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Portuguese Singer Lura Exposes Cape Verde's Hidden Music
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Bugle, Portuguese Singer Lura Exposes Cape Verde's Hidden Music >>
The music of Cape Verde an archipelago 300 miles west of Dakar, Senegal is the music of emigration. While the West African island nation's best- known singer is Cesaria Evora, a young singer born and raised in Lisbon's emigre community is presenting once-hidden Cape Verdean styles to American and European audiences.
Her name is Lura and she will be coming to Sedona's Future Studios with her six-piece band on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 8 p.m.
Born in 1975, Lura burst onto the scene in 1996. At the age of 17, Lura was a dancer in Lisbon when she was approached by Juka, an African zouk musician from Sao Tome West Africa, who asked her to appear on his newest album. Originally asked to sing backing vocals, she instead performed a duet and discovered the potential of her voice, with its deep timbre and sensual inflections.
Lura has toured worldwide, including a 2003 appearance at the Women of Cabo Verde show in the UK and performances at the prestigious Palais Des Congres during the 39th Midem World's Music Market in Cannes, France.
She also per formed at the World Conference on Cabo Verde in Washington, DC in April 2005 and Womad festival in July 2005.
Her third CD, Di Korpu Ku Alma, released in May 2005, was called an "absolute must- have" by Eric Arnold of the East Bay Express.
"With a voice that handles cool ballads as easily as 400- degree rhythmic workouts (all the while oozing sensuality), the diminutive singer is a major discovery."
The News & Observer says "Her elegant stage presence is matched by her top-notch band equally skilled at conveying the Portuguese and West African influences that are the bedrock of the music."
On this 17-city tour Lura and her band will be performing at such venues as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Berklee Performance Arts Center in addition to several music festivals including the Chicago World Music Festival and the Toronto Small World Music Festival.
The first European colonial town in Africa was founded in Cape Verde in 1462, three decades before Columbus set sail for the Americas.
Cape Verde's music reflects the mix of Portuguese and West African roots. But since traveling between Cape Verde's 10 islands is expensive, the populations on each island are distinct with their own personality and dialect. Cesaria Evora from the island of Sao Vicente is known for the inflected mornas and the faster-paced coladeras. Lura is part of a new generation of musicians rediscovering the hidden traditions of her ancestral homeland.
Her music is inspired by the styles of Santiago the most African of the islands, and the island from which her father came; styles such as batuku and funana.
The African musical traditions of Cape Verde are still emerging now because the nation only gained independence in 1975, and prior to that the Church and the colonial government prohibited certain forms.
The accordion-driven funana which Lura performs was considered too erotic.
Originally a dozen or more women would beat the batuku rhythm on folded stacks of clothes (called tchabeta) held by their knees, while a lead singer improvised poetry lampooning or critiquing community happenings. A very sensual dance called torno accompanied the song form.
"The women in Cape Verde spend a lot of time together, working and talking and that is how batuku started; from the women of Santiago," Lura says. "Now I and others are making a kind of batuku, but singing alone, not in a group. I'm a little representation of batuku from Cape Verde."
To learn more about Lura visit www.rockpaperscissors.biz/go/ lura.com.
Advance tickets are $18 and $22 day of show.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
Future Studios is located at 30 Hozoni Drive in Sedona.
For tickets or more information, call (928) 282-9139 or visit www.globalchangemusic.org. 09/07/05
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