Cesaria Evora

Cesaria Evora

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 18, 1995)
• Original Release Date: July 18, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000005J3Q
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #62,877 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > World Music > Africa > Cape Verde

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
Cesaria Evora, a Cape Verdean with a rich alto voice, has been accurately described as a cross between Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday. It wasn't until 1988, though, that Evora traveled to Paris to record, and her fourth album, 1992's Miss Perfumado, made her a major star in France and Portugal. Her 1994 album, Cesaria Evora, duplicated that triumph, and it's this latter recording which has become her first U.S. release. Evora, celebrated in Europe as the "Barefoot Diva," is now 52, but she is still able to give every word a breathy intimacy even as she fills it with a pitch-perfect, full-toned resonance. Drawing on the work of such top Cape Verdean songwriters as Nando Da Cruz, Amandio Cabral, and Manuel De Novas, she sings in Criuolo, a Creole variation of Portuguese. As in Brazil, another former Portuguese colony with a strong African influence, Cape Verde has produced a music which is light and airy even as it incorporates African rhythms and quartertones. The morna possesses the low-key tunefulness of an equatorial cabaret music, but Evora's vocals impart a world-weary gravity to these tales of homesickness and doomed love. Geoffrey Himes

Product Description
Seven tracks on gold disc & SBM (super bit mastering). Tracks include 'Joaquim Paris', 'Ingrata', 'Regresso', 'D. Ana' (take 1), D. Ana (take 2), 'Tchintchiroti Na Figueira' & 'Caboverdeano N'Angola'. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have!, March 19, 2000

By	Ann Rossaki (Bethesda, MD United States) - See all my reviews

I bought this CD over 2 years ago, but felt that I needed to review it here. The entire CD is AMAZING. I enjoyed EVERY track. This is a difficult feat for any CD, considering that about 98% of the time, I end up only enjoying MAYBE 4 out of 10 songs on most. That's not the case here. Her voice is beautiful, the music washes my stress away, and even though I don't know the dialect in which she is singing, I can gather that in some of the tracks, it is a lament of some kind. A good way to describe Ms. Evora's music is this: Billie Holliday Meets the Exotic West Coast of Africa. This CD will NOT disappoint!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A voice that speaks to the soul, June 12, 1998

By A Customer

Although Cesaria Evora sings mostly in a creole that I do not understand, I feel fully connected to every note and word that comes from her voice. I've been listening to this CD for years and have not tired of it. She transports me to her native land off the coast of Africa with each listening.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars makes me proud to be from the petit pays..Cape Verde!, July 11, 1998

By A Customer

As an African-American of Cape Verdean descent, it makes me proud to know that the rest of the world has "discovered" the voice of this remarkable woman. Cesaria's melodies transform the listener, regardless of the lack of understanding the words. Her voice caresses the soul and paints an indelible picture of beauty on the heart. BRAVO, Cesaria Evora! Viva, Cabo Verde!