Silvana Deluigi: Yo!

The pulse and the rhythm of the tango course through Deluigi's blood. But she goes beyond the obvious in her singing, giving the music and the words a bold swath of color and meaning. Her voice conveys sheer magnetism: in the sultry beckoning, in the haughty defiance, in the plaintive sorrow, in the flight of joy.

If Deluigi lights the torch of the lyrics, the musicians help kindle the flame and keep it burning. They are the perfect complement, nailing attention right from the beginning. "La Cumparsita rises gracefully with a full and majestic sound. When the singer comes in, her poignant voice slides into the embrace of the music in a compact mating. The music is pared down on "La Guitarra, where the violin sings its haunting tune in beguiling consonance with the vocalist.

When Deluigi sings "A la Una Yo Naci, a traditional Sephardic song, her voice is the only instrument—and a singular one at that. This leads into Astor Piazzola's "Milonga for Three, an instrumental which captures the drama and the pathos of the composition; the violin, the bandoneon, and the bass breathe in life. "Tangologie, another instrumental, also casts a spell in an imaginative entwining of the tango and jazz, its lifeblood surging through the artistry of guitarist and composer Horacio Malvicino. And, finally, it would be amiss not to mention the production of Kip Hanrahan that went into making this a highly satisfying record.