JAZZ REVIEW : Brasiljazz Covers Two Continents

It took Brasiljazz exactly one song to leave its adopted Latin roots and move to fertile American jazz soil with a Charlie Parker-inspired rendition of Cole Porter’s “I Get a Kick Out of You” Monday night at Le Cafe in Sherman Oaks.

On the third tune, it was back to Brazil. And so it went for most of the hourlong opening set by this most interesting trio composed of singer Kevyn Lettau, guitarist Peter Sprague and percussionist Michael Shapiro.

Just about everything about this group without bass or keyboard was far different from the norm, and just about everything worked to the group’s advantage. Singer Lettau displayed a beautiful soprano that benefited from the sparse sound created by her cohorts. Whether funky in a voice-and-drums recitation of “Secret Code,” a Latin-tinged tune composed by Sprague and herself, or deliciously sultry in the ballad “Stairway to the Stars,” Lettau showed experience well beyond her obvious youth.

That same sense of accomplishment was evident in Sprague’s consistently musical accompaniment. A brilliant technician, the guitarist deftly backed Lettau with finely constructed harmonies and spurred the action with inventive stretches of improvised melody.

As a songwriter, he has come up with some gems, particularly in “Words and Music,” a delightful tune that expressed his own view of music’s magical properties.

The trio’s great sense of dynamics was most impressive, with drummer Shapiro demonstrating that powerful percussion need not be loud. His use of various bells and whistles, along with brushes and hands on his oddly tuned kit, were wonderfully effective.

Though the group had a certain affinity for Latin inclusions that left one wanting more, it would have been a shame to remain in the South American vein and deprive the audience of such rarely heard tunes as “All I Want” and “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter.” For Brasiljazz, which appears Saturday night at Lunaria’s, eclecticism works just fine.