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04/17/2010, Sat |
Berklee Performance Center · Ph: 800-237-5533 |
She sings the traditional three-song set at storied fado houses in Lisbon, picking her songs right before stepping out on stage in front of the candlelit room, following the call of her heart at that moment. She improvises vocal lines on stage with Mick Jagger in front of packed stadiums.
She grew up hearing her mom sing the serpentine songs of traditional fado while doing the dishes. She got her start singing rock. Now she hangs with Prince, who was so moved by her music that he called her out of the blue one morning, in what she at first took for a prank.
She uses a spare trio of the traditional guitarra (the 12 metal-stringed Portuguese guitar), acoustic guitar, and bass to back her heartfelt voice. She is inspired by the big sounds of Nina Simone and Marvin Gaye to find new ways to explore her love affair with Portugal’s answer to the blues.
This study in contrasts is the stunning Ana Moura, one of fado‘s most intriguing young voices. Long beloved and ever flexible, Portugal’s bittersweet musical tradition is transformed by Moura’s velvet contralto and spontaneous soul on Leve-me Aos Fados (Take Me To A Fado House) (World Village; April 13, 2010) and in concert this April, as Moura comes to New York, Boston, Los Angeles,and San Francisco, as part of a North American tour.
«Fado is about what’s going on in our souls. What we singers pick in the moment is about what we are feeling, that’s the feeling of the fado house,» Moura explains, describing her approach to performances. «I do that in concert with one or two songs, pick them at the moment according to how I feel right then. I never know beforehand which fados I’m going to sing.»
This spontaneity leaves ample room for innovation and unexpected twists. Though deeply traditional, fado has always been a vehicle for new perspectives and sounds. «We listen to other kinds of music, too, and when something new comes into the fado, it’s normal,» notes Moura. «Musicians bring new arrangements, new things to the traditional fado, but it’s very subtle and organic.»
As part of this process, ancient melodies become settings for new lyrics, and Ana pu
