Elin — From Sweden to Brazil and Manhattan with Love

A few years ago, I was listening to WBGO—one of Newark, New Jersey’s many gifts to jazz—and heard a song by “Elin.” It had a romantically hypnotic lilt to it, often repeating the word “sweetness” as a kind of grail to seek and find, both universally and personally. I heard it only a couple of times, but it really stayed with me.  Recently, as sometimes happens, Elin suddenly popped into my mind. I found some of her stuff on YouTube, tracked down her web page, and bought her first and so far only album. It turns out she was raised in Sweden, came to the U.S. to go to college, and then learned Portuguese, all the while aiming at a career as a jazz singer.

Elin’s Lazy Afternoon is a spicy stew of jazz and Brazilian music knit together by Elin’s strong multilingual vocals. She does a great job of turning Fascinating Rhythm into the Brazilian song it always should have been, does an especially languorous version of the title tune, and nails songs by Tom Jobim, Dori Caymmi, and Milton Nascimento. The “Sweetness” song turned out to be Sugar, an Elin original, and it still does me in. She also sings a gorgeous version of Billy Strayhorn’s Lush Life. As a bonus, she’s backed by a strong suite of jazz musicians, including Claudio Roditi on trumpet and fluegelhorn, Anat Cohen on clarinet, Harry Allen on tenor, and Hendrick Muerkens on vibes.

To give you a taste of her Portuguese side, here’s Milton Nascimento’s Vera Cruz. Enjoy!