Mariza in Las Palmas

To mark the 20^th anniversary of its opening, the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus hosts a series of cool concerts includng that of Mariza. Luckily, this one was not sold out weeks in advance (as it was the case with Ara Malikian).

It was a great show. Mariza sang a few “fado fado” songs and quite a lot of non-fado material. And if anyone was annoyed with that, they didn’t show it. The auditorio was (almost, but not completely) full and the public were behaving themselves. Mariza can hold that looong pause... and all these pauses the audience went totally silent. They were so uncharacteristically quiet that Mariza at first had a problem making them sing Rosa Branca (in Portuguese, naturally). In the end, after a five or six minute-rehearsal, she succeeded.

Mariza:	Quem tem, quem tem Amor a seu jeito
Audience:	Colha a rosa branca, Ponha a rosa ao peito

Mariza may be a fado superstar but she also was super charming, chatting away in her portuñol, giving a lot of credit and a lot of space to her band. During the encore, she walked down to the stalls, shook hands with all of the audience she could reach and thanked them for coming. (She did not come up to the balcony where I was sitting though.)

What with this being a part of Mariza’s Mundo tour, I was expecting her CDs on sale but no. Even if she hates signing her albums, people still would buy them. A missed opportunity, I say.

Mariza: vocals José Manuel Neto: Portuguese guitar Pedro Jóia: Spanish guitar Fernando Araújo: bass guitar Hugo Marques: drums, percussion

Alive! in Lisboa

by Sara Tavares

Although I bought this box set some three years ago, it was not until now that I watched the whole Lisbon concert in one sitting. It is even better than I remember. Perhaps the next best thing to the actual concert of Sara Tavares.

In addition to the DVD, the set includes two of her earlier albums: Mi Ma Bô and Balancê.

The DVD opens with Barquinho da Esperança, a wonderful song that does not appear on any of Sara’s studio albums.

Fado Tradicional

by Mariza

I’ve never been a big fan of fado as a genre. I find its over-the-top drama and affectation incredibly annoying. And if there was a single fadista who has managed to annoy me even more than any traditional fado singer, that would be Mariza. It is true that she is constantly pushing the boundaries of fado — to the degree of complete unbearability. (I like her hair though.)

Her latest album, however, pleasantly surprised me. No strings here, thank goodness. Here she is accompanied “only” by the guitar trio (Ângelo Freire, Diogo Clemente and José Marino de Freitas: my respect), so her voice is given plenty of space. Several up-tempo songs, such as wonderful Dona Rosa, provide a welcome change from the standard “oh, this pain of mine” fare. The drama is still there but now Mariza sounds more in control of her emotions. Last but not least: at only 35 minutes, it is over before it starts feeling samey. OK I have to admit: I loved it.

Songlines places Fado Tradicional “in a class all of its own”. I wouldn’t know that — I’d have to listen for some more fado first and I am still not convinced I really want to.

Xinti

by Sara Tavares

Hooray, the long-awaited follow-up to Balancê arrived this morning and that’s what I am listening to now. In Cape Verdean Creole, Xinti means “Feel it”. Que música maravilhosa! My favourite songs so far (if I had to chose, but luckily I don’t) are Di Alma, Só d’Imagina, Exala and Mana Fé — the latter is a hidden track after Manso Manso, so be patient!

I don’t know why at the Amazon UK they marked this album as containing “explicit lyrics”. The only song having any sort of English lyrics in it is Bué. Here it is in its entirety:

Cause I feel good
Very nice
Cause we’ve got
Good, good vibes.

I think kids are safe.