Karrin Allyson: Estrada do Sol

On her Imagina CD, Karrin Allyson uncovers some of the lesser known gems from the oeuvre of Antonio Carlos Jobim. In his best known songs, this composer assimilated the Impressionist influences of Ravel and Debussy and gave them a distinctive Brazilian twist, and on "Estrada do Sol" we see the Erik Satie side of this seminal tunesmith. No, this song is not as well known as the bossa hits, but Allyson still needs to live up to the formidable predecessors who have recorded it, such as Nara Leão and Gal Costa. She hits the mark in this languid rendition. Allyson's Portuguese sounds credible to this Yankee - and she doesn't fall back into English as on many of the other tracks on this release. Above all, her tone captures just the right dose of saudade.