INTERNATIONALE KÜNSTLER | Cesária Évora and Mayra Andrade, Cape Verde, 2010 |
 Tour Dates
Tour Dates: 8 October - 10 October, 2010 “With its strong bossa nova lilt, Mayra Andrade's Brazilian-produced second album more than delivers the goods...” Cesária Évora
In a collaboration between the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, the Embassy of the Republic of Cape Verde, China Arts and Entertainment Group and Wu Promotion, the most highly-anticipated cultural event of the year is coming to Beijing. For the first time ever, the world-famous Cesária Évora will perform with Mayra Andrade and Cesária Évora's support musician, Manuel Lopes Andrade (alias Tcheka) on stage in Beijing. Known as the "Barefoot Diva", Cesária Évora is a true legend of music history. Whether singing catchy songs, coladeras for dancers or mornas (the Cape-Verdean blues), her voice never fails to captivate listeners. With a golden and soulful voice, Mayra Andrade balances her folk roots with a searching musical spirit. The rich musical atmosphere of her work, infused with strong bossa nova lilt is emphatic. Her childhood was immersed in the greatest voices from Cape Verde, but her music draws on all possible sources "from radical free jazz to Brazilian music". Manuel Lopes Andrade, known as Tcheka, the vanguard of Cape Verdean music, is famous for transposing traditional percussive beats onto his guitar and reworking the rhythms of batuku into his original compositions. As support artist, he will perform for 15 minutes during the concert. From two generations, the wonderful musicians will bring to the audience a special evening of Cape Verdean music and culture. The repertoire of Cesária and Mayra is a unique mixture of traditional and modern elements combined with an infusion of African and European cultures. This concert is part of the valuable program of cultural exchange between Cape Verde and China. The Embassy of the Republic of Cape Verde has decided to release 300 complimentary tickets to the general public. The artists will also perform at the Red Hall, Expo Center, Shanghai on the 8th of October, to honor and celebrate the presence of Cape Verde at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai.
Cesária Évora
She is frequently compared to divas like Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf, but her sound is all her own. She sings a style of music called morna. Morna is considered the major indigenous form of music on the Cape Verde islands, but, like the American Blues, is really a relatively new form of music, deeply rooted in tradition. The music is heavily rhythmic, but deeply plaintive and sad. Evora's voice is sultry with a touch of roughness. Évora was born in 1941 in Mindelo, Cape Verde. She began her career as a singer in Mindelo on the island of São Vicente more than forty-five years ago. Aged just twenty, she was already singing of romantic disappointments and the remoteness of the Cape Verde islands, expressing a remarkable melancholy that is illustrated by recordings made at the time, reissued at the end of 2008 on "Radio Mindelo". Entrenched in a saudade of universal appeal or settling quietly over her windswept islands, this Atlantic melancholy remains Cesária Évora's trademark. With her great voice and stunning looks she soon attracted attention, but her hopes to become a professional singer were yet to be fulfilled. The singer Bana and a Cape Verde women's association respectively invited her to record in Lisbon but not one single producer showed any interest. She had many successful European tours and launched many popular albums -- including 1992's Miss Perfumado, which sold more than 200,000 copies in France alone -- Évora had achieved international fame. In 1995 after an eponymous release, Cesária Évora was introduced to the United States. She quickly became a star in the World Music scene, and on her subsequent U.S. tour, orchestra seats at her shows were literally filled with American superstars: people like Madonna and Branford Marsalis caught her New York show. The album Cesária Évora was nominated for a Grammy in 1995, and several more Grammy nominations and major awards followed. In 2003, Voz D'Amor finally won her a Grammy. Media Review: "Evora walks onstage barefoot, usually holding a cigarette, to sing about heartache and bittersweet memories. Her music is morna, tavern songs from Cape Verde, with melodies as graceful and knowing as the Mona Lisa's smile." For more information, please visit: www.cesaria-evora.com
Mayra Andrade
Today, after three years and countless performances, Andrade has clearly let go of her moorings and gone where the trade winds have always led her. Her childhood was immersed in the greatest voices from Cape Verde, but her music draws on all possible sources "from radical free jazz to Brazilian music." Mayra Andrade searches for her own music, fully immersed in the stylistic diversity of the Cape Verde islands. The artist, along with a few others, has been referred to as the "Pantera generation," named after a young composer who died in 2001; his songs had a gentle but profound effect on Cape Verdean music. Andrade covered four of his songs on "Navega." Cape Verdean music is present from beginning to end, for example in her revival of the bandeira, a rhythm typical of the island of Fogo. African rhythms kick in; an expressionist waltz foils our preconceptions and plucks at our heartstrings. In this myriad of influences Brazil may be in the foreground, but Cuba holds a special place as well, as demonstrated by singer Kelvis Ochoa and tres player Pancho Amat's participation in the project. Cuban music is something special for her; it's "a truckload of emotion," as she puts it. This bittersweet fragrance blends perfectly with the hint of melancholy in her voice. In "Turbulensa," by young Cape Verdean songwriter Nitu Lima, Mayra Andrade compares the sea's changing tides to the life experience. To punctuate the metaphor, she uses the marcha, a carnival rhythm found in Santiago de Cuba as well as Brazil. She started working on her new album "Stória, stória…" in the autumn of 2008, following a long series of performances. Mayra Andrade is a headstrong woman who wants to be free to go wherever she wishes. "Singing is practically sacred to me!" she claims, which probably explains why, as a young artist, she took the time to perfect her musical performances