Elza Soares - A Bossa Negra (1960/2018)

A Bossa Negra is the second album of the wonderful singer Elza Soares after the promising Se Acaso Voce Chegasse. With A Bossa Negra, Elza takes a step in the performance with a demonstration of the palette of her vocal register. Easy to sing in a Uptempo ("Edmundo") register, pleasure to use and abuse Scat ("Mack the Knife"), sense of Swing and Jazzie adaptation ... Elza Soares is an exciting singer who shines in this early years 60 thanks to its freshness and energy (overflowing). The majority of titles date from the 30s to 50s (my album offers 17 titles). Elza Soares and arranger Astor Silva give them a real boost. If I dare the metaphor, Elza Soares manages to merge Ella Fitzgerald and Carmen Miranda in a wonderfully punchy album. Although this atmosphere of Samba de Gaferia may seem somewhat outdated, A Bossa Negra is a nice testimony to this lively and colorful music that tries in the early 60s to survive the inexorable rise of the Bossa Nova.