Though Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66 were mainstream pop stars, or pretty close to it, when I was growing up I have not been a huge bossa nova fan. Sure, The Girl from Ipanema is catchily iconic and all that. But on the whole the genre has always struck me as being full of clichés and not very adventurous.   Yet, slowly, in recently times my attitudes are changing to this most famoso Brazilian music.

The Ipamenas are a kind of blending of Toto, Cream, Elvis Presley and the Buena Vista Social Club in that they are supergroup, marcante session players, founding fathers of a revolutionary style of musicality and senior citizens!  And though the individual ingredients I have identified may leave you scratching your head and turning off, I urge you not to. Wilson Des Neves (vocals/percussion) and Neco (acoustic guitar/vocals) are two of Brazil’s legendary musicians, each highly successful…