Looking for a low-key concert to close out your summer? Cumbancha artist Luisa Maita is on tour right now, criss-crossing the United States.  Maita’s easy style and smooth vocals won her the title of Best New Artist at the 2011 Brazilian Music Awards. Check out Maita’s mellow, sultry track “Lero-Lero” and the more up-tempo “Alento” below, and click here to download the album. If you like what you hear, click here to see a list of tour dates and enjoy!

Photo courtesy of Cumbancha; photographer Joao Wainer

Start the party with Rumba, Mambo, Cha Cha Cha and a mojito in hand. Cuba and Colombia figure heavily in the album, full of perky horns and hip-tickling drum beats. Fans of the classics will thrill to “Mambo #5” and “Cereza Rosa.” “Mambo #5,” originally composed in 1949, is performed this time by Colombian band leader Ernesto “Fruko” Estrada—a bit different from Lou Bega’s monster hit version. Angel Melendez and The 911 Mambo Orchestra take on “Cereza Rosa,” which was a number one pop hit in 1955. The track exudes every ounce of the original’s 1950s kitsch and swagger. “Esperanza” by Salsa Celtica is unusual, blending traditional Scottish music with Latin rhythms. Other fusion tracks include “E.L.S.” by the Internationals, a Belgian group that blends ska, Afrobeat and Latin grooves, and “Pa’ Mantener Tradicion” from Tres Muchachos & Companeros, a band that recalls the Cold War with its alliance of Russian and Cuban influences.

As the sun goes down, turn up the party’s sultry swing with Bossa Nova Around the World. This musical style is all about smooth, and the album is international easy listening. On “Esperanca de Mar Azul,” Nancy Vieira and Tito Paris bring the flavor of Cape Verde, a TravelTracks favorite. Amanda Martinez’s voice on “Hasta Que Pueda” is rich and mature and pairs perfectly with the track’s  languid strings. Serbian trumpter Dusko Goykovich brings joy and foot-tapping rhythm to “Menina Moca,” while Stacey Kent and Jim Tomlinson perform the classic “So Nice,” a tune that even music novices will likely recognize. Several tracks are sung in French, the romantic language a natural fit with bossa nova’s slinky sound; one of the loveliest of these is Tom & Joy’s “Meditation.” Among the more unusual languages used on the album: German (“Melancholisch Schon” from 2raumwohnung), Norwegian (“Vakker Natt (Corvocado)” by Hilde Hefte), and Korean (“Railroad” by Monla).

Stay hydrated while listening to these hot disks, and enjoy the rest of summer!