Paulo Bellinati - Afro-Sambas (1997)

A spare and subtle tribute to the original Afro-Sambas project from guitarist Baden Powell and poet Vinicius De Moraes -- done here by the duet of Monica Salmaso on vocals and Paulo Bellinati on guitar! The instrumentation is even sparer than the original version -- and Monica's vocals really sound wonderful in the setting -- more musical, more melodic, more compelling than ever before -- and Bellinati's guitar playing is a little more subdued than Powell's, but in ways that seem to bring up the vocals even more.