Kevyn Lettau: Bye Bye Blackbird

With strings and the gentle acoustic guitar of Dori Caymmi, singer Kevyn Lettau interprets favorite songs for a standards album that's been a long time coming. She first recorded with Caymmi in 1988, before her eight-year stint with Sergio Mendes took her on a whirlwind adventure that colored her life's work with a Brazilian tinge.

Possessing a smooth soprano voice that lends itself to romantic interpretation, Lettau gives her audience an armful of class. Songs by Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Cy Coleman, and Harold Arlen bring her timeless message to a wide audience. Special circumstances, such as "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "Being Green," give the album a heart-melting quality.

The singer is at her best with a suave bossa nova or a sentimental ballad. Caymmi's musical arrangements ensure that she's given appropriate surroundings to color each of these pleasant melodies. Rhythm and harmony add a bit of depth, but it's the melody that comes at you full force as Lettau sends her message out clearly. Wordless melodies alternate with sensual lyrics to fit each concern.

At times she turns the music inwardly and projects her voice less forcefully, resulting in an uneven session. Rubato passages, such as the intro to "Let's Fall in Love," leave the listener in a vacuum, wondering where all the stars have gone. Each piece picks up, however, as Lettau steers her vocal message comfortably with passion and with genuine interest. Like the smooth sensations that she delivered with Sergio Mendes, each of these lovely standards slips gently into our lives.