ITHAMARA KOORAX - Love Dance : The Ballad Album (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 

 Although Ithamara Koorax is a major star in Brazil and has more than a few albums available in that country, Love Dance: The Ballad Album is only her second U.S. release (and her second album for Milestone/Fantasy). The Brazilian singer has no problem handling uptempo material, but she favors a totally romantic setting on the ballad-oriented Love Dance. The interesting thing is that Koorax manages to maintain a torchy mood while being unpredictable; in terms of material, she is impressively far-reaching. Koorax sings in three different languages (Portuguese, English, and Spanish), and her choices range from Brazilian songs (including Ivan Lins' "Love Dance" and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Amparo") to an American standard ("April in Paris") to a well-known Spanish-language bolero (Luis Demetrio's "La Puerta"). It should be noted that Koorax's husband Arnaldo DeSouteiro produced this CD in 2000 and 2002 in five countries: Brazil, the U.S., Germany, England, and Monaco. And by doing so, he gives Koorax a chance to interact with a variety of musicians, who range from the late Brazilian icon Luiz Bonfá (acoustic guitar) on "April in Paris" to German pianist Jürgen Friedrich on Claus Ogerman's "I Loved You" to Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba on "Amparo" and "La Puerta." Meanwhile, British fusion heavyweight John McLaughlin plays electric guitar on Bonfá's "Man Alone," and his encounter with Koorax is historic because he had never backed a vocalist before. Some people will complain about the absence of uptempo performances, but then, Love Dance is exactly what it's meant to be: a torch song/mood music CD. And even though romantic albums of jazz or jazz-influenced pop can easily become predictable -- especially when the artist records overdone Tin Pan Alley standards exclusively -- Koorax and DeSouteiro manage to keep us guessing on this fine addition to her catalog. Alex Henderson  
Tracklist:
1 Ligia  5:13
Acoustic Bass – Sergio Barroso
Arranged By – Arnaldo DeSouteiro
Clarinet – Juarez Araujo
Composed By – Antonio Carlos Jobim
Drums – João Palma
Electric Piano – José Roberto Bertrami
Percussion – Dom Um Romao
Vocals – Ithamara Koorax
2 I Loved You 2:16
Arranged By – Claus Ogerman
Composed By – Claus Ogerman, Alexander Pushkin
Concert Grand Piano – Jürgen Friedrich
Vocals – Ithamara Koorax
3 Love Dance 7:20
Arranged By – José Roberto Bertrami
Backing Band – Azymuth
Composed By – Gilson Peranzzetta, Ivan Lins, Paul Williams 
Drums – Ivan Conti
Electric Bass – Alex Malheiros
Electric Piano – José Roberto Bertrami
Percussion – Sidinho Moreira
Vocals – Ithamara Koorax
4 La Puerta 4:15
Composed By – Luis Demetrio
Concert Grand Piano – Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Vocals – Ithamara Koorax
5 Man Alone 9:52
Acoustic Guitar – Luiz Bonfá
Arranged By, Concert Grand Piano – Nelson Angelo
Composed By – Luiz Bonfá, Stanley J. Gelber
Concert Flute – José Carlos 
Drums – João Palma
Electric Bass – Jorjão Carvalho
Electric Guitar – John McLaughlin
Flute – José Carlos Machado Ramos
Percussion – Sidinho Moreira
Soprano Saxophone – Jose Carlos Bigorna
Vocals – Ithamara Koorax
6 Amparo 5:38
Composed By – Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chico Buarque, Vinicius De Moraes
Concert Grand Piano – Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Vocals – Ithamara Koorax
7 Someday 4:20
Acoustic Bass – Manuel Gusmao
Composed By, Arranged By, Keyboards – Mario Castro Neves
Drums – Cesar Machado
Electric Bass, Chapman Stick – Jorge Pescara
Percussion – Sidinho Moreira
Vocals – Ithamara Koorax
8 Flame 4:58
Composed By – Paulo Sérgio Valle
Composed By, Arranged By, Keyboards – Marcos Valle
Vocals – Ithamara Koorax
9 April In Paris 2:11
Acoustic Guitar – Luiz Bonfá
Composed By – E.Y. Harburg, Vernon Duke
Vocals – Ithamara Koorax
10 Blauauge 7:29
Composed By – Almut Kresse
Composed By, Concert Grand Piano – Jürgen Friedrich
Vocals – Ithamara Koorax