Os Cariocas - Pure Bossa Nova (2004)

Os Cariocas only recorded bossa nova after their second decade of recording, but it's what they're best known for, especially outside of Brazil. Despite sounding like a cool vocal group (à la Swingle Singers or others), the group helped the vanguard of early bossa nova composers, performing Jobim songs as early as 1954. This 14-track collection, rather brief at 35 minutes, includes recordings they made for the Verve/Universal family of labels during the early to mid-'60s. Not all of their best repertoire is owned by the Universal catalog -- both "Chega de Saudade" and "Corcovado" would have been good additions -- but what is here is quite good: "Ela é Carioca," "Samba de uma Nota Só," and "Garota de Ipanema." © John Bush /TiVo