(Verve)

“Exquisite” is the word that comes to mind regarding Natalie Cole’s latest recording. En Español follows in the tradition of Cole’s legendary father, Nat King Cole, who recorded an entire Spanish language album in 1958. Cole’s delivery of the lyrics is fluid, phonetic and passionate. The arrangements and musicianship are just extraordinary. Produced by Rudy Perez, the menu of songs features a nice collection of popular Spanish standards, along with some contemporary favorites, including a nicely interpreted version of a Beatles classic. The project finds Cole in duet with a number of guests, including Andrea Bocelli, Juan Luis Guerra and trumpter Chris Botti. The magic of technology brings us another duet between father and daughter; this one works even more seamlessly and musically than the first time. Cole is simply a vocalist par excellence, no matter what language she’s singing.