Gomez, Nico
Soul Of Samba
Back in 2013, Mr Bongo reissued Nico Gomez's sought-after 'Ritual' album from 1971, and now they follow it up with another jewel from his catalogue his 1972 album 'Soul Of Samba'. For this reissue, they have opted to present it with the cover art originally used on the Trio Records version released in Japan. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the album was released with different cover art under the title 'Bossa Nova', on Omega International and International Bestseller Company Records, respectively. Mr Bongo loved the beautiful psychedelic design of the Japanese version and wanted to use it for this reissue. 'Soul Of Samba' features several Euro-bossa-jazz favourites such as the catchy 'Rio'; which was a firm DJ choice cut at jazz dance nights, including Brighton's 'Jazz Rooms' in the '90s. It also featured in Rainer Trüby's classic 'Glücklich' compilation series which explored European-Brazilian-inspired music. The beguiling 'Aquarela', with its engaging latin shuffle, entices feet to the dancefloor and is not one to miss. 'Agua' has a lazy-quirky Latin-funk feel with breathy-stoned vocals floating in the background. The album additionally features numerous breezy Latin, Brazilian, and easy listening joints, some of which are ripe for sampling.