heliosoa Buarque…

Legendary Brazilian singer and activist. Her inventive style interpreting classic bossas and sambas justice have made her a national icon.
Owner of a distinctive, harsh voice, Elza Soares is one of the most swinging samba singers. From the time she issued her debut single - "Se Acaso Você Chegasse" in 1959, and on which she introduced scat singing à la Louis Armstrong, to samba - she became a successful recording artist. Her second album, A Bossa Negra, from 1961, is considered a treasure of Brazilian music at home and abroad. With her voice and songs, Soares has always celebrated the gritty aspects of peasant life. It is her birthright, as she was born in a favela…

Iceberg from the middle of the 70's were easily one of the best Progressive bands to come from Spain. This band came from Barcelona and consisted of: Max Sune (guitar), Josep Mas Kitflus (keyboards), Primi Sancho (bass) and Jordi Colomer (drums), Angel Riba (voice) could only be heard on the first record. Their style was definitely jazzier but with continuous conversations between the guitars and keyboards in a mixture of fusion and symphonic sounds. The band mixed Return to Forever or The Mahavishnu Orchestra's crazy and energetic music and Santana's more latin one. Iceberg made four studio-albums entitled: "Tutankhamon" (1975), "Coses Nostres" (1976), "Sentiments" (1977) and "Arc-en-Ciel" (1979).

A good first effort by a band very much in Yes' orbit - as when "Elliptical Seasons" shows Lutrell's uncanny mastery of Anderson's vocal style - this debut also shows the less complex electric timbre and thinner production that typified American progressive rock by such practicioners as Kansas. The album leads off with the wonderfully sprawling song that broke them on local radio in the hometown of Champaign, the ten-minute Moogs and Merlin epic, "Lady of the Lake." The closing instrumental, "Nova," also gives the band's very tight rhythm section a chance to shine, with Tassler opening the piece with a brief but effective solo. Though later releases would show the band was capable of better work, it's a decent enough debut and an interesting curio for fans of American progressive rock.