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VARIOUS Tropicália: A Brazilian Revolution In Sound Soul Jazz ****

Just as 1968 proved to be a momentous year in other countries, it was also a year of change and chaos in Brazil. As well as sporadic bouts of street violence and noisy protests against the military dictatorship that had taken over the country in 1964, a bunch of musicians and artists emerged with radical views about Brazilian society and culture to share with the world. The Tropicália movement itself came and went in just over a year, but the music produced by such acts as Tom Zé, Jorge Ben. Os Mutantes, Gilberto Gil (now the country's culture minister), Caetano Veloso and others continues to reflect an era when Brazil began to realise its own cultural wealth and worth. Given Tropicália's fondness for both past and future sounds and its mish-mash of local and global influences, the music on this compilation ranges from the psychedelic wash of A Minha Menina (from Os Mutantes) to the anarchic samba of Gal Costa's Vou Recomecar. A wonderfully bright snapshot of a nation stirring itself. www.souljazzrecords.co.uk

Jim Carroll