Carmen Souza at The Falcon

“Carmen Souza sings in her native creole dialect with an intimacy, sensuality, and vivacity, characterised by a tremendous lightness of touch. Her music has a deceptive simplicity, a rare clarity, derived from a unique mix of influences from her Cape Verdean background to jazz and modern soul creating this beautifully vibrant, largely acoustic, accessible hybrid. World soul music for the 21st century.” David Sylvian

Carmen Souza was born in Lisbon within a Christian family of Cape Verdeans. Very early she experienced the “Sodade” feeling of missing someone with the long absence of her father due to his work at sea. She grew up in a mixed language environment of Creole, the Cape Verde dialect her parents spoke at home, and Portuguese, always surrounded by the Cape Verdean way of life....

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“Carmen Souza sings in her native creole dialect with an intimacy, sensuality, and vivacity, characterised by a tremendous lightness of touch. Her music has a deceptive simplicity, a rare clarity, derived from a unique mix of influences from her Cape Verdean background to jazz and modern soul creating this beautifully vibrant, largely acoustic, accessible hybrid. World soul music for the 21st century.” David Sylvian

Carmen Souza was born in Lisbon within a Christian family of Cape Verdeans. Very early she experienced the “Sodade” feeling of missing someone with the long absence of her father due to his work at sea. She grew up in a mixed language environment of Creole, the Cape Verde dialect her parents spoke at home, and Portuguese, always surrounded by the Cape Verdean way of life.

In 2003, Carmen began working with renowned Portuguese bassist Theo Pas'cal on the compositions that would be included on her début album Ess ê nha Cabo Verde. Carmen wanted to create a new sound in her ancestor’s native Creole that would mix traditional African and Cape Verde rhythms with her jazz contemporary influences, in a totally intimate and acoustic vibe different from the traditional festive environment of Cape Verdean sounds. This album set the tone for her next three major releases, all of which have garnered critical acclaim the world over, including Best Female Singer at the 2013 Cabo Verde Music Awards as well as being named one of NPR's best jazz vocalists of 2013.

Undoubtedly, she is a true world music force and one of Europe's most in-demand jazz singers, as someone said: "Carmen Souza does not have to decide whether her music is Jazz or 'World Music'. Her style is just as unique as convincing and her Cape Verdean roots as evident as her desire to create a new language under the label of 'World Jazz'. "

http://www.carmensouza.com/

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