Bent is a Berklee College of Music professor who found herself in Brazil, with no Portuguese to speak of available to her, but she quickly was embraced by the choro community in Rio de Janeiro. Choro is an old style that predates the samba and bossa nova for which Brazil is best known. It’s string-based music, so even though Bent didn’t speak the language, her instrument did the communicating for her.

Ideal features original compositions by Bent that she tackled after first fully immersing herself in Brazilian music and culture over a couple of summers. The musicians on the album represent some of the best choro players in Brazil.

The songs are not exactly choro in its original form, although they retain many of the elements. The six and seven-string guitars are present representing the tradition, but with her cello dominating on many of the tunes, she truly explores the expressive possibilities and expands upon what some would consider a hidebound genre.