I'm back with some moody Jazilian Brazz

Finally! I have an apartment, I have my records and last but not least I have internet connectivity in the form of DSL. I am ready to resume my duties as host of Soul Spectrum.

During my off and on hiatus many a blog idea has been thought of and then duly forgotten, but today we're gonna start back up with some Brazilian Jazz tracks inspired by my introduction to this incredible album by Pedro Santos called "Krishnanda." Photographer and music empresario Brian Cross, aka B+, turned me on to this record during the post-Azymuth BBQ/Party at his pad. He threw on the record, who's cover looked vaguely familiar from the blogosphere, and friends in tow Brion and Chris, as well as myself were blown away. I'm not the only one. The photo at the top of this post is Pedro with guitarist Sebastio Tapajos. Brazilian record collecting superman, Ed Motta, also has a liking for the record.

Pedro Santos - Agua Viva
To believe that this record was recorded in 1968 is astounding to me because the studio effects are used so subtly which was hardly common in 1968. I credit the ingenious merging of traditional Brazilian styles with advancements in studio technology and production, all under the helm of musician and producer Helcio Milito. According to B+, who's friends with Helcio, this album was made because Helcio secured a production deal with CBS records in Brazil and wanted to put his maestro in studio and cut loose. The album is utterly unclassifiable and when I played some tracks for fellow SS contributer Josh Nice he remarked (after picking his jaw up off the floor) something to the effect of, 'this is why I love music, because just when you thought you've heard everything worth listening to, you hear something like this and it renews your faith in music.' Maybe I overstated his sentiments a bit, but nonetheless its a great album and you can find the download here.

Moacir Santos - Coisa No. 10
I'm following that one up with another timeless Brazilian Jazz piece by another lesser known maestro, Moacir Santos. This is from a few years earlier, 1965. Listening to Pedro Santos I was reminded of this album and its effortless blend of North American traditions with Brazilian styles.

Baden & Vinicius - Canto de Ossanha
I like three songs in a post so I included this classic track from this classic album. Coincidentally, or not, Pedro Santos often played on Baden Powell's albums and Baden even had a song called, "Ao Amigo Pedro Santos."

Enjoy!