Estampa Fina.

• Author: Holston, Mark

Although the iconoclastic singer/composer's three decade-long career has been characterized by an irreverence toward Brazil's cherished cultural conventions, in recent years the Bahia-born Veloso has become a champion of the very traditions he once dismissed as passe.

On Estampa Fina, Veloso takes a path seldom traveled by Brazilian singers, lending his delicate voice to a program of classic popular songs from Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas. The works range from "La golondrina," a Mexican political anthem written in 1860, to Argentine composer Fito Paez's 1992 romantic ballad "Un vestido y un amor." While the well-known creations of such composers of note as Argentina's Astor Piazzolla, Cuba's Ernesto Lecuona, Puerto Rico's Rafael Hernandez, and Mexico's Agustin Lara are included, it is the presence of unfamiliar regional gems that ensures the album's classic status.

"Mi cocodrilo verde," a song of unknown vintage by Cuban composer Jose Dolores Quinones, finds its simple but melodically rich folk theme elevated to a high level of sophistication through Veloso's string-accompanied arrangement. The album's 1950s-era title tune, by Peruvian composer Chabuca Granda, sports its provincial air...