Cape Verde

Similar in scope and tone to Putumayo's Brasileiro collection, Cape Verde presents the music of the islands just 300 miles off West Africa's Senegalese coast. Drawing from Portuguese and African influences, the music of Cape Verde is most often rooted in a sensually languid and rhythmically complex cousin of the blues called morna. Largely popularized on the international scene by the meteoric popularity of Cesaria Evora (who contributes here with "Cabo Verde Manda Mantenha"), Cape Verdean music has enjoyed a wider listenership. This collection, however, cleverly balances the alluring minor key of morna with the lesser-known merry festivity of coladeira, the Cape's party music, and a jazz-tinged dance music called funana. Mysteriously bewitching, Cape Verde is a gorgeous melange of elegant piano, acoustic strings, rousing horn sections, propulsive drumming, flamboyant keyboards, and superb vocalists. --Paige La Grone