Brazilian mandolin virtuoso Hamilton de Holanda opens a new creative chapter with Nova, a wide-ranging album that brings the traditions of Brazilian instrumental music into conversation with contemporary jazz and sounds from Africa, India, the Caribbean and the Middle East.

Released by Sony Music Brasil on May 20, 2026, the 14-track, 56-minute recording was produced by de Holanda and Marcos Portinari. Recorded in different parts of the world, Nova draws inspiration from the people, places and musical encounters that have marked de Holanda’s extensive travels.

At the heart of the album is the Hamilton de Holanda Trio: de Holanda on 10-string mandolin, Salomão Soares on keyboards and synthesizers, and Thiago “Big” Rabello on drums. Their six-year musical partnership gives the project its central identity, balancing rhythmic precision, melodic freedom and intuitive ensemble interaction.

The trio is joined by an impressive international cast that includes Indian sitarist Anoushka Shankar, French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf, Cuban percussionist and vocalist Pedrito Martínez, Angolan singer-songwriter Paulo Flores and Brazilian percussion legend Paulinho da Costa. Other guests include Pedro Martins, Michael Pipoquinha, Pretinho da Serrinha, Mestra Zélia do Prato and Larissa Umaytá.

Opening with “Nova Alvorada,” the album imagines a new dawn rooted in African and Afro-Brazilian traditions. Pedrito Martínez contributes vocals and percussion, Michael Pipoquinha adds electric bass, and singers Tatiana Parra, Vanessa Moreno and Dani Gurgel form the supporting chorus.

Elsewhere, “Som de Baile” channels the energy of Brazilian dance bands, drawing upon the spirit of Banda Black Rio, Jorge Ben Jor and Gilberto Gil. “Frio Lá Fora,” composed during a bitterly cold stay in New York, features Maalouf and Pretinho da Serrinha, while “Pras Crianças” combines an ijexá-based foundation with the resonant sound of Shankar’s sitar. “Luanda (Unidos)” creates a bridge to Angolan semba through the voice and text of Paulo Flores.

Among the album’s most reflective compositions is “Mono no Aware,” which has received an official visualizer. Written by de Holanda and Soares, its title comes from a Japanese expression describing an awareness of life’s impermanence—and the realization that beauty becomes more meaningful because it is temporary.

Recorded at producer and engineer Mario Caldato Jr.’s Los Angeles studio, the piece features Paulinho da Costa on percussion and Pedro Martins on guitar alongside the trio. The gathering connects three generations of Brazilian musicians in a performance that is sophisticated, spacious and emotionally restrained.

The visualizer complements the composition’s contemplative character through imagery evoking delicacy, transition and constant transformation. Rather than presenting a literal storyline, it creates an intimate visual environment in which the music’s mixture of quiet joy and underlying sadness can unfold. The official visualizer is available through Hamilton de Holanda’s YouTube channel.

Now entering his sixth decade, de Holanda remains one of Brazilian instrumental music’s most innovative figures. By expanding the traditional eight-string bandolim into a 10-string instrument, he developed a broader harmonic and melodic vocabulary that has allowed him to move naturally among choro, samba, jazz and global musical traditions.

With Nova, that spirit of invention is guided by gratitude, generosity and an enduring belief in music’s ability to connect people. Tradition and experimentation are not treated as opposites; they become complementary parts of a living musical language.

As de Holanda explains, creating original music with such an extraordinary community of artists is his way of affirming that, regardless of the world’s uncertainties, “the music will continue.”

Nova — Complete Track Listing

1. Nova Alvorada — Hamilton de Holanda
2. Presente pra Sempre — Hamilton de Holanda
3. Nasci — Hamilton de Holanda
4. Som de Baile — Hamilton de Holanda
5. Mono no Aware — Hamilton de Holanda and Salomão Soares
6. Frio Lá Fora — Hamilton de Holanda and Gabriel de Holanda
7. Carrossel — Hamilton de Holanda and Gabriel de Holanda
8. Pras Crianças — Hamilton de Holanda
9. Luanda (Unidos) — Hamilton de Holanda
10. Por Essa Eu Não Esperava — Hamilton de Holanda and Gabriel de Holanda
11. Forrozin de Mestra Zélia — Hamilton de Holanda
12. Choro Fado — Hamilton de Holanda
13. Sol da Noite — Hamilton de Holanda
14. Até Amanhã — Hamilton de Holanda and Salomão Soares

