Finally Blue Note issues a Latin collection from its Italian (Italiana SPA) and Brazilian (EMI-Odeon) vaults that reveals the true diversity of its catalog and exploits some of the serious sensuous grooves that DJs have been spinning for over a decade. This is the first of three volumes, all of which feature the rarest most representative tracks from the various trends in jazz that grew out of Brazilian pop in the '60s, '70s, and even '80s. For starters, there's the mean brass swagger of Luis Amuda Perez on "Upa Neguinho," which was written by Edu Lobo. Besides being a popular dance tune (you can hear that in the opening measures), it is a masterpiece of Brazilian big band arrangement. Also featured is the stellar "Noa Noa," a trademark of Sergio Mendez. This is a tough bossa nova trio jam, with arpeggiated piano figures cutting right through the rhythms in the tune. In addition, Mandrake Som's "Beriambu" was the first to utilize in a swinging pop jazz context the use of the one string percussion instrument – there's also a very soul-jazzy sax solo in the break. This set's full of warm, frighteningly good examples of bossa, samba, and even the MPB and Joven Guarda rhythms as they inform folk and jazz melodies and modal figures.

Recorded in Japan in July 1973, this massive, three-LP live album was available outside the United States in 1974 but held back from domestic release in the U.S. It features the same "New Santana Band" that recorded Welcome, and combines that group's jazz and spiritual influences with performances of earlier Latin rock favorites like "Oye Como Va."

Killer compilation of 14 cumbia tracks from 1963 to 1983 of South-American female singers.

Bachata Rosa (English: Rose Bachata) is the fifth studioalbum by Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra and hisgroup 4.40. It was released on December 11, 1990, by KarenRecords. Written and produced by Guerra, the record sold overfive million copies worldwide. It brought bachata music into themainstream in the Dominican Republic and gave the genre aninternational audience. A Portuguese version of the record wasreleased in 1992 under the title Romance Rosa ; it was certifiedgold in Brazil. The album received a Grammy Award for BestTropical Latin Album and two Lo Nuestro Awards for TropicalAlbum of the Year and Tropical Group of the Year. Seven singles were released from the record, four of whichbecame top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. Thealbum debuted at number one on the Billboard Tropical Albums.

O título foi originado da canção homônima do cantor brasileiro Djavan. Foi o primeiro disco de uma cantora brasileira a ultrapassar a marca de 1 milhão de cópias vendidas. Considerado um dos melhores discos da carreira da cantora, o disco coleciona sucessos, como "Sonho Meu", com participação da também baiana Gal Costa, "O Meu Amor", em dueto com Alcione, "Ronda", de Paulo Vanzolini, e "Explode Coração (Não Dá Mais Pra Segurar)" (autoria de Gonzaguinha), um dos maiores, ou talvez o maior sucesso da cantora.

Universally known as the King of the Mambo, Pérez Prado was the single most important musician involved in the hugely popular Latin dance craze. Whether he actually created the rhythm is somewhat disputed, but it's abundantly clear that Prado developed it into a bright, swinging style with massive appeal for dancers of all backgrounds and classes. Prado's mambo was filled with piercing high-register trumpets, undulating saxophone counterpoint, atmospheric organ (later on), and harmonic ideas borrowed from jazz. While his tight percussion arrangements allowed for little improvisation, they were dense and sharply focused, keeping the underlying syncopations easy for dancers to follow. Prado played the piano, but was often more in his element as the focal point of the audience's excitement; he leaped, kicked, danced, shouted, grunted, and exhorted his musicians with a dynamic stage presence that put many more sedate conductors and bandleaders to shame. With this blueprint, Prado brought mambo all the way into the pop mainstream, inspiring countless imitators and scoring two number one singles on the pop charts (albeit in a smoother vein than the fare that first made his name) as the fad snowballed. He was a star throughout most of the Western Hemisphere during the '50s, and even after his popularity waned in the United States, he remained a widely respected figure in many Latin countries, especially his adopted home of Mexico.

The breakout star from the burgeoning Romanian dance scene that has also spawned the likes of Alexandra Stan and Edward Maya, permanently scantily clad Inna has been pivotal in restoring some musical pride to a country whose only previous notable contribution to the pop landscape was the Cheeky Girls. Produced by regular cohorts Play & Win, her second album, I Am the Club Rocker, picks up where her debut, Hot, left off, with 13 sun-soaked Europop tracks that appear destined to blare out of various Club 18-30 hotspots until the inevitable 6-a.m. stagger back to the hotel. As individual pieces of undemanding trance/house-lite pop, the summery flamenco-tinged "Un Momento" and "Endless," the Italo house throwbacks "No Limit" and "House Is Going On," and the dreamy chillout of "July" and "Senorita" all provide the necessary Mediterranean "booze cruise" vibes.

SONHO 70 album, it is an early 70's album, making a progressive transition bewteen Gismonti's Estreia 1969 album and all the other albums of the later 70's. The bossa-nova influences are gone in this album and we get into Gismonti's pure style: a kind of complicated mix between classical music and popular brazilian musics. This album features very creative and powerfull melodies, very spirited, that you will not find anywhere else. This is an authentic Gismonti masterpiece.