For a music genre that likes to see itself as the ‘sound of surprise’, jazz does like to endlessly repeat itself when it comes to vocal reruns of the Great American Songbook. That being said, the self-assured young Brazilian New York-native vocalist Martina DaSilva is an exception and places her notes and expressive nuances in unexpected places on well-worn standards such as ‘Smile’ and ‘I’ll Never be the Same’ on Constellations, her third album to date. The latter features an impressive solo and accompaniment by an exuberant young NY-based tenor saxophonist Lucas Pino and he’s just one of a handful of guests to join DaSilva’s duo alongside young Chicago-born double bassist Dan Chmielinski. The bare-boned intimate duo format is perfect for DaSilva’s breathy, sensuous vocal that has something of Dusty Springfield or Bobbie Gentry about it, although it hasn‘t, not yet perhaps, the ironic, lived-in quality of the great jazz vocalists. DaSilva does contribute a few of her own numbers too, including a torch song, ‘My Universe’, that has vibraphonist Joel Ross creating subtle colourful shades around a rather catchy vocal line. There’s a country flavour to her miniature ‘Twin Flame’ but not as much on Hank Williams’ ‘Cold Cold Heart’ as you might expect; DaSilva inhabits the songs as such that her own personal signature tends to transcend genre.