Album Credits

Hamilton de Holanda Trio

Hamilton de Holanda: 10-string mandolin
Salomão Soares: keyboards, synthesizers and Moog
Thiago “Big” Rabello: drums and percussion

Guest Artists and Additional Musicians

“Nova Alvorada”
Pedrito Martínez — percussion and vocals
Michael Pipoquinha — bass
Tatiana Parra — backing vocals
Vanessa Moreno — backing vocals
Dani Gurgel — backing vocals

“Nasci”
Eduardo Neves — tenor saxophone
Aquiles Moraes — trumpet
Rafael Rocha — trombone and horn arrangement

“Som de Baile”
Eduardo Neves — tenor saxophone
Aquiles Moraes — trumpet
Rafael Rocha — trombone and horn arrangement
Larissa Umaytá — percussion

“Mono no Aware”
Paulinho da Costa — percussion
Pedro Martins — guitar

“Frio Lá Fora”
Ibrahim Maalouf — trumpet
Pretinho da Serrinha — percussion

“Pras Crianças”
Anoushka Shankar — sitar
Leander Motta — moringa percussion

“Luanda (Unidos)”
Paulo Flores — voice and spoken text

“Forrozin de Mestra Zélia”
Mestra Zélia do Prato — voice

Production

Producers: Hamilton de Holanda and Marcos Portinari
Executive producer and editing engineer: Marcos Portinari
Assistant producer: Fellipe Cabral
Mixing: Thiago Rabello and Da Pá Virada
Mastering: André Dias
Assistant engineer: Vitor Nery
Photography: Nando Chagas
Label: Sony Music Brasil
Release date: May 20, 2026
Format: Digital album
Duration: Approximately 56 minutes

Craft Latino is celebrating the legacy of Puerto Rican singer and composer Chamaco Ramírez with the first vinyl reissue of Alive and Kicking, his acclaimed 1979 solo debut. Originally released by Inca Records and unavailable on vinyl for more than 45 years, the album will return on September 18, 2026, in conjunction with the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Although Alive and Kicking was Ramírez’s only album as a solo artist, the nine-song recording remains a powerful demonstration of his talents as a sonero, songwriter and bandleader. The album includes enduring favourites such as “San Agustín,” “Adivínalo” and “Así son Bongó,” supported by an exceptional ensemble of musicians from the New York salsa scene.

The new 180-gram pressing was produced using an all-analog process. Dave Polster and Clint Holley of Well Made Music cut the lacquers directly from the original master tapes, preserving the energy and clarity of Ramírez’s voice and the album’s richly arranged instrumentation. A limited-edition Rumba Amarilla pressing, restricted to 300 copies, will also be available through Fania, either separately or as part of a bundle with a collectible Inca Records T-shirt. The newly remastered album is already available digitally in standard and high-resolution audio.

Born in Puerto Rico in 1941, Ramírez emerged as one of salsa’s most admired improvisational singers. He was only 16 when he joined Tommy Olivencia y Su Orquesta as co-lead vocalist alongside Paquito Guzmán. During his 13 years with the orchestra, Ramírez appeared on eight albums and developed a reputation for his command of the sonero tradition and his ability to create spontaneous verses.

Ramírez also performed with the Alegre All Stars and Kako y Su Orquesta before leaving Olivencia’s band in 1976 and relocating to New York. Three years later, he recorded Alive and Kicking for Inca Records, a Fania subsidiary. The album was produced by Cuban pianist and arranger Javier Vázquez, widely recognized for his association with La Sonora Matancera.

The program opens with “San Agustín,” a memorable son montuno composed by Catalino “Tite” Curet Alonso. The song pays tribute to the working-class San Agustín community in San Juan’s Puerta de Tierra district. Ramírez then turns toward New York’s urban rumba tradition with an updated version of Cuban percussionist Justi Barreto’s “Rumba moderna.”

