CoronaVinyl Day 392 (M): Brazil, Bossa Nova & Blues by Herbie Mann

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is "M," and I went with legendary jazz flutist Herbie Mann's 1962 album Brazil, Bossa Nova & Blues.

Mann was one of the first jazz artists to embrace world music, and in 1961, he did a tour in Brazil that re-energized him.  He brought back several Brazilian musicians to record with him, and the result was Brazil, Bossa Nova & Blues, which helped to popularize bossa nova in both the U.S. and Europe.

If you're familiar at all with bossa nova, you know it's a style that has some Latin pep to it, and this album is a good example of bossa nova, with Mann's flute guiding the way.

Mann continued to make music in a variety of jazz subgenres, often fusing jazz with other genres like rock, soul, and disco, until not that long before his death in 2003 at the age of 73.

Favorite Song on Side 1:  "Brazil"
The album kicks off with a fast-paced instrumental version of the classic Brazilian samba song "Aquarela do Brasil."

Favorite Song on Side 2:  "B.N. Blues"
This is the shortest song on the album, and one of two on the album written by Mann.  It's a punchy little number that is, as expected, very jazz-flute-forward.