Maria Volonte

Argentina's Maria Volonte has said that she's intrigued by silence, by what happens when you turn the decibels down -- and Sudestada is her eloquent answer to that question. (The sudestada is a southeasterly wind that blows over the Argentinean pampas.) As subtle as a bossa nova singer, as passionate at a tango diva, Volonte has also drunk deeply at jazz's well, and she synthesizes those influences into a uniquely individual style that treats folkloric songs, tango or her own compositions to the same subtle, intimate -- yet always engrossing -- reading.