While many vocalists sing about “The Girl From Ipanema”, only Bianca Rossini actually sounds like the lady you imagine, with a voice and delivery on her Brazilian songs that sound tall, tan, young and lovely. Think of a vocal version of Anne Sheridan, known for being the “oomph girl” of the 40s because she had that little something extra in her style. She’s released a number of eps and albums and tours a bit ( I caught her in a sizzling set a number of years ago), and she delivers songs to make you feel like you’re walking barefoot along a beach with the foam of the waves tickling your toes.
This recent ep has Rossini composing the material with either Peter Roberts, Glenn Scott Lacey or Jon Gilutin, and she sings in both Portuguese and English. You may not understand her lyrics, but the way she delivers them, you just don’t care, as her voice embraces you like a reunion with a lover. With upbeat acoustic guitar and percussion, her alluring voice is luscious and sensuous on “Mariana” and folksy on the breezy “Return To Brazil”. She holds you tight while sashaying to some piano and tenor sax on “Ipanema Paradise” and bounces with aplomb on the tropical “Tic Tac do Amor”. She enters the darkly lit room with a romance on her mind on the long shadowed “Canto de Mi Tierra” finally blowing out the candle at the end. This is a lady who knows how to create a mood to be woo’d, all under a Brazilian sunset.