A couple of very tasty items arrived for me today. Alas, I haven’t had time to listen to either as much as I would like, but they have certainly brightened my day.

Les Masques: 'Brasilian Sound' (CD; Dare-Dare; 1968)
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There are some tasty tracks on here. This is vocal pop-jazz, like a mix between Les Double Six, Brasil '66 and Novi Singers, but sung in French like the Double Six. There's one standout track, 'il faut tenir', which has been compiled a few times. Almost all of the songs are originals in a bossa nova style, rather like the Novi Singers' Bossa Nova album.

More on this when I have listened to it more.

Compilation - Walter Wanderley: 'The Fantastic Walter Wanderley, Boss of the Bossa Nova' (CD; Motor; 1964-1969)
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A sumptuously packaged and beautifully designed 2CD set from Motor music, which I have coveted for some time.

I have most of Walter's Verve albums, but not much of his Brazilian stuff. There is a CD of each, and they both sound incredible. On the Brazilian disc, a standout track is 'deixa isso pra la', a bizarre, percussive song in which female vocalists seem to rap out some words repeatedly. The American cuts are very well chosen, with selections in duet with Astrud Gilberto and Luiz Henrique as well as cuts from each of his Verve albums in his own name.

More on this soon.