Brazil 66

This two-fer from WEA International features a pair of out of print Sergio Mendes LPs: Great Arrival and Beat of Brazil. Originally issued on Atlantic Records in 1966 and 1967, respectively, these 22 easy listening, Latin pop songs include "Monday, Monday," "Desafinado," "Garôta de Ipanema (The Girl from Ipanema)," and "Here's That Rainy Day." This is a nice sampler of familiar items that should satisfy the needs of casual fans.

Composer David Chesky has two full length albums planned later in 2015, one orchestral and one jazz. In preparation for these, enjoy a small taste of David's works with this mini album featuring his three Brazilian Dances for solo piano as well as his Etude No. 1 for solo piano. Both works emanate from David's compositional style, a combination of 21st century harmonies paired with South American rhythms.

As a cultural ambassador to the world, Yo-Yo Ma has immersed himself in the native music of many countries and taken away charming souvenirs of his musical explorations that he shares openly and without affectation. The chief characteristic of Ma's approach is his showcasing of other talents, with a modesty and generosity on his part that makes these performances all the more appealing.

It is not often that a Rock musician decides to cross over into much more advanced musical environment, such as Jazz or World Music and does so completely and seriously. Police guitarist Andy Summers, obviously known to most Rock listeners on this planet, is one of those musicians, who changed their path and successfully developed a "new" career. This album, which is the second guitar duo recording with the Brazilian (born in Argentina) virtuoso guitarist Victor Biglione, presents Summers as a monster acoustic guitar player and a most sensitive performer. The duo performs material ranging from Jazz standards to World Music pieces, all of which were composed by great Brazilian musicians (Hermeto Pascoal, Tom Jobim and others) and all of which is absolutely brilliant. This is guitar heaven!