José Roberto Bertrami - Blue Wave (1983)

Extremely chill fusion led by Brazilian keyboardist José Roberto Bertrami of Azymuth fame. Makes me feel like I'm on a boat drinking wine.

Track listing:

1. Bye Bye Brasil

2. Chorodô

3. Partido Alto #2

4. Shot on Goal (Perigo de Gol)

5. Blue Wave

6. Parati

7. Sheds and Weeds (Barracos e Arbustos)

Somewhere totally else

Similar vibes:

Arthur Verocai - Arthur Verocai (1972)

Jarosław Śmietana - Talking Guitar (1984)

Arthur Verocai - Arthur Verocai (1972)

A classic of hazy, jazzy Brazilian folk rock. If you're looking for laid-back tunes for a warm summer day, this is exactly it. However, I'd guess that a good chunk of my readers are already familiar with this little slice of heaven, considering that it really made the rounds back in the golden age of mp3 blogs and has been reissued multiple times over the past decade. I'm mostly posting this so that I can relive one of my favorite memories from my recent vacation in Mexico, which this record soundtracked: sunbathing and swimming nude while everyone else except my wife was running errands (we're not a "let's get nude together" kind of crew.) I set a timer for half an hour when they left, figuring they'd be gone at least half an hour, and I had literally JUST put my swimsuit back on when the front door opened.

Track listing:

1. Caboclo

2. Pelas Sombras

3. Sylvia

4. Presente Grego

5. Dedicado a Ela

6. Seriado

7. Na Boca do Sol

8. Velho Parente

9. O Mapa

10. Karina (Domingo no Grajaú)

You were right on time

More greatness from Brazil:

Marcos Valle - Marcos Valle (1974)

Milton Nascimento - Minas (1975)

Astrud Gilberto - I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do (1969)

Beautiful bossa nova/vocal jazz from Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto. The perfect balance of melancholy, string-swept ballads and breezy, uptempo numbers. File the title track alongside "I Get Along Without You Very Well", "Most of the Time", and "She Thinks I Still Care" -- breakup songs in which the narrator goes to great lengths to explain how little they care about their former lover, thereby revealing the true depths of their heartbreak. Bought this LP today for (drumroll please) 10 cents. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, you've been great.

Track listing:
1. I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do
2. Didn't We
3. Wailing of the Willow
4. Where's the Love?
5. The Sea Is My Soul (I Remember When)
6. Trains and Boats and Planes
7. World Stop Turning
8. Without Him
9. Wee Small Hours
10. If (The Biggest Little Word)

He's got a problem if he thinks I need him
I couldn't care less now that we're through
I only sit home and I wait for his phone call
When I haven't got anything better to do

Also check out:

Brigitte Fontaine -
Brigitte Fontaine Est... Folle (1969)

Joan Manuel Serrat -
Mediterráneo (1971)

Egberto Gismonti - Egberto Gismonti (1969)

Lovely first album of jazz-saturated folk rock by virtuosic Brazilian guitarist Egberto Gismonti. Laid-back and sunny but with plenty of energy, filled out by a percussion, piano, strings, flute, and a bit of Gismonti's sweet, understated singing.

Track listing:
1. Salvador
2. Tributo a West Montgomery
3. Pr'um Samba
4. Computador
5. Atento, Alerta
6. Lirica II (Pra Mulher Amada)
7. O Gato
8. Um Dia
9. Clama-Claro
10. Pr'um Espaço
11. O Sonho
12. Estudo Nr. 5

A series of portraits

If you like this, you should hear:

Joan Manuel Serrat -
Mediterráneo (1971)

Milton Nascimento -
Minas (1975)

Fania All-Stars - Spanish Fever (1978)

A salsa-disco hybrid that could make a dead man dance. I was having a kinda shitty day at the ol' record graveyard until my coworker put on this lil' slice of heaven. Spanish Fever is a lot heavier on the disco front than the other records of theirs that I've heard, so I wouldn't be surprised if fans consider it their "sellout" record or whatever, but I've got fucking Spanish Fever-fever, man.

Track listing:
1. Spanish Fever
2. Que Pasa?
3. Space Machine (Ride, Ride, Ride)
4. Your Sereneness
5. Coro Miyare
6. Donde
7. Te Pareces a Judas
8. Sin Tu Cariño

En orbita

If you like this, check out:

Claudia -
Reza, Tambor E Raça (1977)

The Players Association -
The Players Association (1977)

Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu of Ethiopia (1972)

Unfuckwithable debut LP of super-chill, psychedelic jazz-funk with Latin and Ethiopian influences from vibraphonist/keyboardist Mulatu Astatke. Vibraphone, space-flute, buoyant rhythms, wah-wah-heavy keyboards, a rich horn section, laid-back but sharp -- pretty much, a goddamn dream come true.

