Yuko Ito - Esperança (2017)

Composer and vocalist Yuko Ito delivers an upbeat mix of pop and jazz on this Latin lover of a session. She leads an impressive team of Helio Alves/p, Edward Perez/b, Alexandre Kautz/dr, Romero Lubambo-Richard E Miller/g and a handful of guests through some clever adaptations of standards. She glows with classical guitar on a dreamy “So Danco Samba” as well as a lilting “Manha de Carnaval” while getting passionate on the yearning title track. She sings in Portuguese, English and Japanese, with the “Owari no Nai Kisetsu” filled with a rich mix of moods and sounds, while “Moon River” is presented in a strong and confident setting. She and Alves do a rich pie de deux on “Comcar de Novo” revealing a rich late night atmosphere. Lots of songs for a starry night.