Search - Various Artists :: Break N Bossa: the Maximum Joy

Decent Japanese Only Break & Bossa sampler

bordersj2 | Boston | 12/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As of right now, there are really only 7 'original' Break & Bossa's with the latest being released in 2005. There is an 8th that is reportedly on the way (delayed release), but as of tihs moment in time, there are eight. Having said that, the Idizioni-Ishtar (Schema) label also has special "Break & Bossa" series for specific markets. The label that serves home to Nicola Conte, Gerardo Frisina, Rosalia De Souza, The Invisible Session, Soulstance, S-Tone Inc. and loads more have released Break & Bossa chapters in the USA (2 of them) and in Japan. The USA ones are titled "Break & Bossa: The American Chapter", and they feature some of the hits from the regular Break & Bossa series. This one titled "Break n' Bossa: The Maximum Joy" is of the same mold of the American ones, only directed towards the Japanese market.



Honestly, if you're a big Schema collector, there won't be much new music here. But it's a very diverse mix of the label's catalogue of music. It starts out with Gerardo Frisina's vocal version of "Mas eu Quer Ser" from his Ad Lib album. Great bossa! Was-A-Bee's "This is What You Are" follows up and you've got Mark Murphy on vocals. Admittedly, the song seems sorta cheesy to me but it's all good. Soulstance's "The Aftermath of Love" is another good bit although unless you have the song on vinyl, you'll be hard pressed to hear it without the end of "Blue Grassland" faded into the beginning of it. But I love the way they did that song - does Lalo Schifrin justice. Other great artists are Balanco - I liked 'Batucada do Silencio' and thought that was an excellent choice; real jazzed up class. You've also got S-Tone Inc's rolling "Rendez-vous a Minuit", Nicola Conte presenting Rosalia De Souza with "Tempo Futuro" in all it's original glory. That's one though where you'll be well served getting her feature album. Paolo Fedreghini & Marco Bianchi and some remixed tracks by The Dining Rooms also feature here. The Vibrazioni Production's track "Life" was interesting to me because I had only heard the Soulstance remix of the song off of Bossa House & Breaks vol. 1, which is a Japanese series un-related to Break & Bossa.



Released in 2004, I only recommend this to the hard-core Schema collector looking for all things Break & Bossa or if you happen to be in HMV in Tokyo and see it. The price tag will be pretty high otherwise since it's a Japanese import - the 37.50 tag is consistent with most Rambling Japan imports to the USA and that's for good reason - the cd was manufactured under license from Edizioni Ishtar for Rambling. Rambling is the label that put out the "Bossa A-La-Mode" and "Club Jazz A-La-Mode" series. Anyways, this has got some good songs - remixes that were only available on vinyl and is a good, unique sample of bossa & nu-bossa tunes. If you dig it, check out the Bossa A La Mode series, the regular Break & Bossa series, the Sister Bossa series and maybe the Bossa & Go series. Oh... and since most likely collectors will be considering some of these, definitely try to track down the Bossa House & Breaks series, released by KSR in Japan. Finally - the linear notes are in kanji and I put the track listings in a wiki."