Inciting the sort of delight prompted by a crate-digger’s rare and precious find, the young Brazilian saxophonist, flautist and composer Vinicius Mendes crafts jazz-samba with harmonics that push and pull as much as they sparkle and sway.

Based in the inland state of Miras Gais, birthplace of the great Milton Nascimento (the influence of whose 1972 classic Club da Esquina feels palpable here), and armed with degrees in popular music and jazz improvisation, in the early 2010s Mendes set about developing a sound inspired by the melodic likes of Horace Silver and experimentalists such as Hermeto Pascoal, his instrumental leanings intent on subverting the sing-a-long samba tradition. Mendes had form, then, by the time he and two different quartets recorded, in 2021 and 2022, these two fabulous LPs.

Released on Notes on a Journey, a label devoted to shedding light on overlooked masterworks, the 12 tracks find Wurlitzer, bass and subtle drumbeats augmenting life-affirming, often danceable originals composed by Mendes – ‘Absurdo No.1 (Ou Muiraquita)’ finds him flexing his smarts - as well as fresh arrangements of Brazilian classics including, notably, the Joyce Moreno classic ‘Aldeie de Ogum’.

Complex yet accessible, cooly executed, yet irresistibly sunny, this one’s a turntable repeat.