Photo Credit: Eric Mulet

After Cape Verde gained its independence from Portugal, things didn’t go so well. There were less ships arriving to the ports and the once green archipelago suffered a sever drought that forced many of the island’s inhabitants to emigrate to mainland Africa, Portugal, the United States and France. Cesaria stayed in her hometown until 1985, when Bana, a musician friend, and a Cape Verde women's association encouraged her to travel to Lisbon (Portugal) to showcase her talent. Unfortunately, none of the Portuguese producers showed any interest.

In 1988, a Cape Verdian producer living in France, José Da Silva, offered her to travel to Paris to record an album. She was 47 at the time and had nothing to loose, she had never been to Paris before, so she agreed. In Paris, Cesaria’s performances of Cape Verdian styles such as morna and coladeira gained a large following among the immigrant community. After the release of her fourth album, Miss Perfumado, she received great reviews and became popular with French, Belgian and German audiences and later with other international audiences. She has recorded in Creole and Spanish. Worldwide tours followed.

Cesaria normally tours with fellow Cape Verdian singer Bau and his band: Jacinto Pereira (cavaquinho), José Paris (bass), Luis Ramos (guitars), Nando Andrade (piano), Totinho (saxophones and percussion), and Bau (guitars, cavaquinho, violin).

In recent times, things have improved in Cape Verde. Some immigrants have returned and opened businesses, while others come for the summer. Cesaria also returned to the island, bringing with her a blue Ford that she owned in Paris. The lady with the bare feet, as she is also known, has difficulty walking so she uses a driver.

Released in 2003, Voz d'Amor was recorded in Paris during breaks in Evora's busy touring schedule. 'Whenever I have time off from my tours, I like going into the studio to record one or two songs to prepare for my next album,' she says. 'Because there always seems to be so little time, over the years I have learned this is the best way for me to do a recording.'

The lead-off song on Voz d'Amor, 'Isolada' ('Isolated'), was written by her uncle, Cape Verdean poet B. Leza. It tells the story of a young girl longing to be free and features guitar and mandolin instrumental support. 'That's a very old morna,' says Evora. 'I've been singing this for a long time.' The title track is a new morna, written by one of Cesaria's favorite songwriters, Teofilo Chantre. 'Voz D'Amor' is a moving number that features support artists from Cuba, Madagascar and Brazil along with Evora's stage band led by pianist Fernando (Nando) Andrade. With passion, she sings about 'a deep-rooted ache of the heart,' while also voicing hope: 'But a song will be born again to give us a reason to believe.'

In addition to the slow, mournful numbers, Cesaria accelerates the tempo for several tunes. The highlights include 'Velocidade' ('Velocity') and 'Pomba' ('The Dove'). The former is highlighted by a vocal choir and a lyrical clarinet line. It was written by composer Luis Morais, the father of modern Cape Verdean music who died in September 2002. 'Luis gave me this song and asked me to sing it,' Evora recalls. 'I wanted to sing [it] to honor him and his music. It's a shame he died because he was a clarinetist. It would have been perfect if he could have recorded this with me.'

Voz d'Amor's, songs were new to Evora's concert repertoire. 'Until recently I was only singing songs from my earlier albums,' she says. 'But for my tour beginning this fall, I'll be presenting most of the new songs for the first time.'

In 2004, Voz d'Amor won the Grammy for best contemporary world music recording. That same year, Club Sodade: Cesaria Evora came out. It was the first-ever remix collection from the enduring Grammy winning artist. Club Sodade paired the internationally renowned Cape Verdean vocalist with an assemblage of contemporary dance / electronic music pioneers from around the globe, who have re-envisioned selections from The Barefoot Diva's catalog of timeless songs. Orchestrated by influential French electronic and house music producer / DJ and Versatile Records label founder Gilber, Club Sodade resounds with 12 essential and unique reconstructions provided by Carl Craig, Pepe Bradock, Kerri Chandler, Francois K., Señor Coconut, 4 Hero, Osunlade, Chateau Flight, and more.

For her 2009 album, Nha Sentimento, Cesaria and her crew found a collaborator and an admirer in Fathy Salama, a former conductor of the Cairo Orchestra who arranged the three mornas on the album. Fathy brought Egyptian instrumentalists into his studio in downtown Cairo to add a new texture to the music, largely written by fellow Cape Verdeans Manuel de Novas, Cesaria’s friend since childhood, and Teofilo Chantre. Egypt’s reedy pipes, edgy percussion, lush strings, and the crystalline sound of the kanun (Arabic zither) feel right at home. “This time it was from Egypt,” said Cesaria, “but it can be from anywhere.”

“We cross other borders to achieve other styles,” explains her producer, José da Silva. “We recorded a disk with Cuban musicians and also with Brazilian musicians. The previous album involved African musicians, and now we have taken new inspiration from Arabic music. This makes us open-minded to other cultures.”

La Diva Aux Pieds Nus (Lusafrica 262212, 1988)

Distino Di Belita (Lusafrica 262222, 1990)

Mar Azul (Lusafrica 262232, 1991)

Miss Perfumado (Lusafrica 262242, 1992)

A L'Olympia (Lusafrica 795912)

Sodade (Lusafrica lus94022, 1994)

Cesaria (Lusafrica lus95012,1995)

Cabo Verde (Lusafrica 262202,1997)

The Very Best of Cesaria Evora ( Lusafrica 262802,1998)

Cafe Atlantico (1999)

São Vicente di longe (BMG, 2001)

Voz d'Amor (BMG, 2003)

Club Sodade [remixes] (Bluebird/Arista Associated Labels, 2004)

Rogamar (RCA Victor, 2006)

Nha Sentimento (2009)