After a successful career in Brazil reaching back two decades, Celso (pronounced "SELL-so") Fonseca is finally making his solo debut in the United States. Fonseca has produced, written for, arranged, or played on albums by such stars as Baden Powell and Gilberto Gil, as well as younger artists like Bebel Gilberto and Virginia Rodrigues. Natural, however, makes it abundantly clear that he is just as adept in the lead role as singer and star. Here he chooses to create modern but elegant bossa novas that sound hip but, unlike Bebel Gilberto’s electronic music-oriented Tanto Tempo, are mostly done using traditional acoustic instruments. With an emphasis on voice (he sounds like a young Caetano Veloso) and acoustic guitar, Fonseca has a strong collection of nine originals rounded out with Jobim and Powell covers. Aptly proving how skilled Fonseca is with his art, "The Night We Called It A Day" and "Slow Motion Bossa Nova" are rare examples of English language bossa novas that gracefully capture the music’s essence. --Tad Hendrickson