Featherlight keyboards brush against solemn horns at the beginning of “El Unico Para Mi,” lead-off title track to Leti Garza’s third album. Don’t let the introduction fool you; trumpet taunts a galvanizing strut into the sultry “Mis Ojos Sobre Ti” as further brass bursts and electric fretwork carouse through a carnival of timbales and clavinet splashes. El Unico Para Mi pays tribute to the Texan’s aunt, Lone Star icon Eva Garza, as well as to the classic Latin music of her debut La Americana (2012) and sophomore EP Sagüita al Bate (2014) with seven original songs. In the company of Grammy-winning artists Scott McIntosh and Jose Galeano (Grupo Fantasma), the Houston native traverses sultry cumbia rhythms, slow-burning salsa, and silky smooth merengue as her voice transforms from fun French wordplay (“J’adore”) and longing croons (“Solo Pienso en Ti”) to a chest-heaved contralto (“Vereda Tropical”). Leti Garza’s vocal and emotional range are laid bare, never missing a beat.
This article appears in November 24 • 2017.