The African presence in Brazilian music has secured a certain hard-earned respect, but elsewhere in mainland Latin America the vital expressiveness of African-descent artists typically has been depreciated and is little known beyond the region. In her second international solo release, Peruvian singer Susana Baca calls the question, exploring the far reaches of received tradition with striking results.

"Valentín"

Baca's Eco de Sombras ("Echo of Shadows") opens with "De los Amores," laying down the signature studio sound of producer Craig Street, known for his work with vocal stylists k.d. lang, Meshell Ndegéocello and Cassandra Wilson. "Golpe e' Tierra (Hablan los Negros)" stirs up a simmering mix of palmas and bossa guitar, sublimely embellished by guest Cyro Baptista's percussion work and the nether-world organ of Rob Burger. In a laid-back accordion setting (Burger again) of the haunting Chavela Vargas tune, "La Macorina" lifts a yearning tango high across the Andes into the Pacific swells of coastal Peru. "Valentín" lays out an ethereal blend of palmas, percussion, organ, pedal steel and twin guitars (David Byrne, Mark Ribot), in an evocative figure reprised in dub on an eleventh, unlisted track. There's more, of course, and through it all, the elemental longing of Baca's vulnerable, soul-piercing voice and the consummate restraint of her top-shelf Peruvian combo (vocal chorus, bass, acoustic guitar, and a cornucopia of Afro-Latin percussion) sustain a shimmering polytonal groove. - Michael Stone

Audio: "Valentín" by Susana Baca
© 2000 Luaka Bop, Used by express permission

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