The chords of this song ARE samba so this works, I like it, Etta treats it accordingly, and rather well.
I love Etta Jones (not James), esp. during her "Don't Go to Strangers" period (with Gene Ammons)s and here? don't know the alto player). Later, with Houston Person, she developed habits, devices, that sounded more raw than her early recordings for Prestige. I think of a Samba as much faster (like "Brazil"), close to many disco tempos. This rhythm is closer to a rhumba or mambo.