Exotica: World Music Divas
This all-female collection opens withMamma, a stunning group of six vocalists from all over the Mediterranean who collaborate with acoustic musicians to create a rich, pan-Afro-European sound. This one track makes the album worth having though all ten of the tracks are mostly excellent and many of the artists' recordings are unavailable in the US.  Cesaria Evora, sings her classic "Miss Perfumado" and Ofra Haza is in full pop regalia on "My Ethiopian Boy." Smaller treasures includeXiradela,a Galician girls choir backed by the Carlos Nunez band, and a Latin tinged edition of Stevie Wonder's "Free" performed in Swahili by Khadja Nin, a husky singer from Burundi. Spanish Gypsy singer Nina Pastori is backed by Radio Tarifa. Rom singer Vera Kale does an over-the-top-pop gypsy song, Aine Minogue sings and plays a lush Celtic harp piece. Shai No Shai is Euro-African pop group.--Louis Gibson