Track listing:
1. Mulatu
2. Mascaram Setaba
3. Dewel
4. Kulunmanqueleshi
5. Kasalefkut-Hulu
6. Munaye
7. Chifara

If you care to survive

You might also wanna hear:

Lonnie Liston Smith -
Astral Traveling (1973)

Steps Ahead -
Steps Ahead (1983)

Joan Manuel Serrat - Mediterráneo (1971)

Spanish balladeer Joan Manuel Serrat's international breakthrough. Gently-picked acoustic guitars and Serrat's rich voice are at the center, with an ornate musical backdrop of, in addition to the standard pop/rock elements, sweeping strings, harpsichord, and ethereal backing vocals -- a small orchestra, essentially. For those well-versed in Serrat's corner of the musical world, this is probably akin to posting Blonde on Blonde or something, but I'm guessing that most of my readers, like me, are not.

Track listing:
1. Mediterráneo
2. Aquellas Pequenas Cosas
3. La Mujer Que Yo Quiero
4. Pueblo Blanco
5. Tío Alberto
6. Qué va a ser de ti
7. Lucía
8. Vagabundear
9. Barquito de Papel
10. Vencidos

PS I love you

You might also enjoy:

Richard Harris -
A Tramp Shining (1968)

Marcos Valle -
Marcos Valle (1974)

Gato Barbieri - Bolivia (1973)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Gato Barbieri - Fenix (1971)

Sadly, saxophonist Gato Barbieri is one of many legendary musicians whose lives have been taken by the beast that is the year 2016; he died of pneumonia earlier this month. With that in mind, let's have a listen to one of his best and most beloved LPs, 1973's Bolivia, a collaboration with jazz-funk great Lonnie Liston Smith.

Track listing:
1. Merceditas
2. Eclypse/Michellina
3. Bolivia
4. Ninos
5. Vidala Triste

Into the unknowable

You may also enjoy:

Jan Garbarek -
Esoteric Circle (1969)

Doug Hammond -
Spaces (1982)

Marcos Valle - Marcos Valle (1974)

Beautiful psych-tinged Brazilian pop. Fits pretty much any mood you can throw at it.

Track listing:
1. No Rumo Do Sol
2. Meu Herói
3. Só Se Morre Uma Vez
4. Casamento, Filhos E Convenções
5. Remédio P'ro Coração
6. Brasil X México
7. Tango
8. Nossa Vida Começa Na Gente
9. Novelo De Lã
10. Cobaia
11. Charlie Bravo

The moment your head hits the pillow

More Brazilian excellence:

Gilberto Gil - Gilberto Gil (1968)

Milton Nascimento - Minas (1975)

Gato Barbieri - Fenix (1971)

An excellent, high-energy record of percussion-heavy, groove-based, vaguely Latin jazz led by Argentinian tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri. His playing here is phenomenal -- informed by both the forceful, improvisational melodicism of hard bop and the shrieking abandon of free jazz -- and he's backed up by a stellar cast of musicians, including bassist Ron Carter and pianist Lonnie Liston Smith. I understand that from here Barbieri quickly moved on to the bland, unintentionally comical world of smooth jazz, so I'd like to assure those familiar with only his later work that this is quite far from that shite, and worthy of your attention.

Track listing:
1. Tupac Amaru
2. Carnavalito
3. Falsa Bahiana
4. El Dia Que Me Quieras
5. El Arriero
6. Bahia

Under fire

Claudia - Reza, Tambor E Raça (1977)

Cool, joyful fusion of soul, funk, and samba. Get up on it.

Track listing:
1. Reza, Tambor E Raça
2. Soy Latino Americano
3. Glorioso Santo Antônio
4. Poeta do Medo
5. Pororoca
6. Lua Negra
7. Apenas Um Rapaz Latino Americano
8. O Cavaleiro E Os Moinhos
9. Vai Baby (Peter Gunn)
10. 2ª Feira
11. Homem E Mulher
12. Ana Cor de Cana

Head first

Milton Nascimento - Minas (1975)

One of many jaw-dropping albums of breezy, evocative, effortlessly innovative jazz/folk/ornate pop/psych tunes from Brazilian music legend Milton Nascimento. Released shortly after Native Dancer, a fruitful collaboration with saxophonist Wayne Shorter that granted Nascimento a worldwide audience, Minas is bursting at the seams with ideas -- one moment, laid-back folk rock glides over skittering jazz rhythms; the next, a choir battles towering guitar feedback; the next, syncopated hand percussion and wa-wa guitars disappear into a cloud of lush strings. All this, yet Minas makes for an easy, cohesive, one might even say, relaxing listen.

Track listing:
1. Minas
2. Fé Cega, Faca Amolada
3. Beijo Partido
4. Saudade dos Aviões da Panair (Conversando no Bar)
5. Gran Circo
6. Ponta de Areia
7. Trastevere
8. Idolatrada
9. Leila (Venha Ser Feliz)
10. Paula e Bebeto
11. Simples
12. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (bonus)
13. Caso Você Queira Saber (bonus)

From the lonely afternoons