Evora's gift for conveying vulnerability across language and culture is astonishing.
In 1991, just a year before she hit it big in Europe with Miss Perfumado, Cesaria Evora hit her stride in Paris with this warm and wonderful recording of morna music from Cape Verde. Produced with a light touch by José de Silva, Mar Azul is still close to the nightclub, to the smoke and whiskey roots of her music as she sang it back home; the great band seamlessly mixes jazz, blues, swing, Latin, and African music into something unique for its time. It is lush yet simple, beautiful and gritty and clean, and totally about this voice. An acoustic guitar or piano rules each track, with bass, light percussion, and touches of violin, clarinet, harmonica, or horn just brushing up against it. This is really where Evora developed comparisons to Billy Holiday, in her ability to sound both fragile and tough. Like classic jazz-blues, this music is about pain and elegance, expressed through a voice that convinces you she has seen both and often can't tell the difference. --Louis Gibson
One happy consequence following the current popularity of the Cabo Verdean singer Cesaria Evora is the domestic release of her first Paris-based sessions. Last year saw MISS PERFUMADO and now we have MAR AZUL, originally recorded in 1991. Evora sings in Portuguese and while there are some surface similarites with her Brazilian cousins across the sea, most notably the soulful Maria Bethania, her style remains firmly ensconced within the fado-derived song forms of her native Cabo Verde.
However, much like the Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla's Nuevo Tango, MAR AZUL updates the sound of this sultry, endlessly flowing music with keen production values and a charming use of harmonica, clarinet and trumpet as counterpoint to Evora's dignified, always-truthful singing. All of Evora's currently available albums are worth owning. But for any curious listener unfamiliar with this great world singer, MAR AZUL is a great place to start.
1. Mar Azul
2. Cize
3. Estanhadinha
4. Cabo Verde
5. Belga
6. Cretcheu Di Ceu
7. Cinturão Tem Mele (Dança Tchà Tchà Tchà)
8. Separação
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