Music Review by Bruce Crowther, Jazz Mostly

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Carol Bach-y-Rita Minha Casa/My House (Arugula)

Lithely swinging, Carol Bach-y-Rita sings a pleasing repertoire that mixes standards, You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To, ‘Tis Autumn, Nature Boy, a show tune, Love Look Away, a jazz classic, A Night In Tunisia, with some lesser known songs, including The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines (Joni Mitchell and Charles Mingus), and While My Lady Sleeps (Bronislaw Kaper and Gus Kahn), as well as some original compositions by Carol and Mike Shapiro. The music is thus rich and varied and Carol performs with flair and imagination, supported throughout by like-mind instrumentalists who together form the group named Jazz Bliss. They are Bill Cantos, piano, Larry Koonse, guitar, John Leftwich, bass, and Mike Shapiro, drums. Fluent in several languages, Carol is drawn not only to jazz but also to the music of Brazil, an interest that is evident from the manner in which some of the songs are arranged in styles that display the rhythmic intensity of that country’s dance music. An album that will appeal both to lovers of jazz singing and those who favor the music of Latin America.