Super-diva Ivete Sangalo, with a marvelous voice and a 'killer' body in skin-snug black leather & boots, mesmerizes one of the largest audiences in history at Maracanã Stadium in Rio with a jaw-dropping DVD spectacle!. An HD TV delight. In Portuguese with English subtitles of all songs and conversation. 3 fleeting risque but humorous moments with clean lyrics. "Abalou" (Let's rock!)

The FIRST Bossa Nova singer, preceding Astrud Gilberto. A great singer/actress, the song "Elizeth" by Cal Tjader was the first US Bossa Nova song. Here "Cancao Do Amor Demais", "Chega de Saudade" (No More Blues), & "Otra Vez" are excellent.

Great DVD surveying Maria Rita's 3 CDs of samba & MPB in front of a wild nosh pit. "Conta Outra" (Tell Me Another Story), "Cria" (Son), "Cara Valente" (Brave Guy) are high energy performances. The audience sings along. "Encontros e Despedidas" is overpowering. No bare feet, a few new tattoos, and a 'vision of loveliness' in high heels. Doing mom Elis proud. "Corpitcho" ('Fine' Body), indeed.

Super-diva Elis Regina and super multi-instrumentalist & Hermeto Paschoal in duet on "Garota De Ipanema" (Girl from Ipanema), live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, taking this song through twists and turns never heard before. The best version of this song ever and nowhere near being a bossa nova. In Portuguese & English. Hermeto's piano is heroic and sensitive. WOW!! But mostly it's Elis & Co.

Another great DVD by the very beautiful Marisa Monte, displaying her wonderful art from some seminal early performances. Sometimes controversial and known for pushing the envelope, her marvelous music is some of the best available in Brazil and well worth the effort to find and enjoy. Alone with her guitar or with full orchestra, she's great. English subtitles!!

Simone has one of the most exotic, beautiful voices in all of Brazil and she sings Milton Nascimento's "Milagre Dos Peixes" (Miracle of the Fishes) with Milton himself guesting in a thrilling duet with a 'dolphin chase' ending. Simone was born to sing this swirling, beautiful song. Plus her work with Guinga, Kiko, et al. herein.

Brazil's elegant, multi-lingual chanteuse, Zizi Possi, delivers a great CD demonstrating her mastery of both songs and English. "Ruby" is the best version I have EVER heard, with Zizi getting inside of the English lyrics like no one else has. She also sings the Beatles and Bob Marley here. Sung totally and beautifully in English.

Zelia Duncan (aka Zelia Christina), singer, guitarist and songwiter, who followed Rita Lee in the Os Mutantes band has an admirable solo career and is worthy of much more attention outside of Brazil. A favorite of Brazil's best musicians, she is excellent and hip: as demonstrated in the title track "Sortimento".

Maria Rita's multiple Latin Grammy-award winning debut on a CD where everything is great, I single out for special mention:"Nao Vale A Pena" (It's Not Worth It,) a haunting blues which shows her Ella Fitzgerald influences and the vocal DNA of her mom, Elis Regina. She is a shining star lighting her own path along the way to the future of Brazilian music.

This is the other "Maria Rita" who reversed her name to prevent confusion with Elis' daughter and became "Rita Maria", on a marvelous debut CD called "Fora de Orbita" (Out of Orbit) with some wild 'xaxado' rhythms, ballads, and bossas. "Pedra Rara" (Rare Stone) has a wonderful descending musical figure and an intense octave jump by this superb soprano.

Simone!! The other 'Simone' (not Ms Guimaraes) joins Ivan Lins on his 2005 Latin Grammy "Album of the Year" singing a duet of his famous composition "Comecar de Novo" (New Beginning, aka The Island) which is smoky and haunting. BTW, Simone is voiced below Ivan and she pulls it off.

Fernanda Porto's brilliant live recording, released as a CD & DVD, combines 'drum n bass' with samba, bossa, & MPB. Former member of 'Habeas Corpus' and a noted composer of film music, her voice, guitar, and alto sax are great: "Samba a Dois", "Baque Virado" and "Sambassim".

The marvelous Vânia Bastos re-interprets the wonderful songs of the ground-breaking recording "Clube Da Esquina" by such lumilnaries as Milton Nascimento, Lô Borges, and Toninho Horta. Songs such as "Trem Azul", "Tudo Que Você Podia Ser" and a great version of "Estrela/Clube Da Esquina No.2" are given great performances.

Bebel Gilberto is from another MPB/bossa nova royal family: being the daughter of Joao and Miúcha. On the breezy bossa "Tanto Tempo" with its electronic splashes, she is totally cool and disarming & both the CD and the title track are exciting and mesmerizing. A million selling CD that updated the Bossa Nova art form with great respect.

Daughter of Zizi, new star Luiza Possi sings rock, hip-hop, soap opera themes, MBP, and this beautiful version of "(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow" in natural sounding English, which is nonetheless very poignant, is one of the best I have heard. The Possi household speaks Portuguese, English, Spanish, and lots of Italian.

Brazil's red-headed rock queen, Rita Lee, in a forward looking Prince-like set that includes the song 3001. Rita Lee is the namesake of Elis Regina's daughter Maria Rita and co-founded the legendary rock group Os Mutantes (The Mutants).

Beautiful model, actress, musician and singer Ana Carolina, fresh from her duo hits with Seu Jorge, is 'profiled' on this CD with some stunning work such as "Nua (Naked) and "Confesso": very powerful songs from this terrific performer. Search the web for her videos. This CD went to #1 in Brazil and that's where she belongs.

Leci Brandao is a marvelous singer who puts on a samba school musical seminar for those new to her styings: "Tributo a Parintins", "Encenação", " Somos Da Mesma Tribo", and "Reconquista".

The very talented Elin is from Sweden but she lived in Rio and speaks fluent Brazilian Portuguese. A true world performer, she is a terrific singer with precise pronunciation, innate swing. Her lovely honey-toned voice is an instrument which goes from slow ballads ("Lush Life") to smoking sambas ("Casa Forte") to 'cuica'-imitation ("Aquarela do Brasil") to vocalese gymnastics ("Doralice").

The perfect bookend for this list is the pure, MPB perfection of Brazil's super composer Tom Jobim and super diva Elis Regina. Everything is outstanding but the gut-wrenching "Retrato Em Branco E Preto" and touching "Fotographia" are flat out amazing. Every singer in Brazil has attempted "Retrato...", but Elis is still the champion. Enjoy!!