This is a listing of miscellaneous albums and artists under the letter "Z".

Zabumbatuq "(za-BOOM-ba-TOOC)" (Quizamba Music, 1996)
A modern jazz band withith Brazilian-born bassist Leonardo Cioglia...

Zaccarias E Sua Orchestra "Sambas Em Desfile" (RCA Victor, 1955)
A lively set of orchestral samba music, uptempo and definitely made for dancing. The bandleader known as Zaccarias released a bunch of albums in the 1950s, and was what I guess could be considered the "world music" scene of the era -- those odd albums that appealed to Americans (and others) in search of a kooky new dance craze, or who needed a souvenir album of their travels abroad. I've found several of his records floating around, and while they can seem a little square, in general they are more rockin' than many "exotic" dance albums of the time. This disc in particular highlights his link to the big band/samba/jazz style known as gafieira: it's a pretty punchy, straightforward samba set. Awesome album art, too!

Zaccarias E Seu Conjunto Boite "Uma Noite No Country Club" (RCA Victor, 1958)
A swinging album showcasing what's basically an expanded edition of the Quarteto Excelsior, with added percussion and a trumpet. Great trumpet, too: the interplay of the horns and Fats Elpidio's wicked piano is amazing, while Zaccarias and Romeu handle the vocals. Side One of the album is labeled as "sambas'; Side Two has a bunch of "fox trot" tunes, an anachronistic way of referring to big band-ish, North American-style dance standards. Normally I tune out when Brazilians go too far into straight American-style music, without the requisite dose of Brazilian-ness, but this disc hit me differently, mainly because of the skill and intelligence used by this compact combo. This was a nightclub band that was clearly a cut above: they must have been a gas to see live. Also, on a "foxtrot" like "Lullaby Of Birdland," the material introduces a bluesiness that is uncommon on a lot of Brazilian jazz... And Elpidio really digs into it, with authority and gusto, and a sharp, snappy sense of humor. This is whatchamacallit, "easy listening," I suppose... but it sure sounds nice!

Zaccarias E Sua Secao De Palhetas "Palhetas Espetaculares" (RCA Victor, 1962)
A sleek, glitzy big-band set, with modest samba percussion and bossa-nova influenced guitar -- by Baden Powell(!) who is prominently mixed into the foreground, and holds his own against a large, tight horn section. These horns include several heavy-hitters in the world of Brazilian jazz, notably Paulo Moura on clarinet. Pianist Fats Elpidio is on here, too, but he largely seems lost in the mix, his often-inventive improvising sidelined in favor of tight, decisive horn arrangements. This makes sense, since the focus of the album is on the "palhetas," or certain orchestral sections, in this case saxophones and clarinets, and how instruments in the same range interact with each other. It's a little too square for me, but folks who appreciate tight orchestrations and fancy charts will probably dig this... Plus, it's got a beat you can definitely dance to!

Z'Africa Brasil "Tem Cor Age" (Y Brazil, 2006)
Raw-throated, gritty regional hip-hop, with a dense, solid sound and dips into various Brazilian styles... Not my cup of tea, but potentially very interesting to anyone who's into global hip-hop or Brazilian rock and soul.

Z'Africa Brasil "Verdade E Traumatismo" (Livin' Astro, 2007)

Inacio Zatz "La Nave: A Volta Ao Mundo Em 19 Melodias" (Dabliu, 1998)

Inacio Zatz "Zatz" (Dabliu, 2000)
A striking, surprising, and quite pleasant new example of the Brazilian mix'n'match method of music making... The album opens on a potentially troublesome note -- a piercing, BB King-style, electric blues riff, the sort of thing that in the United States has signified a muscle-bound, moribund musical genre ("urban blues") that has completely lost its creative edge for the last few decades... Naturally, when you hear someone in Brazil pick up a twang bar and wail away, your first instinct is to run and hide -- yet far from sucking, Inacio Zatz is a gas. For one thing, he's not a blues musician... at least he's not limited to the style. Actually, he doesn't seem to be limited to any style: this is an impressively eclectic record, incorporating bossa nova, afro-bloco percussion, Asian traditional and various shades of rock with equal ease. A few overly-goofy moments, but on the whole, well worth checking out!

Inacio Zatz "Santos Football Club Lonely Band" (Inacio Zatz, 2004)

Zege & The Silver Jets "Zege & The Silver Jets" (Rozenblit, 1972)
An early album by pop singer Ze Geraldo... It's fairly clumsy jovem guarda-meets-psych/pop material, in the Roberto Carlos style, but not as well produced or performed. It's okay, though, mostly a curio. There are only a few tracks on here are ones I'd want to come back to and listen to just for fun, including a couple with a Ray Charles beat to 'em... A lot of sluggish, organ-heavy ballads, though, and those are less fun.

