Carmen Souza | |
|---|---|
 Carmen Souza, 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1981-05-20)20 May 1981 (age 43) |
| Origin | Lisbon,Portugal |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Website | carmensouza |
Carmen Souza (born 1981) is a Portuguese jazz singer and songwriter of Cape Verdean heritage. She combines traditional forms of Cape Verde with contemporary and traditional jazz.
Carmen Souza was born inLisbon on 20 May 1981, to parents who had moved to Portugal after theCarnation Revolution ended the colonial era of their nativeCape Verde.[1] Though Souza has only been to Cape Verde herself a few times, once on a family trip when she was ten and again as an adult in 2010, she grew up speakingCreole and eating Cape Verdean cuisine.[2] While still a child, she began singinggospel music in the church choir.[3] Her parents maintained close ties with thediaspora, and Souza's childhood was filled with the music and culture of Cape Verde, along with that of the former Portuguese colonies ofAngola,Brazil,Mozambique andSão Tomé.[4] Souza's father, Antonio, amerchant sailor,[2] insisted she should learn English and German. After spending just one year at college, she left to pursue her music career.[3]
In 1999, Souza began partnering withbassist Theo Pas'cal,[5] who has been a mentor to her and continues to perform with her.[5] They met when she came to audition for a music project Pas'cal was directing[3] and initially she performed professionally with him in aPortuguese-languagegospel choir.[6] Souza playspiano andguitar,[5] writes or co-writes her songs with Pas'cal[5] and sings.[3] In 2003 they began working on a style which combined Cape Verde Creole music, including thebatuque,coladeira, andmorna genres, with contemporary jazz.[6] Souza usually sings in Creole because its variants allow her a flexibility for the language to meld with differentcadences, than more formal languages allow. But she also sings in English, French, and Portuguese.[4] Her voice is "alternately chirpy and grave."[2]Africa Today described her as having a "soul diva voice".[7] Souza's work transforms the traditional Cape Verde morna, adding jazz and personal invention,[8] such as vocal experiments, using herpitch andtone to emulate musical instruments.[9]
Her debut album, released in 2005, titledEss ê nha Cabo Verde,[10] was their first West African-jazz blend adapted to an acoustic vibe.[6] Souza's second release wasVerdade (Truth),[3] in 2008. Featuring the duo's blend of African and jazz music set toWurlitzer electric piano and guitar, it won wide critical acclaim. A re-release of the album in 2010 byGalileo Records was included in several bestworld music lists for the year.[6] Three years later, they followed up the success withProtegid (Protected), featuring Cuban pianistOmar Sosa and French accordionistMarc Berthoumieux [fr][7] with Souza onRhodes piano, guitar, and vocals.[6]Protegid blendsCape Verdean music withtraditional jazz[11] and includes updates onjazz standards, for example Horace Silver's famous tuneSong for my father. Carmen's vocal chorus takes note by note Horace Silver's chorus on the first version of this standard[12].[5] The album was nominated for the German Record Critic's Award and earned a ranking on the World Music Charts Europe (WMCE).[6]
Souza chose to donate half of the proceeds of her 2012 albumDuo (also known asLondon Acoustic Set) to charity.[13] Most of the album was recorded at the Green Note Club inLondon with two tracks which had been produced in 2010 at theLiverpool Philharmonic Hall. All of the tracks had been previously released on her other albums, but all were new, live interpretations.[14]Kachupada, named after a type of Cape Verdean food,kachupa, was her fifth album and was released the following year.[5]Kachupada includes her version of two jazz classics, "Donna Lee" and "My Favorite Things".[2] She followed with an album released in 2014 calledLive at Lagny Jazz Festival which features musicians Ben Burrell on piano, Elias Kacomanolis on drums and percussion, and her music partner Pas'cal, playing acoustic and electric bass. Souza's accolades for the album included "one of the most talented and innovative vocalists in the present-day jazz and world music scene".[15] Souza resides in London.[10]
The positive response to her first album led to international recognition, when she performed at theWorld of Music, Arts and Dance Festival (WOMAD) held that year inReading, Berkshire, England.[6] She performed inIreland at the Farmleigh Affair Festival in 2008, despite the bad weather[16] and the following year was noted for bringing "a sultry jazz swing to the bluesymorna of her Cape Verde Islands homeland" in aToronto performance which was part of a North American tour.[17] In 2010, she played at theNorth Sea Jazz Festival inRotterdam, the London African Music Festival, and theLeverkusener Jazztage Festival, inLeverkusen. In Leverkusen, Souza was one of the headliners and her performance was later broadcast byWestdeutscher Rundfunk/3SAT TV.[6] Souza performed at theKennedy Center inWashington D.C. in 2011[18] and at the Kriol Jazz Festival inPraia, Cape Verde, in 2013.[11][4] Later that same year, she performed at the WOMAD Festival inCáceres: her first visit to Spain. She toured afterwards inBarcelona,Madrid, andZaragoza[4] before an appearance at the Regattabar inCambridge, Massachusetts.[2] Carmen Souza performed on 23 June 2016 at theGibraltar World Music Festival inSt. Michael's Cave.[19]
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