Cafe Atlantico

A native of the island nation of Cape Verde, Cesaria Evora was known as the country's foremost practitioner of the morna, a combination of West African percussion  with Portuguese fados, Brazilian modhinas, and British sea shanties. After a short singing career in the 1970's, she returned in the late '80s with a string of fine albums. Her 1999 album Cafe Atlantico (a reference to her home where she frequently entertained guests) is a much acclaimed masterpiece,  finding Cesaria Evora venturing into more Latin American musical landscapes, as opposed to Portuguese, which dominated her previous albums. Evora draws from traditional Cuban and Brazilian music to mesmerizing effect. The music is heartbreaking and nostalgic, warm and tragic all at once.