Among the album’s most popular selections is Ramírez’s own “Adivínalo,” an upbeat composition whose spirited delivery contrasts with its controversial references to drug use. “Así son Bongó,” written by Cuban composer Joseíto Fernández, is another highlight. Its story of an incarcerated man mourning a forgotten romance is transformed by Ramírez and the orchestra into an energetic guaguancó designed for dancers.

The album’s formidable personnel includes trumpeter Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, bassist Elpidio Vázquez Jr., percussionist and vocalist Jorge Maldonado, saxophonists Manolín González and Mario Rivera, and percussionists Alberto Valdés, Edgar López and Mike Collazo. Adalberto Santiago and Tito Allen strengthen the coro, while producer Javier Vázquez also contributes on piano.

The memorable cover, designed by Ron Levine, depicts Ramírez emerging from a coffin into a beam of sunlight—a visual interpretation of the title that later acquired tragic significance. Ramírez was killed by gun violence in 1983 at the age of 41.

More than four decades later, Alive and Kicking remains a vital salsa recording and a lasting testament to Chamaco Ramírez’s commanding voice, improvisational brilliance and enduring artistic legacy. Pre-Order Now.

Half a century after its original release, Lucky 7—one of the defining albums of the salsa dura era—returns to vinyl in a special 50th-anniversary edition. Scheduled for release on August 14 through Craft Latino, the reissue celebrates a landmark recording by legendary Puerto Rican bandleader, percussionist, and showman Roberto Roena and his groundbreaking ensemble, Apollo Sound.

Long out of print, Lucky 7 is widely regarded as one of the most important salsa recordings of the 1970s. The album includes enduring classics such as “Mi desengaño,” “Fea,” “Mala maña,” and Rubén Blades’ “Que me castigue Dios,” songs that remain staples of salsa playlists and dance floors worldwide.

This anniversary edition has been mastered entirely in the analog domain from the original tapes by Dave Polster and Clint Holley at Well Made Music and pressed on 180-gram vinyl. The package also recreates the album’s original artwork in a deluxe tip-on jacket. Collectors will find limited-edition colour vinyl variants, including the “Candela Roja y Azul” edition available through Fania and the “Azul Trópico” pressing offered exclusively through Fat Beats. The remastered album will also be available digitally in both standard and high-resolution formats.

Few figures have left a larger imprint on salsa music than Roberto Roena (1940–2021). Born in Puerto Rico, Roena first gained prominence as a teenager under the mentorship of legendary bandleader Rafael Cortijo, who taught him percussion and welcomed him into the celebrated Cortijo y su Combo. After that group disbanded, Roena joined fellow musicians in forming El Gran Combo, helping establish what would become one of Puerto Rico’s most influential orchestras.

By 1969, Roena launched his own ensemble, Apollo Sound. According to popular lore, the group’s name was inspired by the Apollo 11 moon mission, which coincided with their first rehearsal. Musically, Apollo Sound stood apart from many contemporary salsa bands by incorporating elements of jazz, funk, and soul into a powerful brass-driven sound. Their live performances became legendary, combining innovative arrangements with Roena’s dynamic stage presence, acrobatic dance moves, and theatrical flair.

After signing with Fania Records, Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound released a series of successful albums. Their seventh studio effort, Lucky 7, marked a creative high point. Featuring co-lead vocalists Papo Sánchez and Sammy González, the album blended sophisticated arrangements, infectious grooves, and irresistible dance rhythms. At its heart was “Mi desengaño,” a song whose bittersweet lyrics contrasted with its uplifting musical energy. The track became one of Roena’s signature recordings and helped introduce salsa to a broader audience.

The album also benefited from contributions by an impressive cast of musicians and arrangers, including Justo Betancourt, Paquito Guzmán, Mario Álvarez, Carlos Rodríguez, Papo Lucca, Jorge Millet, Luis “Perico” Ortiz, and Elías Lopes. Their collective artistry helped shape an album that remains a benchmark of the genre.

Upon its release in 1976, Lucky 7 became one of the bestselling salsa albums of its era and has since earned recognition as a salsa dura masterpiece. Fifty years later, its return to vinyl offers longtime fans and new listeners alike an opportunity to experience one of salsa’s most enduring recordings in its finest analog presentation yet—a fitting tribute to Roberto Roena’s lasting legacy and the timeless power of Apollo Sound. Pre-Order Now.