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: 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