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CD Review (excerpt)
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Jazziz, CD Review (excerpt) >>
Sara Tavares
Balance
(Times Square)
In describing her latest album, Cape Verdean-born, Portugal-based singer/songwriter Sara Tavares refers to her songs as "little lullabies to myself." As its name implies, Balance seeks equilibrium somewhere between the soothing and uplifting vibes cascading from delicate yet powerful voice belonging to a woman who's integrated all the pieces of a once-fragmented life into music that heals.
Unlike Cesaria Evora, Cape Verde's most renowned singer, Tavares strays from her predecessor's melancholy and opts for feel-good, organic sound crystallized in "Bom Feeling," a spirited marimba whose title, a combination of a Portuguese and an English word, translates into "Good Feeling" and reflects the multilingual wordplay, including Cape Verdean Criouio and Angolan slang, interwoven through out the album.
Tavares' musical arrangements are also informed by multicultural influences, from Afrobeat, Afropop, and Angolan semba to the traditional Cape Verdean rhythm cotadeira. Tavares plays with traditional African call and response on "Novidadi" by adding a contemporary edge through the nervous picking of an electric guitar. On the airy "Lisboa Kuya," she softly eulogizes Lisbon, conjuring up images of old world city streets winding to reveal hidden things on a late afternoon. 07/01/06
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