Kat Parra: Las Aventuras De Passion

You probably have never heard of this lady, but she’s released some of the most impressive jazz/latin vocal discs I’ve ever heard. Each time I play her stuff for a Blindfold Test, the listener begs to know when she’s coming to town. I don’t think she’s hit LA yet, but once again, she hits a bull’s eye on this mix of Latin/Sephardic tunes that have more different settings than a multigenerational family reunion. Ballads such as “Nature Boy” (with a clever reference to Faure’s  “Pavane”) and “Man On A Wire/Gymnopedie” find Parra with the sparest of support, making the music as luminous as a moonless night. Other material like “Iko Iko” and “La Comida de La Manyana” are percussive avalanches which Parra skates  over like Jean Claude Killy. Whether she sings in Spanish or English, she’s able to capture the passion of romantic emotions, both love and lost, and with a rhythmic agility that hits your feet as well as your heart.

www.katparra.com

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