Taiguara "Taiguara!" (Philips, 1965)
The premiere album of this soft-edged MPB singer opens with a bang: "Samba De Copa Na Mao," written by Taiguara (along with about half the other songs), has an explosive, energetic quality, reminiscent of contemporaries such as Edu Lobo and Marcos Valle. His vocals are youthful, expansive and jubilant, the rhythms are playful and dynamic. Things settle down pretty quickly, though, as slower pop ballads start to predominate, prefiguring the more placid style that become his hallmark. As far as Taiguara's more vital, vibrant side goes, this early album, with arrangements by Luis Chaves, is one of your best bets. Worth checking out!
Taiguara "Hoje" (Odeon, 1969)
Fans of soft, romantic pop vocals and even Latin American boleros may find this an appealing album... Those of us looking for something with a little more bite may find it rather slow going. Taiguara gets a little wiggy and softcore psychedelic on a couple of tracks, but mostly this is pretty conservative and syrupy. Not my cup of tea.
Taiguara "Viagem" (Odeon, 1970)
I've been mystified by some of Taiguara's EMI best-ofs -- mostly because they are so appallingly insipid. This early album goes a little way towards explaining the credibility he retained later... There are some creative pop arrangements, admittedly derivative of North American/European soft-pop AM radio fodder (Timmy Thomas and the like)... But still, this had decidedly more vigor than, say, Wanderley Cardoso's vocals albums. There's a strong goofiness factor here which may make it appealling to fans of French pop and soundtrack kitsch. A couple of tracks feature backup by the mildly proggish band Som Imaginario (which spawned the career of keyboard wizard Wagner Tiso).
Taiguara "Meus Momentos" (EMI, 1994)
This best-of had very little on it to hold my attention... Mainly florid, but bland folk-pop, like a watered-down version of Bread, or something. I assume this has also been expanded into a 2-CD set, along with the other Meus Momentos collections, but I haven't felt impelled to track that version down.
Tamba Trio "Tamba Trio" (Phillips, 1962)
Tamba Trio "Avanco" (Philips, 1963)
This Rio De Janeiro pop-jazz trio is one of the most popular and frequently cited of the early '60s bossa-nova jazz acts. Pianist Luiz Eca was the compositional genius behind the group, composing and arranging tunes with a harmonically rich, lush romanticism. Percussionist Helcio Millito and flautist/multi-instrumentalist Adalberto Castilho (aka Bebeto) rounded out the sound. On this outing, their second album, the Trio add MPB-4-ish vocals into the mix, while tackling well-known hits such as "Girl From Ipanema" and Jorge Ben's "Mais Que Nada." This would appear to be an overt nod towards commercialism (gasp!) but it doesn't get in the way of a swinging beat. For an authentic Brazilian loungecore sound, this is hard to beat. Breezy, but fun.
Tamba Trio "Tempo" (Philips, 1964)
Shifting back to an all-instrumental style, this album highlights Luiz Eca's increasingly dense compositional style. While not yet as baroque as his later work with the Trio or with Edu Lobo, this is still richer and more more complex than most of the music by their Braz-jazz contemporaries, such as the Jongo Trio, etc. Interesting, lulling, mildly soporific, but certainly worth checking out.
Tamba Trio "Tamba Trio" (Phillips, 1966)
Tamba 4 "We And The Sea" (CTI/A&M, 1967)
One of the definitive albums by pianist Luiz Eca's much-vaunted Braz-jazz ensemble. This set was recorded in the United States, under the auspices of American jazz producer Creed Taylor. The album opens with a fairly annoying, modernist take on Antonio Carlos Jobim's "O Morro," with the tempo taken at a brisk gallop. Other tracks are more lyrical, with a breezy easiness that should satisfy the lounge-y crowd. Not entirely my cup of tea, but worth checking out.
Tamba 4 "Samba Blim" (CTI/A&M, 1968)
Tamba Trio "Tamba Trio" (1969)
Tamba Trio "Tamba" (RCA, 1974)
While this starts out on an iffy note (with the rock-fusion electric guitar on "Se E Questao De Adeus Ate Logo" and the glossy, lightweight fluff of "Nao Tem Perdao"), it soon turns out to be one of the more interesting albums by this lounge-y soft-jazz ensemble. Gradually they shift into more challenging territory, at first into some cheesy electronic kitsch, and finally into spacier, percussion-based avant-jazz, material which would have made Hermeto Pascoal proud. If you'd to find out what these fellows had to offer other than cheery easy listening, then this would be a good album to check out -- it makes the best case for their consideration as a serious jazz band of any record of their that I've heard. Worth checking out!
Tamba Trio "Tamba Trio" (RCA, 1975)
A fine return to form, with the group getting all breezy and facile again. Not really very challenging, but easy on the ears and not overly saccharine. Worth checking out, though it didn't really wow me. Danilo Caymmi, Toninho Horta, Ivan Lins and Joao Bosco (all on their way up in the world) pitch in on various tracks.
Tamba Trio "20 Anos Do Sucesso" (RCA, 1982)
