Ithamara Koorax - Serenade in Blue: My Favorite Songs (2000) FLAC

Tracks

01. Cristal
02. Un homme et une femme
03. Mas que nada
04. Serenade in Blue
05. Moon River
06. Samba de verao
07. The Shadow of Your Smile
08. Bonita
09. Aquarela do Brasil
10. Aranjuez - "Follow me"
11. Dio come ti amo
12. Iluminada

Personnel

Bass – Alex Malheiros, Sergio Barroso
Drums – Dom Um Romao
Drums – Ivan Conti
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Keyboards – Marcos Valle
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Synthesizer, Keyboards – José Roberto Bertrami
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Synthesizer, Organ, Clavinet – Fábio Fonseca
Electronic Drums – Eumir Deodato
Flute, Tenor Saxophone – Carlos Malta
Guitar – Jay Berliner, Nelson Angelo, Rogério Meanda
Harp – Cristina Braga
Keyboards – Ary Sperling, Eumir Deodato
Other [Make-up, Hairstylist] – Zezinho Costa
Percussion – Arnaldo DeSouteiro, Dom Um Romao, Laudir de Oliveira
Piano – Gonzalo Rubalcaba


The third issue of Brazilian jazz singer Ithamara Koorax's lovely and tempestuous Serenade in Blue: My Favorite Songs is a mark of just what kind of authority she carries as a vocalist and an interpreter of classic material. The album was produced by Arnaldo DeSouteiro and Deodato, and features a venerable -- even legendary -- cast of players, including countrymen Dom Um Romao, Airto, Nelson Ângelo, Marcos Valle, Azymuth, Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and guitarist Jay Berliner, among others. Koorax's selection of material is as stunning as it is challenging. Here is one of the finest, most innovative reads of "Ma Que Nada" ever committed to tape, and her version of Valle's "Samba de Verão" does the composer proud. Also, her beautifully sultry take on Ary Baroso's "Aquarela Do Brasil" is a sleek and sexy party anthem. Likewise, the standards, such as her deeply moving version of Henry Mancini's "Moon River," featuring the glorious harp of Cristina Braga, places the tune in an entirely new context. The contemporary performance of Johnny Mercer's "Shadow of Your Smile" moves the song into another dimension. While Love Dance extended Koorax's reputation to Anglo audiences, Serenade in Blue is no less important.

Thom Jurek