onstage, where her heart and soul shine. That's where audiences discovered her and "specialists" eventually caught wind of her fantastic new talent. It's also where she plans to bring her second album to life. "Navega" established an artistic personality. "Stória, stória..." refines its message. To accomplish this task, she defined the basic ideas in Paris with Cape Verdean multi-instrumentalist Kim Alves, Cameroonian bassist Etienne M'Bappé and Brazilian percussionist Zé Luis Nascimento, three faithful companions who know her well enough to anticipate her intentions and instincts; like her, they embrace Cape Verdean music in all its stylistic diversity. "They know all the idiosyncrasies of the music, which makes it easier to transcend them. I need the strength of their suggestions." Mayra Andrade then went on to broaden and deepen the project, extending invitations to artists from all musical backgrounds. Each one enriches her panorama and colors her soundtrack. In Paris, she called on the crystal-clear kora sound of Guinean Djêli Moussa Diawara, Nicolas Genest's dreamy trumpet, Angolan Zézé N'Gambi's agile rhythm and Brazilian Marcos Suzano's masterful percussion. They are only a few in the long list of featured guests. Others joined them in Brazil: percussionists in Salvador de Bahia, brilliant pianist André Mehmari in São Paulo, and other percussionists at the legendary samba studio in Copacabana, "Compania dos tecnicos." In Cuba, pianist Roberto Fonseca and tres player Pancho Amat came on board. "The choice of musicians was totally natural. I invited them because I knew they would add something to my music." Each of them served her music impeccably, as did Jacques Morelenbaum, who arranged and directed the recording of the strings and Lincoln Olivetti, who arranged the wind instruments. Both proceeded with subtle sensitivity, creating a nuanced harmonic palette that perfectly showcases her voice. "I wanted rhythm and percussion to play an important role in this album. More direct, with a natural sound but still very classy. Our main concern was technique: we didn't want it to drown or mask the emotion." Following the project from beginning to end, Mayra Andrade joined forces with the perfect man for the job: producer Alê Siqueira, who has attracted considerable attention by putting his stamp on, or rather creating a certain sound for, recent Brazilian pop gems by Marisa Monte, Caetano Veloso, Tom Zé and Arnaldo Antunes. Media Review: "With its strong bossa nova lilt, Mayra Andrade's Brazilian-produced second album more than delivers the goods. Shifting effortlessly between the breezy and the moodily reflective, it's artful and surprisingly mature." For more information, please visit: www.mayra-andrade.com
Manuel Lopes Andrade (Tcheka)
Batuku is performed with a group of people, mostly women, formed into a circle beating a tchabeta, a percussive instrument traditionally made of tightly rolled panos, a cloth woven in rural Santiago which nowadays have been replaced with plastic bags, which is placed in between the thighs and beat with the hands. On the inside of the circle is a narrator who places a pano around the waist and dances the torno to the rhythm while improvising verses, calling to the circle members who respond while maintaining the poly-rhythmic beat of the tchabetas. Batuku's lyrics are satirical in style and they offer a social commentary to and about the community at large. Like other Cape Verdean artists in the post-independence period, most notably the late Katchaz and the late Orlando Pantera, Tcheka began exploring and experimenting with new directions in the formerly ostracized Santiago sound. His abundant experience in Paris brought Tcheka to maturity as an artist and led to the release of his first CD in 2003 entitled Argui. The CD was recorded through French based and Cape Verdean owned record label, Lusafrica in the new Harmonia studios in Cape Verde, making it one of the first major projects to be recorded in the country. Following the CD's release, Tcheka performed throughout Europe and recorded a DVD of a June, 2004 concert that took place in Lisbon, Portugal. This DVD was sold as part of his sophomore release in 2005, Nu Monda, also recorded at Harmonia Studios in Cape Verde, and it showcases Tcheka's musical evolution as he now incorporates the percussive rhythms of African origin that exists throughout the archipelago. The CD offers rhythms such as the talulu festival beat from the island of Fogo and a tune called "Satanaz" which spotlights São Vicente's carnival culture, expanding his repertoire and providing a cohesive musical representation of the diverse island nation. The successful debut of Nu Monda was critically acclaimed and it led Tcheka to win the Radio France International Music of the World Awards on November 11, 2005 in Dakar, Senegal for Artist of the Year, making him the first Cape Verdean musician to achieve this honor. Tcheka who has been described as a "pop-griot" continues to evolve his sound, transposing his roots and culture into music for all. For more information, please visit: www.tchekaonline.com
Concert Information: Sunday 10th October, 7:30 pm To book the complimentary ticket in Beijing: For more information, please contact: |
Cesária Évora is known as "The Barefoot Diva". She always performs in bare feet, as a sign of solidarity for the large number of women and children back home in the Cape Verdean Islands who cannot afford shoes. In recent years, Évora has become a spokeswoman for international hunger organizations with the primary goal of helping Cape Verdean children.
Mayra Andrade was born in Cuba but grew up in Senegal, Angola, and Germany. She spent around two months of the year in the Cape Verdean island of Santiago. Andrade firstly devoured Caetano, then spent her childhood listening to the divas Elis Regina and Maria Bethânia. Start performing in her teenager, she won the gold medal at the French-speaking "Jeux de la francophonie" in 2001 in Ottawa, Canada.
Growing up in a musical family, Tcheka began playing alongside his famous violinist father, Nho Raul Andrade and his other siblings at 14 years old. By the time Tcheka reached 15, he began developing his own style, incorporating the rhythms of batuku, a communal song and dance based in the African roots of the islands, with his guitar.
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