Travessia, the debut album of Milton Nascimento that was first released in 1967, has been re-released several times through the years. It is a good sample of how Nascimento sounded before his Clube da Esquina phase, and the album largely consists of very slow, very gentle songs with long melodies. The general style is a fusion of jazz and traditional Brazilian music. One of the most popular tracks on the album is “Velho Amigo” — a beautiful, nostalgic ballad with one of those elaborate, slow, but coherent and beautiful, melodies that are so typical of Nascimento’s work. The most accessible song of the album (at least to a fan of Clube da Esquina) is the lyric-less “Catavento,” which has a simple, but beautiful, flute melody played over a gentle, groovy jazz beat and with Nascimento’s voice functioning as an extra backup instrument. “Catavento” is very representative of Nascimento’s music, and, in some way, of the music from the Minas Gerais state. To many, Travessia is one of the artistic highlights of Nascimento’s career, while others prefer the more pop-influenced Clube da Esquina phase that would soon follow. – Philip Jandovský