Zazu is the debut (and, to date, only) album released by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 model

Model (person)

A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....

 and singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 Rosie Vela

Rosie Vela

Roseanne "Rosie" Vela is an American model and singer-songwriter.-Career:Vela's family later moved to Arkansas, where she attended the University of Arkansas. While studying art and music, Vela also began modeling. She married the Arkansas born musician, Jimmy Roberts, but he died of cancer...

. The album was produced by Gary Katz

Gary Katz

Gary Katz is an American music producer, best known for his work with Steely Dan.-Steely Dan:Katz is most famous for his work as a producer on every Steely Dan album recorded during the first run of their career, from Can't Buy A Thrill in 1972 to Gaucho in 1980, as well as the Donald Fagen solo...

, best known for his work in that capacity with Steely Dan

Steely Dan

Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...

, and many of the songs feature Steely Dan's Donald Fagen

Donald Fagen

Donald Jay Fagen is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and the principal songwriter of the rock band Steely Dan ....

 on keyboards and Walter Becker

Walter Becker

Walter Carl Becker is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist and a co-writer of Steely Dan.-Career:...

 on guitar.

Despite receiving positive reviews, Zazu was a commercial failure in Vela's native United States. However it was more successful in Europe, notably in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 where it reached #20 on the national albums chart

UK Albums Chart

The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

 and earned a Silver disc. The single "Magic Smile" was also a UK Top 30 hit. The CD album has been out of print in North America and Europe since the early 1990s but was rereleased in the UK by Cherry Red Records in 2011.

In addition to "Magic Smile", two other tracks ("Interlude" and "Fool's Paradise") were also released as singles.

Vela recorded a second album entitled Sun Across the Altar, but the album remains unreleased.

Track listing

All tracks written by Rosie Vela unless stated

1. "Fool's Paradise" 4:04
2. "Magic Smile" 4:26
3. "Interlude" 4:07
4. "Tonto" 5:40
5. "Sunday" 4:32
6. "Taxi" 3:27
7. "2nd Emotion" (Doddy/Guthrie/Vela) 4:47
8. "Boxs" 3:55
9. "Zazu" 4:46