Maria Eckermann

In the early '80s, Tânia Maria burst upon the U.S. music scene, playing an exuberant blend of Brazilian pop and jazz. Her first few recordings for Concord Picante (of which Come with Me is the third) remain her most rewarding sets. Maria's spirited vocals and hyper keyboard work star throughout the date (which finds her interpreting seven of her originals and "Embraceable You"), supported by a sextet including both Eddie Duran and José Neto on guitar.

Maria Muldaur's trilogy of old-timey blues and jazz releases for the Stony Plain imprint (she simultaneously records more contemporary music for the Telarc label) concludes with this appropriately titled set. Much is made in the liner notes of the veteran jazz/blues/pop/gospel singer being mentored in her early jugband years by no less of an icon than Victoria Spivey, so it seems Muldaur feels this tribute to the style and material of Spivey and other "classic blues queens" of the '20s and '30s is a sort of closure. It is also a history lesson, with detailed booklet information, some of it written by Muldaur, providing fascinating capsule biographies of the women whose music is covered here.