The ever-dulcet tones of Bay Area native Rachel Smith was a triumph for the ears at the Lafayette Art & Wine Festival in Lafayette, CA.  From jazz standards like “Satin Doll” and Irving Berlins’ “Cheek To Cheek”, to grooves like Bill Withers’ “Just The Two Of Us”, Robert Flack’s version of “Killing Me Softly” and the James Taylor version of “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You”, to original songs like “Rumbling”, “The Lie I Tell” or the Michael McDonald/80s sitcom-influenced, “Pressure”.  Joined by sisters Katreena and Kristeena Alder, along with an elite backing band of John R. Burr (who has played with Maria Muldaur and tours extensively) on keyboard, Kelly Fasman (who has played with Kenny Loggins, The Shirelles, and Peter Cetera) on drums, Matt Finders (who played trombone on the Tonight show for 17 years) on bass, and Guido Fazio (who teaches around the Bay and who plays approximately 17 instruments) on saxophone and clarinet.  In addition to the alto serenade of Smith, the band offered some tremendous instrumental interludes, including a masterful jazz improvisation of the Beatles’ “Blackbird” (“Black(end)bird”) or Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Triste”.