Mari Nobre, vocals; Leo Nobre, bass; Justo Almario, sax/flute; Angelo Metz, acoustic/electric guitar; Sandro Feliciano, drums; Daniel Szabo, piano.

“On this celebration of life CD, multi-linqual vocalist, Mari Nobre, interprets songs from Benny Golson’s “Whisper Not” to Jobim’s “Corcovado” and “Chega de Saudade”. Ms. Nobre sings in Portuguese, in Spanish and in English during a ‘live’ recorded concert at the Jan Popper Theater on the campus of UCLA.

Surrounded by her husband/arranger, Leo Nobre on bass, and the incomparable Justo Almario on reeds, this Italian queen holds a jazzy court. Mari Nobre was born and raised in Naples, Italy and began singing at age fourteen. She transplanted to New York , met Leo Nobre, who was playing bass with Sergio Mendes at that time. They married and moved to Los Angeles.

This project was recorded last year, only three weeks after Mari Nobre had an operation to remove cancer from her body. Thus, this musical expression becomes Nobre’s testament to life and the healing power of music. Their Brazilian arrangement on Gershwin’s “Fascinating Rhythm” is jubilant and showcases Almario’s flute and Nobre’s voice flying freely. They are like two improvisational birds. The thoughtful solo of Angelo Metz on guitar is a warm introduction to Daniel Szabo’s piano improvisation on “Corcovado”. Mari Nobre has composed one song with co-writer, Patrick Lockwood. It’s titled, “Linda” and moves at a happy Samba pace, with a staccato melody that punctuates the title. Actually, (I read in the liner notes) the Portuguese meaning of “Linda” is ‘beautiful’. Mari Nobre dedicated this song to the beauty of womanhood. “Dance Me to the End of Love” gives Leo Nobre a chance to solo on his electric bass and Almario adds his jazzy saxophone to the mix. “Frenesi” is a familiar song to my ear and Nobre lets her second soprano voice sing it with gusto. It’s a proper and energetic way to end this album.”