MeStissage

Teofilo Chantre was one of the first of the new wave of Cape Verdean singer-songwriters to depart from strict tradition, producing a fresh but distinctively Cape Verdean sound. Artists like Tcheka, Mayra Andrade and Sara Tavares have followed in his wake. But whilst they have found fame, Chantre has stood in the shadow of the great Cesaria Evora, for whom he has been a long¬standing composer and arranger. Chantre contributed three songs to the acclaimed Miss Perfumado and five to Sao Vicente di Longe. MeStissage is the sixth of a series of understated, sumptuously crafted solo records, which include 2007’s enchanting Viajá.

MeStissage continues Viajá's journey through shifting, subtle moods. Strong melodies are underpinned with harmony as rich as a Tom Jobim bossa nova, scattered with delightful lyrical breaks from jazzy guitar, flugelhorn, alto sax and sparkling piano. The playing is expert, while the production is warm and unostentatious. Wistful melancholic morna ballads such as ‘Alma Morna’ or the Brazilian MPB-tinged ‘Lua Disencantada’ slip effortlessly into light coladeiras like ‘Firmamento de nos Sodade’. And these are interspersed with Gallic Cape Verde fusions, many of them co-written with Frenchman Marc Estève; one of them, ‘Oli’Me Ma Bô’, features Bernard Lavilliers. Chantre’s core audience is French, and he has lived in Paris for some 25 years. Let’s hope that a string of favourable reviews prompt him to make that short journey under the channel to play for a British audience.