Marcos Valle

Review: The 11th in his 27 album strong career, Vontade de Rever Voce is regarded as Marcos' funkiest return to form. Having spent a lot of the 70s writing for TV (including Sesame St) and writing with the likes of Chicago and Leon Ware, this 1981 re-engaged his legacy as a solo artist and did so with a strong emphasis on boogie as tracks such as the synth-pimped uptempo bossa "Pecados De Amor" and the hip-flaring strutter "A Paraiba Nao E Chicago". Meanwhile his sunkissed Latin soul shines on hazy jazz explorations such as "Campina Grande" and the more sunset styled "Nao Pode Ser Qualquer Mulher". One of Marcos's most comprehensive and captivating LPs, grab this while you can.

Review: Jazz Is Dead is a series that welcomes contemporary musicians to revisit jazz storied of old. This collection challenges Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad to utilise vintage equipment to create new master soundscapes, and they really come correct. Roy Ayers, Gary Bartz, Marcos Valle, Azymuth, Doug Carn, Joao Donato, & Brian Jackson are some of the legends who feature and the album is a free flowing delight that touches on soaring and soulful highs as well as bossa-tinged shufflers and plenty in between.