e "Miles Davis of Acid Jazz", French trumpeter Erik Truffaz, re-invents his style with every new album. JazzTimes heralded Truffaz's music as "nastier than smooth jazz and naughtier than straight-ahead." His last project, Benares, features two masters of Indian classical improvisation, the tabla player Apurba Mukherjee and his sister, singer Indrani.
The blind Roma accordionist from Slovakia was originally discovered by the late Czech singer Zuzana Navarova, and in her band Koa he became the strongest personality after she passed away. His soft, intimate and very personal songs combine both Gypsy feeling and the soulful approach of the great American black masters like Stevie Wonder.
Can you mix samba with DJ culture? Brazilian carnival with Berlin's Love Parade? Zuco do it on expert level, fusing high energy of a live drummer and keyboard magician with the stunning voice of Lilian Vieira from Rio de Janeiro. Their exciting new show - as well as their new remix CD, RETOUCHED! After The Carnaval - draws from the steaming hot atmosphere of Brazilian carnival.
Ecstasy, humor and first-rate virtuosity: Brazilian accordion superstar Renato Borghetti, master of the rich musical gaucho traditions from southern Brazil, offers an exciting and elegant mix of traditional forms such as milonga, chacarera and chamamé with touches of jazz, tango and Italian-Spanish influences. He won a Latin Grammy in 2005 for Best Brazilian Roots/Regional Album, for his album Gaita Ponto Com. "Mozart would have enjoyed it a lot!" (Wiener Zeitung, Vienna, June 2005]