Zenilton "Namoro No Escuro" (Tropicana, 1973)
A later album from this legendary forro star, who apparently has about a bazillion albums out... Although there is stylistic variety here -- including straight forro and baiao, samba and frevo -- it's still one of those regional/forro sets that might be hard to get into if you're not already a fan of the style. I found him to be a very appealing performer, though, particularly as a vocalist. He's got a much smoother tone than Luiz Gonzaga, for example, and he's not as boisterous as Jackson Do Pandeiro... Perhaps if you like Ary Lobo, you might dig Zenilton as well?

Tom Ze - see artist discography

Zil "Zil" (Verve, 1990)
Horrible fusion-jazz, with lamentable debts to Milton Nascimento, Pat Metheny and various vocal harmony groups. It's a talented (or at least technically proficient) crew, including modern Braz-jazzers such as Claudio Nucci, Ze Renato, Ricardo Silveira and others... But it's just awful, pointless, blechhy music. Not my cup of tea.

Zimbo Trio - see artist discography

Zuco 103 "Outro Lado" (Ziriguiboom/Six Degrees, 2000)
Zuco 103 "The Other Side EP" (Ziriguiboom/Six Degrees, 2000)
A canny mix of Brazilian MPB, soul, and European trip-hop/dance styles. This Dutch ensemble features the sleek vocals of Brazilian expatriate, Lilian Veira... It took me a while to place the feel of her style, but finally it dawned on me: if Sade had spoken Portuguese, the result might have been much like this. This is a sugary, languid album, which should blow the minds of the soul-ier club kids, though those of a more traditional, less electronic bent may find their attention wandering after a while. The Other Side EP gets even clubbier and more house-y.

Zuco 103 "Tales Of High Fever" (Ziriguiboom/Six Degrees, 2002)
I liked Zuco's first album, but they lost me a little on this one. It's too disco-y, too retro for me to enjoy, and -- sadly -- Lilian Veira's vocals seem a bit too shrill. I think she's trying for a Chaka Khan soulfulness, but she's really just got a Gal Costa voice. Nonetheless, that's just my personal take on this album. I'm sure that anyone into clubbier, loungier, kitschier, hipper, more electronic lifestyle will find this album irresistible. It's a densely-layered, intricate pop mosaic, with a wider stylistic range than my description might imply. On the later tracks there are some cool numbers based on Afro-Brazilian percussion; there's also a noteworthy cover of Jorge Ben's "Bebete Vambora..." But in the long run, this just ain't my cup of tea.

Zuco 103 "One Down, One Up" (Crammed Disc/Six Degrees, 2003)
Zuco 103 "One Down" (EP) (Crammed Disc/Six Degrees, 2003)
Zuco 103 "One Up" (EP) (Crammed Disc/Six Degrees, 2003)

Zuco 103 "Whaa!" (Crammed Disc/Six Degrees, 2005)
Their best album so far, by far. A great, giddy modern Euro-Brazilian world-pop album, marking a quantum leap up from the band's first two albums from a few years back. On the opening track, "Na Magueira," singer Lilian Vieira bursts forth with an incandescent homage to the sprightly jazzy rhythm style of Elza Soares -- Vieira's version being draped in a contemporary techno-tinged sound mix... The band's roots in Europhilic dance music come back to the fore in a few of the house-ier tracks, but their explorations of African pop (on "Duele Le Le") and cameos by dub reggae legend Lee "Scratch" Perry make this album their richest, most resonant album to date. Nice stuff; as catchy as it is clever, and as propulsive as it is playful. Recommended.

Zuco 103 "After The Carnaval" (Six Degrees/Dox-Netherlands, 2008)
(Produced by Zuco 103)
Brazilian electro-pop from the Zuco crew, who have always been a bit on the clubby side, but had a strong grounding in contemporary Afro-Brazilian styles as well. They get super-technoed out on a few tracks, particularly the aggressively house-y, Euro-flavored "Beija A Mim," one of the first songs on the album, but then delve deeper into samba and soft-soul as the album goes on. Lead vocalist Lilian Vieira has a reedy, Sade-ish feel which hardens when she turns to more samba-flavored material; each of these styles will find their fans, as this is an album that offers a variety of tempos and tones. If you enjoyed their earlier albums, you'll want to check this out as well... Overall, it'll probably have the greatest appeal for the club-kids contingent, but Braziliophiles will dig it, too.

Zumba Cinco "Zumba Cinco" (Musicdisc, 1964)

Brazilian Music - Compilation Albums

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World Music Index