IVAN LINS : Brazilian Singer Right on Target

Ivan Lins, the Brazilian composer-singer, is a firm believer in inevitability.

His current album, “Awa Yio” on Warner Bros. Records, is a good example. The collection employs a colorful array of folkloric styles to express its theme--a plea for the preservation of the natural beauties of Brazil.

“If change is inevitable, and I feel that it is, then it is up to the artists and musicians to imagine the best way things can be,” said Lins, 45, of Rio de Janeiro, during a recent visit to Los Angeles.

A different kind of inevitability cropped up earlier this year when Lins--working on an album by harmonica player Toots Thielemans--was asked by the leader to provide some lyrics to Thielemans’ classic “Bluesette.” Lins woke up the next day with half the lyrics already in his mind.

“But the strangest part,” he said, “was that the only rhyme for the word bluesette that I could think of was the Portuguese word for 17-- dezessete . So the line came out: ‘The first time I listened to ‘Bluesette’ I was 17.’ I had no idea why it came out that way.”

Lins discovered later that the Belgian-born Thielemans had written “Bluesette” in 1962, when the Brazilian artist himself was 17. “I was shocked,” Lins said. “I had used the number 17 in that line because I needed a rhyme, and it turned out to be right on target.”

Which is where Lins’ career seems to be at the moment. With several of his tunes included on an upcoming album by Sergio Mendes, an international tour in the planning and a great deal more recording, the only real inevitability Lins faces is the strong likelihood of continued musical success.

It could be said that inevitability has ruled Lins’ life. He started out with the resolute intention of becoming a professional athlete, but that all changed when one of his earliest compositions, “Madalena,” as recorded by singer Elis Regina in the mid-’60s, became a huge hit in Brazil and Europe.

Leaving athletics behind, Lins followed this success with a string of solid-selling singles and albums. More recently, he has been a valued supplier of songs to George Benson, the Manhattan Transfer, Lee Ritenour and Quincy Jones.