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Miss Perfumado

This 1992 recording, which is being released in the US for the first time, established this 57-year-old singer from the Portuguese West African island of Cabo Verde as an international star. Not quite a traditionalist, Cesaria Evora specializes in the Portuguese folk/cabaret ballad called Morna, a moderately paced, highly expressive song-form characterized by meandering minor-key melodies and lyrics which express suffering, hope, and, above all, the all-encompassing Portuguese concept of “saudade,” or nostalgia. As listeners on the Continent have already discovered, MISS PERFUMADO is a perfect introduction to this dignified artist. To be sure, not every song is slow to mid-tempo; there are some lively numbers, though Ms. Evora never loses her poise or even raises her appealingly musky voice. Credit also goes to guitarist/pianist Paulinho Vieira, who directs the sympathetic acoustic accompaniment, so evocative of the sea and warm nights of Evora’s beloved Cabo Verde....

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cape verde, Cesaria Evora, female vocalists, latin, Miss Perfumado, world, world music