Club Sodade
Remixing's biggest asset is the chance for a producer to work with anyone who has ever recorded music. Of course the ante is upped when the producer picks a world class musician and adds their own hopefully unique creative voice. Cape Verdean legend Cesaria Evora qualifies as a world-class singer; and her crew of eight different remixers is impressive as well, led by such big names as Carl Craig and 4 Hero. The producers take Evora's typically slow plaintive mornas and rev them up with new rhythm tracks, strange and often haunting sound textures, handclaps, and new instruments. Happily, Evora's voice, warm as a tropical sunset, is front and center and the remixers seldom screw with her. While the wildly imaginative and popularVerve Remixedseries focused on jazz singers, the overall quality here is equal to those collections, refashioning these songs into celebrations of Evora while also paying lip service to those who like to get out on the dance floor.  --Tad Hendrickson