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Concert Preview, Lura/Seu Jorge
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Illinois Examiner, Concert Preview, Lura/Seu Jorge >>
World Music Festival 9/17, 9/19
Lura/Seu Jorge
Old Town School Of Folk Music, Chicago/Millennium Park, ChicagoSaturday, September 17, 2005/Monday, September 19, 2005
Despite the generic label and tired marketing ploys to make it seem more mainstream, world music has grown in visibility and influence. From soundtracks to specialized publications like Songlines to MTV, Americans have more opportunities to experience non-Western music than ever before.
Thanks to an especially strong lineup for this year’s World Music Festival, music lovers also got a chance to hear live acts that the rest of the world has been raving about. Featured groups like Brazil’s Orquestra Imperial, Palestine’s Trio Joubran, Cuba’s Nachito Herrera & The Bembe Band, and Puerto Rico’s Plena Libre stand poised to reap more worldwide acclaim. However, this year, it was the singers that commanded the most attention. Mali’s Amadou & Mariam, Portuguese fado stylist Ana Moura, and the Comoros Islands’ Nawal all stirred well-deserved excitement, but Cape Verde’s Lura and Brazil’s Seu Jorge topped the list of thrilling performances.
During the festival, the impact of a particular artist could be measured by the number of appearances. With live radio broadcasts, in-store performances at Borders as well as free and paid concerts, there were lots of opportunity for certain performers to build lasting popularity. Whether it was dictated by scheduling or demand, some artists had multiple appearances and others had one or two. Lura, with her intoxicating dance rhythms, claimed three and Seu Jorge, after stepping in for a last-minute cancellation by Spain’s Martires del Compas, boasted six. Both performers used their increased visibility to great advantage and both managed to capture loads of new fans.
A small cluster of islands off the coast of Senegal, West Africa, Cape Verde is generally unknown to most Westerners except in connection to its most famous citizen, the famed morna singer Cesaria Evora. Evora put Cape Verde’s music on the map but she specializes in only one aspect, the bluesy, haunting, morna ballad. But the island nation claims many other musical styles and Lura is determined to introduce other ones like the seductive funana and the percussive batuku rhythm.
Swathed in a gold sun dress and matching sandals, her mop of loose curls swaying with her hips, Lura conjured up sunshine and sea breezes during her concert at the Old Town Of Folk Music. Backed by a lively five-piece band, she sliced into easygoing tunes from Di Korpu Ku Alma (Escondida) and instantly captured the sold-out crowd. Dancing constantly as she sang, the 30-year-old performer reflected a youthful, light energy throughout the show.
Singing the midtempo “Tabanka Assigo,” Lura’s pretty voice soared and glided through the song’s undulating beat. The audience listened intently as she delved into two more languorous melodies, encouraging them to sing the creole lyrics. By the time she arrived at the rapidly paced “Ma’N Ba Des Bes Kumida Da,” she announced, “Now it’s time to dance! Eh!” Slipping off her sandals and tying a cloth around her hips, she wound her hips into a slow-building frenzy.
Treating her fans to more Cape Verde culture, for “Es Bida,” a gentle rhythmic ballad, she sat down and sang while beating a tchabeta, a piece of folded cloth held between the legs. Working the stage until all that was noticeable were her nuanced vocals and her swaying form, she entranced the crowd. On one of her last songs, she asked, “Do you want to sing with us? Oh na ri na, oh na ri na! It’s easy, it’s creole, it’s very easy!” Charmed by her enthusiasm, the tongue-tied crowd stumbled through the verses as Lura finished her total domination of their senses. Tearing into the effervescent “Mundo E Nos,” she informed them, “On this last song everybody will dance funana!” Getting them to clap in unison, she closed her one-hour set with singing, dancing, and a standing ovation.
A product of Brazil’s notorious favelas (slums), Seu Jorge’s presence is raw and commanding. Previously noted for his role of Knockout Ned in the film City Of God and his David Bowie renditions in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, Jorge recently released his solo CD, appropriately titled Cru (Raw) (Wrasse). Playing an acoustic guitar, with his tall, gaunt body covered in a black suit and his gritty voice growling out, Jorge looked and sounded unlike anything Millennium Park had yet to host.
Although he sang in Portuguese, translations weren’t necessary as the singer and three percussionists zipped past cultural and language barriers with a multi-layered, nuanced performance. His music borrows a lot from stripped-down samba but Jorge combines many other elements, from hip-hop to spoken word, to make his sound fresh and daring.
Introducing a breezy bossa nova, Jorge’s voice caressed the lyrics as his guitar created a romantic backdrop. In the next instance, he was rapping with all the attitude of a Bronx B-boy on “Bola De Meia.” Over his whirring guitar and swinging beats, his voice flowed with expression and speed. On the tenderly melancholy “Una Mujer,” his gruff voice revealed a startling vulnerability. Rarely moving except to play his guitar and barely raising his voice past a craggy whisper, Jorge demonstrated the power of his presence again and again.
For his encore, the 35-year-old singer returned without his guitar and performed “Eu Sou Favela (I Am Favela)” in a spoken-word style. Standing on the side of the stage, lifting his hands for emphasis, his voice rang out over a pounding, off-kilter beat. Detailing the reality of life in crime-ridden slums, he connected with the crowd on an emotional level, proving that good music always resonates, no matter where it’s from.
– Rosalind Cummings-Yeates 09/28/04 >> go there
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