official mr bongo reissue. replica original cover artwork. recorded in 1978, this is a latter-period gem from the larger than life legend, combining the glitz and glamour of disco’s heyday with maia’s raw funk and soul roots. for “disco club”, maia left his usual band and went into the legendary estudios level with an ensemble of rio’s finest including paulinha braga on drums, jamil joanes on bass, robson jorge on clarinet, hyldon de souza on guitar, sidinho on percussion, trombonists edmundo maciel and darcy seixas, and juarez assis on tenor sax. arranger and keyboardist lincoln olivetti was a crucial presence during these sessions – he added the all-important string flourish and brassy joy to the uptempo tracks, leaving maia enough room to express himself.

very welcome reissue of the 12 inch vinyl version of the superb *onda* from brazilian soul legend cassiano. one of the founding fathers of the scene, a contemporary of and collaborator with people such as tim maia, hyldon, etc., cassiano only released a handful of lps and singles but the quality made up for the quantity and this 1977 polydor 12- features two of his best moments. side as *onda* is a lilting sun-drenched slice of pure soul heaven with a grooving b-line and sweet vocals that at nearly 8 minutes is still not enough - a truly captivating mellow masterpiece that you want to last forever... the flip side is no less accomplished - an upfront bass-heavy funk jam guaranteed to whip the dancefloor into a frenzy. essential!