Cesaria Evora will return to the United states and Canada in June and July 2007. Her North American tour will include music from her most recent recording, Rogamar (Sony BMG/RCA Victor).
It’s been an unexpected road for Cesaria. In the early days, she rode a wave of tastemaker popularity, finding audiences that included musicians David Byrne, Bonnie Raitt, and TV reporter Ed Bradley. Cesaria was set to perform at Madonna’s 1997 birthday party at Versace’s private estate. But the fashion designer’s murder put an end to that. Madonna tried again with her 2000 wedding at a castle in Scotland, but when Cesaria found out Madonna only wanted the Cape Verdean singer accompanied by piano, not her full band, the elder singer cancelled.
Regardless, over the years a wide American and Canadian fan base grew from consistent touring, each year in successively larger venues, several CD releases, and her star-studded audiences. Like many people, Cesaria envisioned that if she would become successful, she would buy herself a Mercedes. After first proudly being able to buy her own house (she still lives in Cape Verde), she finally was able to secure the car of her choice. She soon found out how difficult it is to get Mercedes parts in Cape Verde, and as a result, many a band member has departed from a worldwide tour trying to figure out how to pack a muffler or other car part into their bags. To top things off, Cape Verde’s rough roads are not the best terrain for a Mercedes. On stage, fans still find the singer in modest form, yet with a singular voice that calls to mind a previous era.
“This flower that wilts, this child that cries, this cloud that passes, it’s nostalgia, it’s sadness… The world changes, but my story continues.” Cesaria sings these words by Teofilo Chantre and Vitorino Chantre on their song “Um Pincelada” featured on Rogamar.
Cesaria shows extraordinary good taste in choosing songwriters. In the port of Mindelo on the island of São Vicente, they might say she has a kind of inbuilt radar that allows her to detect hazards and steer clear of treacherous reefs, enabling her to rely on the best. Manuel de Novas, ex-harbor pilot, and Teofilo Chantre, the musician from Paris, are inextricably bound to the emotional lace of their native land’s saudade, Portuguese blues. Cesaria also turns to younger talents. “They’re born and grow. I’m the only one getting old,” she jokingly remarks. Two of these new songwriters are on Rogamar, gifted lads from Mindelo named Constantino Cardoso and Jon Luz. Morna and coladera are not about to be sucked down into the globalization of sound.
Rogamar comes from rogar, to pray, and mar, the sea, the ever-present sea. ”The people of the islands/Are a seagoing people/But only for long voyages,” writes Teofilo Chantre over a Saint John’s Day beat. The journey through the “channel” between São Vicente Island and Sant’Anton opposite is quite an ordeal. When the waves rise, “Rogà, rogà Virgem Maria/Pegà, pegà Santa Barba;” on the little boat, they pray to the Virgin Mary and ask Santa Barba to hold on. Cesaria loves to gaze at the sea. She’s very clear: she cannot live without it. But as for going in: never! She’s afraid of it, she says, just as she says she has loved, suffered and been exploited by the colonial system and jealous producers, yet managed to laugh and joke about it. “And God never sleeps, he writes in a straight line, even injustices,” Cesaria adds, with a meaningful look.
North American tour:
06/08/2007, Fri
Los Angeles, CA
Orpheum Theater
06/09/2007, Sat
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Jazz Festival
06/10/2007, Sun
Saratoga, CA
Mountain Winery
06/11/2007, Mon
Victoria, BC
Royal Theatre
06/12/2007, Tue
Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Intl. Jazz Festival
06/15/2007, Fri
Edmonton, Alberta
Winspear Centre For Music
06/16/2007, Sat
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Pabst Theater
06/17/2007, Sun
Highland Park, IL
Ravinia Festival
06/19/2007, Tue
Ann Arbor, MI
Ann Arbor Summer Festival
06/22/2007, Fri
Vienna, VA
Filene Center at Wolftrap
06/23/2007, Sat
Boston, MA
Berklee Performance Center/World Music, Inc.
06/24/2007, Sun
Northampton, MA
Calvin Theatre
06/26/2007, Tue
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall
06/27/2007, Wed
Albany, NY
Hart Theatre at The Egg
06/28/2007, Thu
Toronto, ON
Roy Thomson Hall
06/30/2007, Sat
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa International Jazz Fest
07/02/2007, Mon
Montreal, Quebec
Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central