Something For You: Sings And

Remember "Bowing to Bud" and "Cross Currents"? Add a splash of "Thats All It Was"and "One Note Samba" and you get an idea of what's in this CD.You'll find great jazz and lush lyrical ballads. More jazz than Brazilian as you would expect in a homage to Bill Evans-and its all good and most of it great."But Not For Me", "Blue in Green"'\"I Love My Wife" "After All" "Evanesque" stand out. And I was especialy moved by "For Nenette".Mark Johnson stood out and was greatly responsible for the creation of this work. Kudos to Eliane and Mark! (Please come back to Harrisburg)

Aside from her Brazilian roots, Eliane has attributed jazz pianist Bill Evans as a major influence. It also happens that her husband, bassist Marc Johnson, played with Evans in Evans' final days. The jazz played by Evans could sometimes have romantic overtones, a key part of Eliane's persona. "Something for You" is devoted to Evans and is full of songs written or performed by him. It has a good deal of fast and slower jazz, including the bebop sound, but also a good amount of romantic piano work, both interpretative and original. The first half of the CD tends toward the jazzy, the second half toward the romantic. Drummer Joey Baron has an uneven presence; also, unlike in most of Eliane's recent work, there are no other supporting musicians save for Johnson, much less an orchestra, in any of the tracks.

My dark horse favorite is Miles Davis' "Blue in Green." It is not really bebop or romantic, but has some pretty, very elegant improvisation. Recall that it was Evans who contributed the piano work on this song in Miles' classic album "Kind of Blue." Eliane's medium-paced piano is played over a slower rhythm tempo, and she does sophisticated interpretative work against the heavily horn-infused original. In addition, Eliane observes in the liner notes that it has a Brazilian feel. It touches Miles well with her own flavor, yet subtly a different sound for her. Also note that Eliane and the group honor Miles' spirit in "Solar," his other song here, with more great improvisation.

Eliane's singing is better on romantic pieces, as in all her popular ones, and it is always pretty; her accent and thicker voice can get in the way when it comes to certain slow jazz singing in English. But what the hey, she sings in her lovely Portugese in the one Brazilian song, "Minha." Her piano work is great, as always. She has only one original composition -- the pretty "After All" -- but she also did major romantic rearrangements for "Evanesque," one of the highlights, and for the strong title track, for which she also created lyrics. Some of her best flowery, romantic phrasing and occasional flourishes come in "I Love My Wife" and "For Nenette," which are among her several solo piano numbers.

As you can read, on a personal level I recommend this CD more for its prettier side than its traditional jazz side, just a matter of taste. As in the past, Eliane shows she is enjoyable with solo piano or piano supported only by a rhythm section. This time, the context was particularly special.

Brazilian pianist and singer Elias not only shares with the late pianist, Bill Evans, an ear for unusual harmonics, but also his last bass player, her husband, Marc Johnson.
This CD includes two previously unheard Evans tunes alongside Elias's interpretations of numbers associated with Evans and others played with an Evanesque sensibility.
The mood is restful, but there's enough variety to keep the listener hooked.
Highlights : "But Not For Me" and "For Nenette".

Portrait in Jazz
Together Again
The Best of Bill Evans
Everybody Digs Bill Evans
From This Moment On
The Very Best of Diana Krall