Album: Carmen Souza, Protegid (Galileo Music)

The poetic voice is as original as the musical one.

The lyrics this Cape Verdean singer has written have a vivid, passionate energy; her sound is sometimes pure Billie Holiday, sometimes like the young Cleo Laine. Backed with rippling accompaniments from a band blending Afro-Latin and contemporary jazz effects, she beats up a very unusual storm. Just one song – "Sodade" – plugs her into the grand Cape Verdean tradition, but shows how far she has moved from its original exponent, Cesaria Evora.