Mi Corazón

Jazz woodwind, accordion and trickling percussion are the backdrop that Austrian singer Katja Cruz (real name Katja Krusche) chooses to set behind her luscious vocals. For this album – a curious but likeable mixture of tango, Cuban rhythms, jazz improv and the music of the Brazilian Candomblé religion – she has taken inspiration from Astor Piazzolla, Aníbal Troilo and Violeta Parra, performing one classic number by each, and blended their influences to create a beguiling musical idiolect of her own for the remaining, self– penned seven songs. Cruz loves verbal wizardry, and even Spanish speakers will find themselves lost in her twisted vowels and treacly consonants. This, presumably, is the spirit-summoning element from Candomblé, there to give her music flight and fantasy. But the music – thanks especially to brilliant work by Patrick Dumet on flute, clarinets and sax – is well grounded and gloriously understated.

The ‘Aires’ in the album’s title isn’t incidental: there’s a breathy quality to the backing, attuned to Cruz’s organic, earthy singing. Piazzolla’s ‘Vuelvo al Sur’ – so often covered, so rarely improved upon – is here reimagined as a heaven-seeking chant. Troilo’s ‘Barrio de Tango’ is an exotic, implosive conversation with herself. Parra’s ‘Gracias a la Vida’ is safer, but the woodwind adds a jolly, jumpy beat. These all might offend purists – and none exactly thrilled this reviewer – but they’re undeniably original. An odd, and very Leo Records, album. But an interesting one.