Luz (1982)

The door into polished 1980s MPB. Djavan, from Alagoas, recorded this 1982 album in Los Angeles with American session players, and his knotty, syncopated melodies meet glossy jazz-funk production. Stevie Wonder plays harmonica on Samurai, and Sina shows Djavan's habit of bending words to the rhythm. Choose it if you come from soul, jazz-funk or sophisticated pop.