Recommend a Latin or Brazilian Jazz album for me, please?
I’m unfamiliar with it, so I want get my feet wet. 
The soundtrack to Buena Vista Social club is excellent and I think it is considered Cuban jazz.
I’d also love to learn more about Brazillian jazz - especially the type (samba?) with the very soft vocals.
I think the soft side of Brazilliam jazz you’re referring to is bossa nova, which means “new thing”. It takes the swing of samba, which can be pretty lively, and makes it cool and contained. It’s that “soft plucking of a guitar, and a breathy vocal” sound you’ve probably heard. The primary architects of bossa nova are Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto. Famous tunes are 'The Girl from Ipanema" and ‘Desafinado’. American sax player Stan Getz really got into bossa nova, and recorded a fair amount of collaborations both (?)with Jobim and Gilberto.
On the other side of the musical coin (if that makes sense) is another choice for Cuban jazz. Arturo Sandoval is an amazing trumpeter, and his music really cooks. While he can play beautifully and slow, when he gets going it is something.
Another soundtrack which is a good sampler is “The Mambo Kings”. It has a nice mix of uptempo, and slower stuff, and gives you selections from Arturo Sandoval, Tito Puente, and Celia Cruz, a famous singer.
I’ll look through my CD’s and give some more suggestions shortly.
OK, some quick suggestions:
Chucho Valdes is a Cuban pianist, and one of the top jazz musicians still living in Cuba. He has worked in the past with the previously mentioned Arturo Sandoval (trumpet) and Paquito D’Riviera (alto sax), in the Cuban group Irakere.
If you like your Brazilian jazz light and cheesy, try some Sergio Mendes and Brasilia '66. From the ‘Look of Love’ to ‘Mais Que Nada’, no bachelor lounge is complete without some Sergio.
Dizzy Gillespie was (one of) the first American musicians to incorporate Cuban percussion and rhythm into his work (it became known generically as Afro-Cuban jazz). Some good examples are ‘A Night in Tunisia’, ‘Con Alma’ and ‘Manteca’.
In my earlier post, I didn’t empahsize Tito Puente enough. I think when people think of Latin Jazz, they are more than likely hearing Tito in there head. ‘Ran Kan Kan’, ‘Oye Como Va’, and ‘Tito’s Theme’ will give you the idea. Tito is the MAN!
Hope this helps. Enjoy!
I second Tito Puente. Also anything by Pancho Sanchez. Depends if you like instrumentals or vocals, though. Those 2 tend to emphasize instrumentals, which is why I like them.
I love this album.