BEAT BELEZA

Just like Daniela Mercury did this year in her album Sol da Liberdade, singer Ivete Sangalo is searching for solutions to dribble axé's depletion, at the same time as she waves to the eternal off-season merry-makers. Beat Beleza is her second solo release, and she fires at different aims. The CD opens with an R&B's-axé, Me Deixe Em Paz, which is a version of Brian McKnight's Can You Read My Mind. There are two tracks by Brazilian soul master, Cassiano: Balanço Black, where Gilberto Gil duets with her, and the jazzy Postal, featuring arrangements written for vibraphone and double bass. Meu Abraço (by Ivete and Marquinhos Carvalho) is classy. Pererê, Empurra-Empurra and Rosa Roseira bring the carnival back into the album.(Silvio Essinger)