CD Review: Eleonor's 'Erros'

Eleonor
Erros
Music & Words

Belgium's Eleonor mixes folk, roots, jazz, neo-classical, fado, and pop and weaves it into beautiful delicacies lead by her emotive vocals. The ten-track album features a variety of instruments, including the double-bass, bass, guitar, piano, drums, oud, accordion, and cello. The soulful, "Salve," is a ballad with strong ties to French jazz and neo-classical influences. The piano adds a nostalgic ambiance to most of the songs. However, Eleonor's voice moves the songs into greater dimensions with such ease and fluidity. As a whole, there are plenty  of calming grooves here. Anyone into great music with great vocals will like it. Everything comes together in just the right proportions for it to be a highly-recommended work of musical art. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Cape Verdean Titina Releases 'Canta B. Leza'

Titina
Canta B. Leza
Astral Music

A native of Cape Verde, Titina grew up listening to composer, poet, and activist, B. Leza. The songs on this new album represent a nearly twenty-five year gap from the original recordings. The music is as timely as ever, as Cape Verde music continues to be on the world music map--thanks to the likes of Cesaria Evora, Bau, etc. Titina presents a mix of heady island rhythms and classic pieces of musical ingeniousness on Canta B. Leza. The songs represent a mix of morna and fado music with both male and female vocals throughout. There are only seven tracks, but the last track, "Rapsodia (Medley of Mornas)," is almost eleven minutes long. Anyone familiar with the Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, and European-infused music of the Cape Verde islands will understand the significance of Titina and everything she offers here. This is a recording that should not be missed. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Buika's 'En Mi Piel' [2 CD]

Buika
En Mi Piel [2 CD]
Warner Music

Hailing from Spain and born of Equatorial Guinean parents, Buika (pronounced BWEE-kah) is a vocalist with sincerity that seeps through every part of the album. The 2-CD set includes a lively, Spanish-infused concoction of brooding love songs, emotional deliveries, and danceable song structures. En Mi Piel, which means, 'in my skin,' is an evocative title that represents her comfortable and emotive songwriting skills and personal stories. The Spanish-language album contains upbeat tunes on percussion, piano, acoustic guitar, and a variety of strings and horns. The intense vocalizations are more varied than Cape Verde's Lura; not as smooth as Ethiopia's Saba; and almost reminiscent of Uzbekistan's Yulduz Usmanova. At any rate, the writhing percussion and swirling vocals wrap around the listener like the warmth of a Mediterranean sunset. The inviting repertoire is similar to fado or flamenco stylings--both of which are popular music forms in the global music community. The African music links are less than evident on this recording. As a result, fans of European fado and flamenco-type music with a little Andalusian embellishments and jazz will find solace and fun in En Mi Piel. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Amina Alaoui's 'Arco Iris'

Amina Alaoui

Arco Iris

ECM Records

Andalusian singer, Amina Alaoui, was born in Morocco and currently based in France. Amina's Gharnati music traditions meld with a bit of fado, Ladino, and flamenco thrown in encapsulate the general tone of the album. Amina's all-star cast of musicians reflect another aspect of global music, as her band represents Brazil and Tunisia, too. The relatively sparse instrumentation adds to the meditative, mournful, and calming effect. Amina plays the daf, while her son, works on percussion. Eduardo Mirand on mandolin, Saifallah Ben Abderrazak on violin, Sofiane Negra on oud, and Jose Luis Monton on flamenco guitar round out the band's repertoire. Fans of Portuguese, Spanish, Ladino, fado, Andalusian, and North African music with a special interest in the folk and classical music traditions will find Arco Iris extremely pleasing. Amina's vocals are not as pop-oriented as Algeria's Djur, or as operatic as the fadista Mariza. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Joana Amendoeira's 'Setimo Fado'

Joana Amendoeira

Setimo Fado

Nosso Fado

The long line of fadistas to grace the stages of the world in song and voice are nevertheless nostalgic, as they are entertaining. Mariza, Amalia Rodrigues, and others are sure to come to mind in any discussion of fado music. The Portuguese-native, Joana Amendoeira, is a young singer of traditional fado compositions. Seventeen tracks with a mellow, yet emotive vibe on strings, percussion, guitar, and piano round out the staple repertoire for fadistas worldwide. The unwavering vocal performances signal a remarkable set of songs that are as classy as they are stylistic. Passionate songs of longing and hope provide listeners with a great mix of vocal fun for all ages. The piano adds a jazzy element to some of the tracks. Fans of Latin, Fado, and European vocal music will find happiness in the sad songs of Joana Amendoeira. Liner notes are included in Portuguese. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Ana Moura's 'Coliseu'

