Sylvia Bennett, "Sonrie," Latin Tinged Cabaret Jazz from A Finessing Vocalist

Sylvia Bennett did an album of standards with a Latin flare a while back. That album is now available in a Spanish-language version, Sonrie (Smile) (Out of Sight 2517). Ms. Bennet has a dead-on sense of pitch, passion in reserve, and plenty of nice finesse, a very pretty voice. She gets the full red-carpet Latin-tinged arrangements that give the whole thing the bachelor pad easy-on-the-ears sort of sensibility so many MOR albums had in the late-'50s through the '60s. Yet there is nothing at all tasteless about this music (unlike some of those records from back then). There are some very nice standards, Latin and otherwise--"Besame Mucho," "The Shadow of Your Smile," "Smile," etc., all with a Latin-bossa lilt.

It's not music I would ordinary cover but hey, it's so well done here. If I like it, well, there must be something to it, right? I mean, I am not getting paid (a dime) to say this. There is something here. It's really nice.