Imbued with her love of Brazilian music, this sixth album from pianist, composer and vocalist Sarah McKenzie, blends inventive reworkings of classic songs from Jobim and others with four of McKenzie's original compositions.

The seed for Without You was sown in 2017 when McKenzie played at the official opening of Rio de Janeiro’s Blue Note jazz club, where she performed with guitarist Romero Lubambo and then met cellist Jacques Morelenbaum.

An initial trio recording of Antônio Jobim’s ‘Corcovado (Quiet Nights)’, recorded remotely at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, subsequently led to this full album. McKenzie’s exceptional band is rounded out by bassist Geoff Gascoyne, drummer Peter Erskine, percussionist Rogerio Boccato, and Bob Sheppard on flute and soprano sax. Taken at the most deliciously slow tempo, Luiz Bonfá’s gorgeous bossa ‘The Gentle Rain’ welcomes you with a warm embrace. ‘Corcovado’ features the beautiful intertwining of McKenzie’s vocal line with the singular expressiveness of Morelenbaum’s cello, while Morelenbaum himself contributes a standout arrangement of ‘Fotografia’, one of the most bittersweet gems in the Jobim canon. Along with an infinitely tender voice and guitar arrangement of Jobim’s ‘Once I Loved’, other highlights include Lubambo’s title song (with lyrics penned by McKenzie) and his scintillating solo on the outro of Jobim’s ‘Wave’, plus a version of Jobim’s ‘Bonita’ which somehow appears to float in mid-air, such is the lightness of touch.