Vocalist Valeria Matzner creates a rich mix of traditional and modern Latin sounds on this sensuously swinging album with her band of Scott Metcalfe/p-key, Scott Kemp/b, Max Senitt/dr and collection of guests Luis Deniz/sax, Alexander Brown/tp, Aleksander Gajic/vi, Juan Carlos Medrano/perc and the Odin String Quartet.
Matzner’s earthy voice glows like a fireplace with a mix of electronic pulsations on “Contemporaneao” while her rich nasal intonations veer through the horns on a lively “Ilusion.” She’s inviting with the parlor strings and piano during “De Amor y Soledad” and scats with verve on a bouncy “For My Father.” Luscious tones are enunciated on the warm “Lua Cheia” and dark shadows are cast on the longing “Broken Landscapes” and lovely “Cor 5:14” while slithering through the stark bass and drums on the alluring take of Radiohead’s “Lotus Flower.” This is a lady I want to see in concert!