Ithamara Koorax Love Dance

Sultry, sexy, seductive and sensuous. But that's enough about me! Whahey! Ithamara Koorax is a beautiful being too, but I have a problem with this album. You see, I'm not sure whether Ithamara Koorax can sing! Most of what she does on this eclectic mixture, but essentially mainstream collection of songs is fitting, but then her voice gets pushed beyond its quite narrow range and weaknesses appear, at least in song choice.

Bjork gets away with it, but she and many jazz divas have the power required to force through off-key moments. Koorax attempts some very brave vocal feats, but wanders too far from her crescendi comfort zones. The exoticism of her voice apparent, and Koorax can certainly coo a lyric, but the lapses are ugly and shatter the otherwise sensual magic.

Emerging Cuban fusion piano star Gonzalo Rubalcaba appears on a couple of tracks and John McLaughlin guests on a cover of Luiz Bonf 's Man Alone, adding a Free Spirits / Remember Shakti hue with cascades of curt phrases, but essentially seems to get modally transfixed traversing a scale, as if it was not obvious what should be done with the music, although there are a couple of guitar runs that cleverly mimic the voice. Perhaps McLaughlin was seduced by the prospect of working with Brazilian legend Bonf . And indeed perhaps the Bossa Nova elements of this album are its most attractive selling point, but even on these tracks Koorax croaks or warbles out of control. The album isn't completely horrid; it's just odd.