Si, queremos bailar

From the Winter 2003 issue.

Vocalist Deborah Resto opens her "Let Him Hear My Heart" by cooing "Quieres bailar?" "Do you want to dance?" A very tempting invitation in front of a hopeful tenor sax cry. From there the song "Chevere" slips into a lush contemporary Latin arrangement behind Resto's sensual vocal.

And that sets the tone for "Let Him Hear My Heart", Resto's debut disc. It would be hard to find a more polished and beautifully arranged set of Latin sounds. Resto's vocal style mixes Nancy Wilson's subtle kittenish delivery with Marilyn McCoo's richer, deeper tones. Emotive, sometimes silky, sometimes sultry, slipping here and there into Spanish – most definitely a loving tongue on "Let Him Hear My Heart." And the English/Spanish delivery of Resto's rendition of the classic "What a Difference a Day Makes" makes perfect sense.

Resto wrote and arranged most of the tunes here: very stylish and smooth on the arrangement side – horns, strings, keyboards, churning percussion – very catchy and melodic with the tune-smithing. And when she isn't arranging, pianist Rene Leyva is, bringing in a sharper, tangier Latin atmospher

I can't imagine "Let Him Hear My Heart", the disc's title tune – with a melody as subtle and complex as a really good Joni Mitchell song – not finding a place to become a hit on radio somewhere. But it should be played everywhere they want to transmit good music.

Yes, Deborah Resto, we'd love to dance.

Review by Dan McClenaghan. Dan is a writer living in Oceanside, Calif. Read his biography on his AllAboutJazz.com page.