Luciana Souza

Luciana Souza, a Brazil-born, NYC-based jazz vocalist, has been winning awards and critical raves for years now. In her first bid at crossover success, Souza turns rock-era songs into bossa nova tunes. She puts a melancholy spin on numbers by Elliott Smith as well as the usual suspects: Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and James Taylor, who guests here. There are also two originals and a Jobim wonder, but the standout track is Steely Dan's "Were You Blind That Day," a caustic number that was rewritten as "Third World Man."