Jazz singer Luciana Souza grew up in Brazil, the home of Bossa Nova.

But there's more than bossa nova in her music.

There's also North American pop.

Souza's new album includes songs by the likes of Brian Wilson or Joni Mitchell, sung by Souza herself and set to a bossa nova beat.

At a recent concert, Souza suggested to the audience that her blend of pop and bossa nova is best savored with a drink in hand.

But the drink she had in mind wasn't a caipirinha, or even from Brazil.

She was thinking whiskey.

Luciana Souza: I was thinking about growing up in Brazil and seeing some pictures of all these the Bossa Nova musicians in the late 50s and early 60s drinking what I would call cheap whisky, because these were poor musicians, struggling artists but of a certain sophistication.....and I think drinking whisky in Brazil at that time was seen as something very refined, these foreign liquor that's very high in alcoholic percentage and puts you in a certain mood and takes the edge off, something you drink slowly because I think Bossa Nova is something to be hear and felt and enjoyed slowly just as the sway of the music goes.

Lisa Mullins: I wonder how this affected your choices of what songs you would sing on this album, you say it's good for Bossa Nova, how about Bossa Nova when what you're singing for example, a song by Brian Wilson that you put to a Bossa Nova beat?

Luciana Souza: If you extract just the lyrics, if you remove just the poetry of that song, these great songs writers that write beautiful melodies and harmonies are also really great poets. To me, that song sounds like a prayer for love. But there's a pleading quality to it, and pretty desperate. That song works perfectly well as a Bossa Nova.

Luciana Souza also collaborated with Singer-songwriter James Taylor on his song: "Never die young" and recorded an English version of Antonio Carlos Jobim's song " Waters of March."

Singer Luciana Souza.

Her latest album is called "The New Bossa Nova."

Click here for a list of Luciana's tour dates