On Record – Various Artists: Glücklich VI compiled by Rainer Trüby (Compost Records)

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

After a long time on hyetas, Rainer Trüby adds a sixth instalment to his Glücklich series, celebrating Brazilian and Brazilian-flavoured music, old and new.

Trüby is a fanatical collector, leaving no stone unturned in the pursuit of happiness, scooping up a number of rarities and vinyl-only gems along the way. It may be two decades since the last Glücklich release, but this one draws on all the elements that made the first five volumes essential for collectors and Brazilian music devotees.

What’s the music like?

Smile-inducing. If you have collected the series to date, you will know what to expect, but for the uninitiated the music here gives an instant, uplifting fix.

If Jon Lucien’s Come With Me To Rio doesn’t get you, with its promise of ‘doing the samba when they want’, then Debbie Cameron & Richard Boone‘s breezy Stop Foolin’ Yourself will. Jean-Marc Jafet‘s Offering goes with a swing, as does Marcia Maria’s piano-fuelled Brasil Nativo.

On the cool side sit Midnight Gigolos with Brother Samba and a winsome Portuguese-language cover of Roy Ayers from Swedes A Bossa Elétrica, Sob A Luz Do Sol.

Meanwhile Trüby himself gets in on the act with a sultry remix of the Gilles Peterson project, Sonzeira‘s The Mystery Of Man.

Does it all work?

Yes. The loving attention to detail extends throughout the tracklisting and as far as the artwork, which once again links Germany and Brazil – the car being a Volkswagen SP2 manufactured in Brazil between 1972 and 1976.

Is it recommended?

It is great to see Rainer Trüby picking up where he left off with this series, investing a great deal of love and devotion into the music. Because of that we get a winsome collection of music capable of bringing the sunshine to any summer.

In appreciation – Jim Parker

by Ben Hogwood

Yesterday we heard of the sad news of the death of Jim Parker – who, as this wonderful Guardian obituary illustrates, was a composer of rare talent for the small screen.

One of Parker’s calling cards was the music to the much loved British TV mainstay Midsomer Murders. If you’ve watched any of the episodes you will be aware of the musical attention to detail in the scene setting, Parker providing a vivid guide to the action taking place on screen, and hamming up the drama as and when needed.

That’s before we get to the theme, of course, which has become one of the most distinctive on TV with its gurgling clarinet and spooky mellotron.