Kat Parra - Azucar De Amor (2008)

In 2007, San Francisco-based singer Kat Parra had a very impressive recording debut with Birds in Flight, which included a wide variety of Latin material including salsa, sambas, Afro-Cuban jazz, Afro-Peruvian music, flamenco, and music that was beyond classification. On Azucar de Amor, she sticks more to Afro-Cuban music and salsa, mostly singing in Spanish. Her voice is strong, beautiful, and flexible, and she sounds equally at home in jazz and salsa. Parra improvises well on some pieces, doing a fine job with a Spanish version of "Sugar," "Misty" (which is in English) and "A Night in Tunisia," but also sounds like one of the top salsa singers on the scene on "Quitate La Queta." Trombonist Wayne Wallace produced the date and such strong instrumentalists as the great trumpeter Ray Vega, flutist John Calloway, violinist Anthony Blea, and a percussion section propelled by John Santos, Michael Spiro, and drummer Paul VanWageningen keep the music quite stirring. But no one is more stirring on this set than Kat Parra, who has quickly emerged to be a force to be reckoned with. Highly recommended.~ Review by Scott Yanow

Personnel:Kat Parra: vocals; Ray Vega: trumpet; Wayne Wallace: trombone; John Calloway: flute; Masaru Koga: flute, saxophone, shakuhachi; Anthony Blea: violin; Murray Low: piano, synthesizer; Jovino Santos Neto: piano; Rick Vandivier: guitar; David Belove: electric bass; Peter Barshay: acoustic bass; David Pinto: bass; Paul van Wageningen: drums; Katja Cooper: darbuka, tar, riq, bells; Michael Spiro: congas, güiro, bongó, pandeiro, tamborim, shaker, percussion; John Santos: timbales, bell, percussion; Raúl Ramirez: cajón, quijada, bell, shaker; David Chaidez: coro; Orlando Torriente: coro.