It must be hard sometimes for Luciana Souza to keep track of who she is night to night, musically speaking.

The tour she's on right now has already seen her in an intimate jazz/bossa nova residency at San Francisco Performances, working in a trio format at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center and teaming in her mezzo-soprano persona with dancer Rosa Collantes for three shows with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, sandwiched around a brief Spain tour. Still to come are another dance/orchestra program in Chicago's Millennium Park series with the Luna Negra company, more shows in the San Francisco gig and, next April, two Easter performances in the lead vocal role of Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov's St. Mark Passion with the La Pasion Orchestra at the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles.

On recordings she's explored her Brazilian bossa nova roots, the poetry of Pablo Neruda and Elizabeth Bishop, and the songwriting of Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon and other greats of her adopted home in the U.S. She's been featured on several ambitious works by Around the World alumnus Golijov, collaborated with Herbie Hancock, Simon and many others, sung in various film soundtracks including with her friend (and another Around the World alumma) Rebecca Pidgeon for David Mamet's 'Redbelt.' And so on.

Meet the 'Novas Bossas,' same as the bossa nova?

Yes and no. 'Novas Bossas' is the new collaborative album by the great Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento and the Jobim Trio. And, as the name implies, it's both an homage to and twist on the bossa nova traditions, with a full-circle trip back to the roots, which, in the process, refreshes the style.

The set was ostensibly released to mark the 50th anniversary of bossa nova and honor the late composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, one of the form's foundational artists. Jobim's vast catalog includes the ubiquitous breakthrough 'The Girl From Ipanema' ('Garota de Ipanema') and the iconic score to the 1959 film 'Black Orpheus.' And the Jobim trio isn't just taking his legacy in its name but in its genetic makeup, as it is anchored by his son, guitarist Paulo, and grandson, pianist Daniel. And both on the album and in a warmly intimate night at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles this past week, the music was at once as familiar as one would expect from sounds that have become ingrained in he global language or music -- a core of jazz, pop, even classical repertoires -- but also in the best moments bracingly alive and growing. It all succeeds via simplicity, sticking to the basics in instrumentation -- just piano, acoustic guitar, bass, drums and vocals onstage and little more on the recordings but with a progressive streak that utilizes imaginative harmonic development and almost chorale-like interplay.

Is there any artist in America or Europe who has covered the scope of his or her culture's music to the extent that Rachid Taha has with the wide range of sounds from Algeria/North Africa and its diaspora? Any artist from anywhere?

"No! Just Rachid Taha. In the whole world."

Well, that's the authoritative word on the matter -- from, uh, Rachid Taha, delivered with a smile, but the kind that carries a sense of certainty. OK, so he might not be the most unbiased party on this. But as the saying goes, it ain't braggin' if you can back it up. And shortly after he made that statement backstage at the California Plaza in downtown Los Angeles, he backed it up with little room for doubt with a show as part of the summer's global-minded Grand Performances series coming midway through a very short North American tour.

Never underestimate the power of the Grammy. It's a gift that certainly keeps giving for Herbie Hancock. The jazz legend's upset win for Album of the Year has resulted in a whopping 967% increase in sales of 'River: The Joni Letters.' It also gives him his highest placement ever on the Billboard charts, at No. 5.

Grammy's biggest winner this year, Amy Winehouse, is also seeing more green after her five wins. Sales of the British chanteuse's breakthrough album, 'Back to Black,' are up 368%, putting her at No. 2 on the charts this week. And after her two Grammy performances and two Grammy wins (Best Female R&B Performance and Best R&B Song), Alicia Keys is sitting pretty at No. 3 with her new CD, 'As I Am.' Keys is a name we're certain to hear called several times again in the 2009 Grammy nods, as the full album was not eligible this year.

Herbie Hancock's Best Album of the Year Grammy win for his latest effort, 'River: The Joni Letters,' was certainly the night's biggest shock and arguably upset, but all the better to bring attention to the inspiration behind the album: Joni Mitchell. "I have a deep respect for Joni and what she stands for," Hancock told Spinner. "I'm hoping people get to see what she's about and what her character is about. She's a person that stands up for what she believes in. That's what I like about her."

Hancock will surely see interest in his muse surge, as the win brings awareness of the folk icon to new generations. But when asked if he felt like an ambassador of Mitchell's music, Hancock was quick to shun the title. "No, I don't feel that way," he said. "That may be a function that is a result of this record [and] I'm hoping that it can be."

• Timbaland unleashed a verbal barrage against PEOPLE at the magazine's pre-Grammy party early Saturday morning at L.A.'s Avalon Club, claiming his friends had been left outside of the venue. "Next time I have one of my homeboys in line, let that [expletive] in!" Timbaland said. "I don't like to see my people turned around for some [expletive] magazine ... [expletive] y'all!" The magazine did not offer a comment.

• Aretha Franklin was honored as the 2008 MusiCares Person of the Year at a benefit in L.A. on Friday night, which raised $4.5 million for the organization. Anthony Hamilton, John Legend, Herbie Hancock, Fantasia and Corrine Bailey Rae, among others, all paid tribute to the 17-time Grammy-winner.

• Paul McCartney and Heather Mills returned to court this morning to attempt to settle the terms of their divorce. The former Beatle is estimated to have $1.6 billion, which could result in Britain's largest divorce settlement ever. Mills will represent herself in the case, after firing her lawyers last November. The couple, who married in 2002 and have a daughter together, Beatrice, separated in 2006.
  

Jazz legend Herbie Hancock left folks slack-jawed as he accepted the Grammy award for Album of the Year for his latest effort, 'River: The Joni Letters' -- an honor expected to go to the highly-favored Amy Winehouse, who, up until the announcement, had won 5 of her six nominations. Presented the award by Usher and Quincy Jones, Hancock honored many of his forebears during his acceptance speech, particularly Miles Davis, as well as the inspiration behind the album: Joni Mitchell.

"When I looked at her material, I looked at the full spectrum -- from her earlier work to some of her later stuff," he told Spinner in September. "I didn't want to have it all come from one record. We didn't want to do only the most popular stuff that she did; we wanted to do some of the more obscure things, too. And you just have a nice variety of material to explore on the recording."

Meanwhile, Hancock also upset Kanye West, whose latest, 'The Graduation,' won Best Rap Album earlier in the evening. It was just one of four wins for West, who, despite being nominated for Album of the Year with each successive release, has yet to walk away with night's biggest honor.