Music » Latin Indie Music

If the legendary singer Am?lia Rodrigues is the queen of fado, the national song genre of Portugal, this debut by Mariza announces her coronation as its crown princess of the 21st century. This twentysomething, Mozambique-born beauty of Portuguese, Spanish, German, African, and Indian descent rapidly rose from the Mouraria district of Lisbon to become fado's newest and brightest star. The 12 selections on this recording are arranged in chamber-style ensembles consisting of bass, piano, classical guitar, and its 12-stringed, Portuguese cousin, the Portuguese viola. Songs like "O Gente Da Minha Terra" and the traditional "Por Ti" ring with a haunting feeling of saudade well beyond Mariza's years. "Maria Lisboa," "Ha Fest Na Mouraria" (with cellist Davide Zaccaria), and "Barco Negro" are peppered with Iberian and African-flavored percussion. Mariza sings these songs of love, God, and country with a youthful vitality that proves that fado is alive and well. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Put the force of McCoy Tyner, the superhuman keyboard agility of Art Tatum, and the delicacy of Erroll Garner into a 6-foot-4 Cuban-born frame, and you'll get Jesus "Chucho" Valdes, one of the greatest piano players on the planet. For three decades, Valdes led the Cuban superband Irakere, with Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval. But in the last few years, Valdes has been spotlighting his pianistic prowess in small combos such as the quartet he led during a spirited stint at the legendary Village Vanguard in 1999. Backed by a young group of Cuban musicians--drummer Raul Pineda Roque, percussionist Roberto Vizcaino Guillot, and bassist Franciso Rubio Pampin--Valdes turns the piano into a hurricane of melody, harmony, and rhythm. Valdes's masterful manipulations of African American jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms ring through on the supersonic tempo of "Anabis," the frenetic bebop licks on the tribute "To Bud Powell," and the Thelonious Monk-like block chords on the midtempo "Son XXI (Para Pia)." As an arranger, Valdes ingeniously reworks old Cuban standards such as "The Peanut Vendor" and "Que Bueno Baila Usted" into his own Caribbean-charged compositions, "Punto Cubano" and "Como Traigo La Yuca." Another island gem, "Drume Negrita," is redone with a funky swing capped by the vibrant vocals of the leader's sister, Mayra Caridad Valdes. The climax of this stirring set is "Ponle La Clave," Valdes's atmospheric African drum celebration that percussively points to the motherland that birthed Cuba's folkloric fusions. Valdes's tender "Encore-- Lorraine's Habanera," named for the Village Vanguard's owner--gently brings the eager and amazed audience back to Earth. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Many subtly varied kinds of music fall under the rubric of flamenco, which is a style of singing, dancing, and even living, as well as playing the guitar. This collection presents a good guitar selection, highlighted by the polished technique of Sabicas, the profundity of Manolo de Huelva, and the sheer brilliance of Melchor de Marchena. There is a drastic change of atmosphere in the transition from track 10 (a zapateado played by Nino Ricardo) to track 11: Manolo de Huelva accompanying the voice of Manuel Vallejo. Suddenly we are in a cuadro, the natural environment of flamenco, with a group of participants clapping, stamping their feet, and shouting encouragement to the musicians. No longer is it just a man sitting alone on a stage or in a studio, playing the guitar fluently and flawlessly; this is cante hondo, the heart of flamenco, intense and astringent, and the best of this disc's many flavors. --Joe McLellan

Release Date: 1999-07-13, Audio CD, Discos Fuentes

Release Date: 1998-11-15, Audio CD, Begui Records

Release Date: 2000-08-15, Audio CD, Geisha Boy Records

Esteban "Steve" Jordan is often referred to as "the Jimi Hendrix of the accordion" for his use of multiple electronic effects, but his imagination comes out even more clearly in his choice of notes and his wild, weird arrangements and vocals. This set mixes his raw early recordings of the 1960s with a wonderful LP from the 1980s. The early tracks already show a unique mind at work, with spikily funky runs punctuating the largely traditional vocals of Jordan and his then-wife Virginia Martinez. The second half is odder, mixing traditional polkas with jazz-blues, cumbia, a Buck Owens cover, and the "Corrido de Jhonny el Pachuco," a hip, Chicano slang rewrite of a classic badman ballad. Both show a man who, without ever achieving stardom, remains probably the most innovative musician on the contemporary conjunto scene. --Elijah Wald

The musical relationship between Havana and New Orleans dates back centuries. Both cities share an Afro-Caribbean cultural heritage, and both take great pride in keeping that heritage alive. So it really shouldn't be too surprising that this mating--co-produced by Joe Boyd with Cubanismo's Jesús Alemañy and the Yockamo All-Stars' Mark Bingham--comes off so naturally. The stunning "Shallow Water Suite," featuring Crescent City R&B singer John Boutte, solidifies the African-based spiritual connection between New Orleans mardi-gras chants and Cuban rumba, while Ernie K-Doe's "Mother-In-Law" receives a clever bilingual workout. But the heart of the album is in the original instrumental hybrids such as "Cuborleans," "Gumbo Son," and Alemañy's "Boogaloo," on which trumpeter Alemañy earns an honorary place in the great New Orleans tradition that extends from Buddy Bolden and Louis Armstrong to Wynton Marsalis and Nicholas Payton. --Rick Mitchell

updated classic songs with a flamenco flair

Even in the northern states, Mexican music is easy to find on American radio, but airplay almost exclusively consists of the Tex-Mex norte?o style. In contrast, there's barely an accordion in earshot on this sparkling collection of traditionally rooted songs. Los Bravos del Norte de Ramon Ayala weigh in with the bouncy ranchera "Andan Dicendo," but on all other fronts guitar trills rather than squeezebox sighs propel the music. With violin swoops and falsetto vocals, La Calaca unleash the galloping son huasteco/ranchera "Rogaciano." The same ensemble graces the gusto "El Tecolote" with less ferocity but equivalent momentum. Los Lobos dip way into their past with a 1977 version of the son jarocho sped up into a self-proclaimed son loco on "Flor de Huevo," complete with dizzying fretwork and a flailing rhythm. The delicate instrumental son istemeno wedding song "Mediu Xhiga" from Dueto de los Hermanos Rios brings exquisitely ornamented requinto guitar from Mexico's Pacific Coast. Rounding out the set is a slice of Latin cabaret complete with braying clarinets and a gritty vocal takeoff on, of all things, a traditional Mexican Christmas carol via Lhasa de Sela's "Los Peces." --Bob Tarte