|
|
 |
Concert Review
|
| Click Here to go back. |
Victoria Times-Colonist, Concert Review >>
-by Adrian Chamberlain
Review: Diva’s seasoned voice satisfies like vintage wine
Grammy-winning Cesaria Evora still down to Earth, despite international acclaim
Who: Cesaria Evora
When: Monday night
Where: The Royal Theatre
Rating: Four (out of five)
For Cesaria Evora, it was a dramatic entrance. After her seven-piece band played an opening number, she entered, as is her habit, barefoot. She wasn't exactly dancing, but did sway her hips slightly.
Those who adore the sockless diva don't come for rock star scissor-kicks or other posturings. Rather, they're entranced by the sound of Evora's voice. Standing virtually still, the contralto sings with unaffected ease, almost without vibrato. Her timbre has a seasoned, aged quality - metaphors about vintage wine come to mind. There is a slight huskiness to her singing, perhaps brought about by the strong cigarettes Evora sometimes smokes both onstage and off.
Evora, who's 65, sings in Crioulu, a dialect dotted with Portuguese and African words. Her specialty is the morna, a Cape Verdean music flavoured by Brazilian, Portuguese and other influences. The morna sound - compared by some to the American blues - is rather sad, although it's a special kind of melancholy tinctured with the bittersweet pleasures of nostalgia and longing.
There's something of Edith Piaf in Evora's voice - one suspects it's no accident she's especially popular in France. Both singers are able to project a certain fragile world-weariness which, rather than being self-pitying, gives the impression of dignity, wisdom and pride.
Monday night, Evora's singing floated above the honeyed buzz of two percussionists, a saxophonist, a pianist and other musical colleagues. The South American influence on her music is strong - apparent, for instance, in the circular patterns favoured by the piano. Some of her rhythmically dense songs would sound at home on a Cuban bandstand, a reminder that that country's music - like Evora's - is rooted partly in the sounds of West Africa.
Despite late career popularity (she didn't attract international notice until her 40s) that led to appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and invitations to perform for Madonna's parties, Grammy-winning Evora remains resolutely down-to-Earth - even anti-showbiz.
She is a stout woman in a brownish dress with no hint of sequins or other baubles. She tends not to talk to the audience, not even an obviously warm one like the one that gathered at the Royal Theatre on Monday night.
Opening the concert was Tcheka (Manuel Lopes Andrade), a fellow Cape Verdean making his Canadian debut in Victoria. The singer-guitarist represents a new generation of musicians from that country, mixing his country's traditional batuque music with contemporary influences such as jazz and pop.
Tcheka, although laid back in his own way, proved a livelier performer than the headliner. He grinned often and, when pleased, did a hip-swaying shuffle. His three-piece band - acoustic guitar, bass and drums - was a percolating marvel, bristling with hissing polyrhythms.
Most notable was Tcheka's voice, often settling into a delicate falsetto that was sometimes ghostly, and elsewhere slightly reminiscent of Sting. His lead guitarist - a fleet-fingered fellow blessed with a relaxed fluidity - particularly impressed.
Note: Due to deadline considerations, the reviewer left before the concert finished. 06/12/07 >> go there
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
