Jair Do Cavaquinho - see "Do Cavaquinho"

Jamelao -- See artist discography

Jammil E Uma Noites "Serie Bis" (EMI, 2000)
Brainless, good-timin', lightweight pop. This echoes the axe pop of the 1980s and '90s, with faint hints of hip-hop and boy-band fluff thrown in around the edges. This 2-CD set gathers a couple of dozen of their songs from 1997-98, including their cover of Nenhum De Nos's cover of David Bowie's "Starman." The collection's fluffy, but listenable. Just don't expect too much from it.

Joanna "Joanna" (RCA-BMG, 1991)
Blech-o-rama! Goopy, synthy syrupy pop, with a "quiet storm" vibe, but even more softcore than that. It is telling that the first song on here is a Portuguese-language cover of "Killing Me Softly With His Song" (adapted, appallingly, by Paulo Sergio Valle...) A-void!

Joanna "Momentos - Ao Vivo" (BMG-Som Livre, 2000)
Oh, god, this is awful. I would compare her to some crappy, sentimental pop vocalist up here in the USA, but I never hear listen to anyone this bad, so I really have no frame of reference to work from. Still, she does have her fans -- just listen to them cheer and sing along on this concert album... Yikes. These people scare me.

Antonio Carlos Jobim -- See artist discography

Jongo Trio "Jongo Trio" (Gravodisc, 1965)
So far, I haven't been wild about the semi-bossa jazz trio albums I've heard (Tamba Trio, Zimbo Trio, etc.) but I've gotta say, these fellows -- who backed Baden Powell on some of his early recordings, and who worked regularly on the Elis Regina/Jair Rodrigues TV show -- are kind of fun... Their jazz chops seem stronger than many of their contemporary '60s Braz-jazz bands; there are hints of Thelonious Monk and early Miles Davis in here, and several lightly swinging tracks. I wound up not keeping this disc (or giving it to my radio station...) but it was still fairly interesting... worth checking out.

Frank Jorge "Vida De Verdade" (Trama/YBrazil, 2003)
Excellent! A simple, unassuming set of contemporary melodic power-pop, sung em Portugues by songwriter Frank Jorge (formerly of the bands Cascavelettes and Graforreia Xilarmonica...) While not as bright or aggressive as some of the foundational '70s power-pop bands, such as The Romantics, Eric Carmen, et. al., this is still quite nice, even moreso since Frank sings all his lyrics in Portuguese, rather than English. (Yay.) This album is very much in keeping with the modern power-pop scene, recalling artists such as Frank Bango, The Wondermints, Pearlfishers, etc. If you like "foreign" indie rock, this is definitely an album you'll want to pick up!

Odair Jose "As Melhores" (Sony, 2002)
Debuting in the early 1970s, singer-songwriter Odair Jose was a latecomer to the teeniebopperish jovem guarda scene, mixing light, jangly rock riffs with more impassioned, anguished romantic vocals, in much the same way as the style's lead innovator, Roberto Carlos. Like Carlos, Jose's work continued to tilt towards romantic ballads, and as the '70s wore on, he became associated with the so-called "brega," or "tacky" soft pop scene. That being said, I have to admit I enjoy hearing his early recordings -- the arrangements are light and inoffensive, and there is a gently appealing quality to Jose's vocals. This disc collects fourteen songs from his first two albums, 1970's Odair Jose, and 1971's Meu Grande Amor, both recorded for the CBS label, which specialized in jovem guarda material for much of the 1960s. Indeed, many of these tracks sound rather dated, with rinky-sounding 'Fifties rock arrangements that recall records made by other artists in the early '60s. Also worth noting are the several songs written by and along with Rossini Pinto, another of the jovem guarda/brega crooners whose career spanned the '60s and '70s. This is innocuous, lightweight stuff, but I gotta say, I found it pretty listenable.

Odair Jose "Minha Historia" (Universal, 1998)
A pleasant selection of early 1970s soft pop -- toque popular -- picking up where Roberto Carlos and the jovem guarda set left off, sort of like a Brazilian Gilbert O'Sullivan, or David Gates. I'm almost embarrassed to admit I like this stuff, but what can I say? It sounds nice! Jose has an appealing, mildly tortured, romantic voice... It's nothing dazzling, but there's also nothing heinous about the production and overall this is quite easy on the ears. This set covers Jose's Polygram years, including material from three albums, Assim Sou Eu... (1972), Odair Jose, (1973) and Lembrancas, from 1974, a period that was more mature and less forced than his earlier work. Like most of the Minha Historia series, this disc is well-selected and a better-than-average best-of.. Well worth looking for.

Os Jovens "Os Jovens" (CBS, 1967)
These guys get name-checked in relation to Brazil's tiny garage-rock scene of the late 1960s, and are included in fine collections such as the "Hearts Of Stone" compilation. Although this album is tamer and closer to the mainstream of the "ie-ie-ie" pop, than their more raucous singles, it still shows a hipness and toughness that a lot of their JG contemporaries didn't quite have. Includes covers of Dave Clark Five and P.F. Sloan songs, as well as honegrown Brazilian rock by the likes of Renato Barros and Luiz Ayrao... Worth a spin!

Joyce - see artist discography

Jupiter Apple "Plastic Soda" (Trama, 2000)

Jupiter Apple "Hisscivilization" (Nolandman, 2002)
Hip Brazilian indie-rock, with an icy cool, ironic attitude. I liked the first track a lot -- a fifteen minute long, Moog-drenched prog-pop jam that could be compared to the ever-dreary Stereolab, yet is redeemed through its amatuerish rough edges, and comes off a bit more krautrock-y... something that the folks from Can could be proud of. The rest of the album is okay, too, though less audacious than this opening salvo. I was disappointed, though, that the lyrics were in English, rather than Portuguese -- it would have been much more fun the other way around. (Not that it matters that much; these songs are driven more by their grooves than by the lyrics... But I still prefer hearing "foreign" pop singers performing in their native languages; it seems so much more compelling and true to one's roots, somehow...) All in all, this disc is interesting for the light it sheds on Brazil's nascent indiepop scene, and it stands on its own with the UK and European music it seeks to emulate, though it also doesn't quite set the woods on fire. I'm telling you: they shoulda sung in Portuguese!

Brazilian Music - Letter "K"

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