Nova Bossa Nova

They are a veteran crew. They are an eclectic bunch. They fuse a hard-core be-bop horn section with a thumping Brazilian rhythm section, creating a unique, exciting sound. They are, simply, Nova Bossa Nova.
The founding members of the group, Guilherme Franco (drums) and Alberto Beserra (bass), are both natives of Brazil. They had to travel to Japan, however, in order to become acquainted with one another and with each other's music. It was 1975. Franco was on tour as a member of the McCoy Tyner Group and Beserra, who was living in Japan (as he still does) caught his future friend perform in concert. Then it was Franco's turn to watch Beserra play, at the club where he was a featured artist. By the end of the night, the two were jamming side-by-side, and making plans to form a band together. 20 years later they have done just that.
Claudio Roditi, a native of Brazil, is essentially a jazz trumpeter, and a very good one at that. Eddie Monteiro, while not from Brazil, brings a lot of that country to his unique accordion/vocalese. Bob Mintzer, on the tenor sax, has gained renown as an orchestrator, the leader of his own big band, and as a member of the Yellowjackets. Joe Ford, on the flute, the alto and the soprano sax played with Franco during the McCoy Tyner days. Pianist Atsushi Inoue frequently collaborates with Beserra in Japan.
In 1996, Nova Bossa Nova signed an exclusive recording contract with New York's Arkadia Jazz. If all holds to plan, we will be hearing a lot more from this exciting band, which unites the melody and improvisations of jazz with rhythms of bossa nova.