Carmen Souza Discography of CDs

Carmen Souza music CDs Recording information: Jazz Pilon Studios; MySound Studios. Editor: Theo Pas'cal. Photographer: Ricardo Quintas. Arranger: Theo Pas'cal. Personnel: Carmen Souza (vocals, guitar, piano, Wurlitzer organ); Tiago Santos (guitar); Victor Zamora (piano); Theo Pas'cal (double bass, percussion). Audio ...

Carmen Souza albums Recording information: Green Note, London; Liverpool P. Hall. Arrangers: Theo Pas'cal; Carmen Souza. Personnel: Carmen Souza (vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion). Audio Mixer: Theo Pas'cal.

Carmen Souza CD discography It's tempting to compare any female Cape Verdean singer to the godmother of the island's indigenous morna music, Cesaria Evora, but that would be unfair to a vocalist as gifted, and as singular, as Carmen Souza. For starters, although she is of Cape Verdean heritage, Souza was born in Lisbon and now resides in London. Her music, while incorporating traditional Cape Verdean elements, nods equally, if not more, to American jazz, Afro-Latin rhythms, European and Arabic melodic influences, and more. Singing in a Portuguese-based Creole, Souza -- whose longtime collaborator, producer/co-writer/chief instrumentalist Theo Pas'cal is again along for the ride on this third album by the songstress -- expands her internationalist approach by inviting musicians from numerous countries to add their colorings to the mix, the result being a hybrid that owes to all and none of its components at any given time. Souza's voice is a remarkably lithe instrument, sensual, percussive, soulful, and capable of exploring multiple moods within a given line of a given track. On "Tentê Midj," which compares life to a delectable sauce that must constantly be stirred, Souza flits from kitten-like coyness to tigress tough, traversing octaves and toying with the musicians (particularly accordionist Joao Frade) like a piece of yarn. Pas'cal's bass work throughout the album drives the rhythms that Souza easily rides atop, finding unexpected nuances where others might resort to the rote. On "Afri Ká," a land alternately described as joy, a red sunset, paradise, and saborsabi, Souza's own joy is palpable as she glides and swings her way through its funky dance beat and festive melody. Sometimes simplicity trumps the more complex arrangements, offering another side of the Souza-Pas'cal team: "Mara Marga," the ...