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 up-tempo 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. By doing so, he gave Koorax a chance to interact with a variety of musicians ranging 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 up-tempo 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 listeners guessing on this fine addition to her catalog. [The reissue features the bonus track Absolut Lee.] ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi

1		Lígia
2		I Loved You
3		Love Dance
4		La Puerta
5		Man Alone
6		Olha Maria
7		Someday
8		O Amor É Chama
9		April in Paris
10		Blauauge
11		Absolut Lee

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