Chris Bennett is a Grammy nominated contemporary jazz singer, pianist and composer. JAZZIZ Magazine - March, 2002- by Jonathan Widran Like Randy Crawford CHRIS BENNETT is a multi-talented jazz-oriented pop singer who plays to sold-out houses in Europe. While Bennett self-produced her three previous recordings, she hands the reins on this Brazilian and Latin flavored disc to veteran bassist Alec Milstein (well-known for his work with Eric Marienthal, Jeff Lorber, and others). He helps transform Bennett into a stylish Latin big-band singer, particularly on fiery cuts like 'USE ME'. Here Bill Withers' soul chestnut receives a royal salsa treatment, with Bennett's soothing voice gliding over a swirling hurricane of pitter-patter percussion and staccato brass gusts. Occasionally, Arturo Velasco's trombone leaps out and wraps around Bennett like an excited, jumpy lover. On the Brazilian side, original tunes like 'Hopeless Case' get the bossa thing going as Bennett gives it her sultry best. Fans of the singer's past romantic styling's will find a cozy familiarity on balmy tracks like 'On A Summer Night' and the title tune. Wayne Johnson's buoyant guitar solo in the intro section of 'Faster Than Expected' offers a moment of instrumental cool before the true Latin energy of the tune kicks in. And what would even a partially Brazilian-themed project be without a few Jobim tunes? The seductive 'Once I Loved' and 'Someone To Light Up My Life' feature Marienthal's smoky alto and more of Bennett's breezy vocals.