Voz D'Amor
Cape Verde is  famous for its  Afro-Portuguese-inlfluenced music genres: the haunting guitar-basedmornaand the percussive Cuba- and  Brazil-influencedcoladeras. Ever since her "discovery" in 1998,  vocalist Cesaria Evora, the so-called "Barefoot Diva," has been her  country's greatest musical ambassor. This recording features Evora  interpreting old and new Cape Verdean and Brazilian songs. Under the expert  leadership of her musical director, pianist Fernado Andrade, Evora's rich  contralto is beautifully supported by guitars, the ukelele-likecavaquinho, mandolin, strings, clarinet, and percussion.  Like Billie  Holiday, Evora can inject a lyric with pathos and passion. That rare gift  is heard on the mid-tempo "Isoloada" ("Isolated"), an aching song about a  beautiful, imprisoned mulatto girl, written by Evora's poet uncle, B. Leza,  and the equally heart-wrenching "Amdjer De Nos Terra" ("Woman of Our Land"),  which tells of the suffering of Cape Verdean women. The upbeat tracks  include the sax-laced, vocal choired, "Pomba" ("The Dove")and Luis Morais's  "Velocidade" ("Velocity").  "Jardim Prometido" ("Promised Garden") is a nice   take on the American standard "Greenfields" by another Cape Verdean  composer, Teofilo Chantre. The title track features Evora in pan-African  fellowship with musicians from Cuba, Brazil, and Madagascar, showing that the  music of her homeland has something for everyone.--Eugene Holley, Jr.