At a Loss for Words

Ivan Lins was frustrated.

The Brazilian singer, who struggles with his English, couldn’t think of a word.

“It’s . . . ahh. . . . It’s . . . ,” he said, sitting on a couch in his manager’s office. Lins, 43, wrung his hands and looked at the ceiling, as if seeking guidance from above.

He never did think of that word.

“You see why I’ve been insecure about singing in English?” Lins asked.

Lins, who’s been recording in Brazil and singing in Portuguese for 17 years, recently released his first album in English, “Love Dance” (on Warner Bros.). The jazz-influenced pop singer has the warm, wispy, soothing style associated with artists like Astrud Gilberto.

Actually, Lins sings impressively in English. The English songs on the album, including a duet with Brenda Russell, are as smooth and vibrant as the two done in Portuguese.

To help curb his Portuguese accent during the recording sessions, Lins hired a vocal coach. “I needed help with pronunciation,” he said. “When I sang certain words, they didn’t sound right. I sound more American when I sing than when I talk. There are a lot of words I don’t know. I find. . . . “

Frustration crept back in as he searched for a word.

Because of his reluctance to sing in English, Lins felt for a long time that his only shot at an American career was as a composer and a jazz keyboardist. But while working on a 1987 Crusaders album, he finally sang in English--after some prodding. The producer, Stewart Levine, liked what he heard so much that he encouraged Lins to do an American album in English. Levine, who helped him get the deal at Warner Bros., co-produced “Love Dance.”

In Brazil, Lins started out as a jazz instrumentalist but shifted to singing in 1970 after he had success with a vocal album--which he did as a lark.

“A guy asked me to record an album so I did,” he said. “I never thought much would come of it. I didn’t know much about singing then. Then I was trying to sing like David Clayton-Thomas. I was forcing my voice to sing in that rock style. After a while I found out I was better singing in my natural voice.”