A legend of Brazilian guitar, emerging on the cusp of the bossa nova boom of the 1960s. Baden Powell is a Brazilian musician with a solid international reputation. A gifted instrumentalist and composer, he bridges the gap between classical artistry and popular warmth and was a key figure in the bossa nova movement.

An excellent Brazilian guitarist, Baden Powell has played with his share of American jazz greats (including Herbie Mann and the late Stan Getz). But there's no jazz to be found on Seresta Brasiliera, which was recorded for the Brazilian Caju Music label in 1988 and released in the U.S. on Milestone/Fantasy in 1994. The title Seresta Brasiliera translates to "Brazilian serenade," and an unaccompanied Powell embraces the Brazilian serenade style on personal, introspective versions of Pixinguinha's "Rosa," as well as songs he wrote with his frequent partner, the late Vinicius De Moraes (including "Velho Amigo," "Cancao Do Amor Ausente" and "Serenata Do Adeus"). A melancholy mood defines much of the CD, and Powell's playing is often as beautiful as it is sad and remorseful. Seresta Brasiliera is an album with little optimism and plenty of soul.

When it was originally released in 1964, this set of music was a bit of a hit, selling over 100,000 copies. In the early '60s when many Brazilian musicians brought bossa nova to the United States, classically trained guitarist Baden Powell took his guitar to France. Hence, the rest is history, as this Brazilian artist infused his hybrid jazz/classical/bossa nova articulations into the European scene. On various works, Powell melds a distinct sense of classicism with buoyancy and sophistication.

This compilation brings some of Baden Powell's biggest instrumental hits, like "Canto de Ossanha" (from the Afro-sambas phase, fruit of his research of genuine Afro folklore in Bahia), "Berimbau," "Tempo Feliz," the unusual melodic solutions in "O Astronauta," and "Samba triste." Sometimes backed by a rhythm section (non-credited in the poor inlay), sometimes alone at the violão, he also pays tribute to Pixinguinha (through his classics "Lamento" and "Carinhoso"), Tom Jobim ("Garota de Ipanema"), Vinícius de Moraes ("Eurídice"), and Sílvio Caldas (in the romantic seresta classic "Chão de Estrelas"). This constitutes a good introduction to the master's instrumental work and improvisations.

Only 38-minutes long, Canta Vinicius De Moraes e Paolo Cesar Pinheiro is one of the truly great Baden Powell recordings. Long before alcoholism took its toll on the great guitarist and composer, he recorded this set in 1977 for the Festival label at the behest (read: strongarm tactics) of Jacques Lubin, his A&R man at Barclay, as a tribute to the two great lyricists and collaborations in his life. Powell is supported on this program buy a small group of truly sympathetic studio musicians who held him in awe. His small, tender, but deeply moving voice on such classics as "Labaréda," and "Samba de Bênção" - both of which are based on the chants, rhythms, and melodies of the Afro-Brazilian Candoble religion - that holds the magic…