by Scott YanowA dramatic vocalist who was born in France but sings in impeccable and unaccented English, Elisabeth Kontomanou is best known in Europe as both a singer and an actress. She has visited New York regularly and along the way has worked with Michel Legrand, Mike Stern, Toots Thielemans, and Jean-Michel Pilc, among others. Kontomanou has a powerful voice and is a fine jazz singer. On Back to My Groove, she performs Gustav Karlström's inventive arrangements to nine of her songs and two numbers from her sidemen. In addition to her impressive singing and the fresh material, some of which sounds like it could have been a standard in the '60s or '70s, Back to My Groove is of strong interest due to the instrumentation. Most selections utilize not only a rhythm section but the Quatuor Elysee String Quartet, a few horns (soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome is well featured) and a harpist. While there are some thoughtful performances, it is the more high-powered pieces, which include some challenging writing for the strings, that are of the greatest interest. Kontomanou gives one the impression that she could sing anything, making Back to My Groove a strong introduction to her music.