Brazilian Kicks

This is one hot party album. I put it on at 8 a.m., and that’s no time for a party. Still, the party impulse was pretty insistent because this ensemble of players from Brazil and L.A. can make you want to move, and make you want to seek out a place where lots of other people are moving. It’s hard to boogie and work the keyboard simultaneously, so if sometimes the thread gets lost here, that’s because I just had to get up and dance to some of these tracks as I was writing. Igor Prado has been purveying the blues to a devoted following of Jump blues lovers down in Sao Paulo, Brazil for years now, and his band lends support to touring American bluesmen when they are playing Latin America. Lynwood Slim is the northern half of this ensemble, and these guys meld perfectly. I didn’t hear a bad track, with distinctive harp and vocals throughout. Standouts include “Bloodshot Eyes,” which just might make you laugh, and “Someday Maybe,” which just might make you cry, if you’ve recently experienced the particular woe the song expresses. Warning: Prolonged exposure to this album may induce dancing, smoking, drinking and more.