Ana Moura

Coliseu

World Village

The popularization of the fado musical genre from Portugal has been fostered by an intense desire to reacquaint oneself with Portuguese music from around the world and the global prevalence of past and present fadistas, including Amalia Rodrigues, Mariza, Katia Guerreiro, Ramana Vieira, and Ana Moura. A native of Portugal, Ana performs a live set of songs recorded in two of Portugal's famed venues: Coliseu dos Recreios and Coliseu do Porto. The fifteen songs were composed by Jorge Fernando, Custodio Castelo, Antonio Laranjeira, Toze Brito, and others. The mournful and serene songs are nicely accompanied by Portuguese guitar, acoustic guitar, and acoustic bass guitar and interspersed with applause. The Portuguese vocals float effortlessy through the air and dance around with class, sass, but in no way crass. The young singer's mature voice is well-trained and award-winning. A 22-page liner booklet includes Portuguese and English translations. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Ana Moura's Fado

Ana Moura

Leva-Me Aos Fados

World Village

Portugal's Ana Moura is now in the realm of other great fado singers, including Amalia Rodrigues and Mariza. Fado is most common in Portugal, but it can be heard in other countries, as well. It follows a mournful, lyrical style and folk-guitar tunings in a carefully structured environment. The music is sorrowful, but very engaging. In fact, the album's title is translated as "Take Me To A Fado House". Anyone with a Latin American or Mediterranean musical preference will most likely enjoy Ana Moura's fado style. This is not an over-produced, electronic album of dance music or pop. It is traditional fado with lilting rhythms, light guitar picking, and romantic vocals. Open your ears and heart today with Leva-Me Aos Fados. Take someone you love to the fado house. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Uxia's Eterno Navegar

Uxia

Eterno Navegar

World Village

Uxia (pron. 00-SHEE-a) is a heartfelt singer of fado and morna songs inspired by the Asturias region of Northern Spain, Portugal, the Azores, Cape Verde, Africa, Brazil and everywhere in-between. Eterno Navegar, which means, "Eternal Sailing", is a reflection of the musical inspiration inherent in the environment surrounding the countries and islands in the Eastern Atlantic. The entire album has a Lusophone (a.k.a. Portuguese) sound. Instrumentally, the piano, accordion, bass, trombone, cello, percussion, hurdy gurdy, and violin comprise the primary repertoire. The Cape Verdean/Portuguese guitarist and singer, Sara Tavares, lends her vocals to the mix. Overall, Eterno Navegar is an intimate and inviting journey for any listener with an interest in Lusophone music. A 56-page colored booklet in English and Portuguese includes an introduction, song titles and instrumentation, and photos. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Cape Verdean Music from Portugal's Lura

Lura
Eclipse
Lusafrica

Portugal's Lura was born to Cape Verdean parents, which allowed her to study and incorporate Cape Verdean music and rhythms into her compositions for her last few recordings, including the most recent one, Eclipse. The most globally-recognizable musician to come out of Cape Verde would have to be Cesaria Evora. Though an increasing number of musicians from the islands are garnering international attention, including Lura. Lura's emotive and sultry vocals match the gritty, earthy, and jazzy rhythms of the piano, strings, guitar, and percussion. Even though Cape Verde resides offshore of Western Africa, the primary musical influences tend to incorporate Latin or Caribbean tones. Though, Lura includes the indigenous styles of Cape Verde, including morna, funana, batuque, with a little fado thrown in. Is Eclipse the album that marks the pinnacle of Lura's musical career? It is doubtful, as each album seems to contain something new with each listen. Liner notes in Cape Verdean Creole. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Fado By Way of South Africa...Azores...and Lisbon

Katia Guerreiro
Fado
Sony

Fadista, Katia Guerreiro, was born in South Africa, moved to the Azores as a child, and studied medicine in Lisbon, Portugal. The latter move would ultimately allow Katia to embrace her fado beginnings. The appropriately titled album, Fado, is an excellent introspective examination of fado song structure and delivery. Yet, most listeners associate the late-Amalia Rodrigues, or the currently popular, Mariza, with fado stardom, Katia is equally deserving of such attention and fame. Every song is heartfelt and passionately performed. This is one of the lasting impressions of fado music. The rich tradition of fado follows the content of a mournful nature, often about love, or poor living. At any rate, Katia's beautiful voice is a heavenly addition to the fado world. The lyrics are provided in Portuguese. ~ Matthew Forss