Catarina Dos Santos was born in 1977 in Barreiro, Portugal but is now based in New York where from 2004 - 2007 she was lead singer and percussionist with the band Nation Beat.
Her music embraces a diversity of cultures and styles. On her debut solo album, she draws upon jazz and pop influences from her native country as well as Cape Verde, Africa and most obviously from artists of Brazilian popular music (MPB).
You don't need to be able to speak Portuguese to appreciate the seemingly effortless and graceful sound that comes from these sources. There are smooth , melodic and acoustic rhythms to savour; but the real focus is Catarina's warm and sultry vocals, a voice which reminds me mostly of Brazilian singers like Gal Costa and Marisa Monte.
No Balanco Do Mar sounds more evocative than the Babelfish version - In The Rocking Of the Sea! - but this rough translation does at least help to identify that the ocean is a key inspiration for the songs. This is theme which , as the English summaries on the lyric sheet reveal, is central to the opening two tunes Mae Bia Rosa and O Teu Jeito (madrugada).
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Otherwise any poetry of Catarina's songs is inevitably lost in translation; valiant attempts to render her words in English fall flat:"Drink my sweat, road I step" (Osobo)/ "Hand in hand feet keep the stomp" (Nu Sta Pidi Tchuva Doce).
This is no serious handicap, however, the gentle swing of tracks like Obju bibo. Pe ligeiro and Kimbombo communicate well enough through the universal language of music.
This is a beautiful record full of elegant grace and sensual charm. The only criticism I'd make is over the relative brevity of the songs. The tunes have such a relaxed, languid feel that I would have liked to hear them in a more extended format.
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