Brazilika

If you’re into Brazilian jazz then you will most certainly know about Far Out Recordings, the London-based label that have been releasing albums by Brazilian heavyweights Azymuth, Marcos Valle and Joyce over the past 20 years. To celebrate their 20th anniversary they’ve issued a retrospective of some of their most prestigious tracks, with a focus on material from the smoother side of the road. So as well as plenty of jazz from Azymuth, there's a variety of samba, from The Ipanemas’ classic ‘Imperial’ to modern variations from Sabrina Malheiros and Clara Moreno.

However, aside from the summery psych-folk ditty ‘Jungle Bells’ by Mauricio Maestro or Naná Vasconcelos’ berimbau-tastic ‘Clementina’, there are very few changes in pace or texture. The album can come across as a little one-dimensional at times, a little too smooth for its own good. Contrarily, the second CD, a 27-track mix of Far Out artists by Spiritual South, goes the other way, heading into deeper dance territory with transgressions into techno, dub and house, though always falling back into feel-good samba-jazz grooves. It makes for an album that showcases many great Brazilian musicians, though not necessarily their best works.