(Vocal Jazz) Luciana Souza - The Book of Chet - 2012, MP3, 320 kbps

"Grammy winner Luciana Souza is one of Jazz's leading singers and interpreters. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, in the late sixties, she grew up in a family of Bossa Nova innovators - her father, a singer and songwriter, her mother, a poet and lyricist. Luciana's work as a performer transcends traditional boundaries around musical styles, offering solid roots in jazz, sophisticated lineage in world music, and an enlightened approach to classical repertoire and new music.
As a leader, Luciana Souza has been releasing acclaimed recordings since 2002 - including her four Grammy-nominated records Brazilian Duos, North and South, Duos II, and Tide. Her debut recording for Universal, The New Bossa Nova, was produced by her husband, Larry Klein, and was met with widespread critical acclaim. Luciana's recordings include two works based on poetry - The Poems of Elizabeth Bishop And Other Songs, and Neruda.
Ms. Souza has performed and recorded with greats including Herbie Hancock (on his Grammy winning record, River – The Joni Letters), Paul Simon, James Taylor, Bobby McFerrin, Maria Schneider, Danilo Perez, and many others. Her longstanding duo work with Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo has earned her accolades across the globe, and her complete discography contains more than 50 records as a side singer. Luciana Souza's singing has been called "transcendental, "perfect, " and of "unparalleled beauty." Entertainment Weekly writes, "Her voice traces a landscape of emotion that knows no boundaries."
Luciana Souza has been a prominent soloist in two important works by composer Osvaldo Golijov – La Pasion According to St. Mark, and Oceana. She has performed with the Bach Akademie Stuttgart, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Other orchestral appearances include performances with the New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Her work in chamber music includes a fruitful collaboration with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.
Ms. Souza began her recording career at age three with a radio commercial, and recorded more than 200 jingles and soundtracks, becoming a first-call studio veteran at age sixteen. She spent four years on faculty at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she received a Bachelor's in Jazz Composition. Ms. Souza earned a Master's degree in Jazz Studies from New England Conservatory of Music and taught for four years at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, in New York City. From 2005 to 2010, Luciana was the Jazz Artist in Residence with the prestigious San Francisco Performances.
August of 2012 marks the release of two new recordings for Ms. Souza on Sunnyside Records - The Book of Chet, and Duos III. Both recordings offer Luciana's personal and masterful reading of songs - on The Book of Chet, Luciana pays homage to Chet Baker's singing, performing gems from the Great American Songbook. On Duos III, Luciana closes her Brazilian Duos trilogy, singing traditional songs from the Brazilian repertoire with three master guitarists - Romero Lubambo, Marco Pereira, and Toninho Horta.
Billboard magazine has said of Luciana: "she continues her captivating journey as a uniquely talented vocalist who organically crosses genre borders. Her music soulfully reflects, wistfully regrets, romantically woos, joyfully celebrates..."
http://www.lucianasouza.com/

The Book of Chet is Luciana's highly introspective exploration of the singing of Chet Baker. Recorded live with a trio (Larry Koonse, David Piltch, Jay Bellerose) in LA, this disc finds Luciana singing American standards associated with the trumpet player.