Mariza Transparente CD

Transparente is Mariza's "big" album, it seems, the one designed to make her more than just the shining star of the new fado. The music connects the dots between Portugal and Brazil, giving an international quality to it all. Her voice is as crystal clear as ever, and production by Jacques Morelenbaum is wonderfully transparent. Yet there's a sheen to it all that seems intended to rub off any rough edges. You can hear it in the soft strings that cushion "Meu Fado Meu." It just seems to be trying too hard, rather than letting the music unfold. It's apparent, too, in the fact that the songs are all short -- the longest barely passes three-and-a-half minutes. Not that it's not a gorgeous album; it enfolds the ears like silk; Mariza herself has never sounded more seductive, and the cello on "Quando Me Sinto So" is as warm and inviting as a lover's kiss. But unlike her previous work, there seems an air of calculation about all this, the sense of deliberately seeking out a larger audience rather than allowing the music to speak for itself. She'll never sing a bad note, and there's absolutely nothing to fault with this album. The arrangements are understatedly lush, the playing impeccable, everything as close to perfect as it's possible to be. But at heart, it just doesn't feel real. ~ Chris Nickson

Recording information: AR Studios, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

Photographer: Isabel Pinto.

Arranger: Jaques Morelenbaum.

Personnel: Mario Pacheco (guitar); António Neto, Joao Lyra, Jesuina Noronha Passaroto, Ricardo Taboada, Lula Galvao (classical guitar); Alceu Maia (cavaquinho); Daniel Guedes, Antonella Pareschi, Joao Daltro, Paschoal Perrota, Walter Hack, Rogério Rosa, Rick Amado, Bernardo Bessler, Michel Bessler, Jose Alves (violin); Marcio Mallard, Jaques Morelenbaum (cello); Carlos Malta (flute); Agostinho Silva (accordion); Paulo Sérgio Santos (clarinet); Ismael Oliveira Jr. (French horn); Denner Campolina, Jorge Helder (double bass); Marcelo Costa (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Ricardo Garcia.

Entertainment Weekly (No. 834, p.145) - "...This delicately orchestrated set announces a new world-music diva." - Grade: A-
Uncut (p.92) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[She] carefully synthesizes bossa nova with fado until she's created a mid-Atlantic music of sparse, lyrical beauty."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.110) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[B]eautifully arranged and sung with the same force and charisma as on the previous two records."