JoJo Styles
Bossa Nuevo Vol. 1 & 2

Review By Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
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  JoJo Styles had the benefit of developing his music while watching some of the legendary figures perform in San Francisco. He saw Hendrix and Santana and was all over the Bay Area attending the free concerts of the day. Those days are history but for the people that lived and soaked up the vibes of those times the memories are forever imprinted on their souls. He took bits and pieces of those influences and created his own magic on the acoustic six- string called Bossa Nuevo.

Styles compiled a lot of music over the years and it reached its fruition on two volumes titled Vol. 1 & 2 -- Light of Love/The Offering (Cool Groove-Hot Guitar), with the emphasis on cool and hot of course. 

Styles is an accomplished guitar player and an adept technician. He has a host of equally strong players for support on every track for both releases. In the world of recorded music, you must have the ability to understand how every aspect is linked and make sure you know how to take care of your equipment and keep it all properly tuned to work with the modern day technologies and all of their complexities. After listening to these two CDs, it is certainly apparent that this artist has it all together.

JoJo offers a fusion of styles with his Bossa Nuevo; it is an amalgam of Latin, jazz and rock. This ends up being a very satisfying and tasty mixture of the genre, all wrapped up into a nice package-a made to order ambiance on disc if you will. The artist, strongly influenced by the Latin musical cultures, uses its foundation of musical styles to propel him into different areas that become strengths as each track takes shape. The drive and spirit of this music seems ingrained in his soul. He actually spends part of his year soaking up the music and culture of Honduras to support his inner belief and love for his craft.

This is great music; it serves a multitude of purposes for listeners. If you want some smooth tracks, playing in the background as if you were at an upscale bistro or ethnic restaurant for instance, this would serve the purpose. The movie industry may consider this as an option for their productions as well. For the average listener it serves as something to relax and enjoy, to just kick back and contemplate things, or better yet to just empty your mind and go with the flow of the music.

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