Mark Quint is a jazz vocalist who has made the rounds from L.A. to Chicago and back and recently settled into the Seattle scene. On his second album, the compositions are a split effort between
Quint and Brazilian transplant
Marco de Carvalho, so there's a good mix of traditional vocal jazz and soft Brazilian influences. In particular, the samba is present in a number of the pieces, perhaps most notably in "This Is the Way" and "Samba Groove" (for a stray moment here and there these even recall ideas from the
Getz/
Gilberto albums). Regardless of the style employed,
Quint lays out a very soft and smooth line throughout the album. His voice can be a bit thin for some of the louder sections, but he makes up for it by hitting some of the higher notes as needed. While not the focus of attention,
de Carvalho does an excellent job backing on guitar (especially during the samba-esque portions) and Darin Clendenin does some amazing work comping on the piano. There's a small cluster of vocal jazz artists who are returning to roots of the form, and
Quint is at least partially within the cluster. Give the disc a spin for a lazy afternoon listen. ~ Adam Greenberg