Respeitosa Mente

Although there is no obvious trace of Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou-Khalil in Respeitosa Mente, it is hard to imagine Ricardo Ribeiro getting here if it wasn't for their original meeting in 2007. Brought together by stage director Ricardo Pais, the two would connect so strongly that they decided to work on that musical affinity and record Em Português (2008). But they didn't simply juxtapose Abou-Khalil's jazzy take on Arabic music and Ribeiro's fado style. They created a space of their own, one that allowed the singer to expand into flamenco, qawwali and Alentejo's musical influences.

From that point onwards, Ricardo Ribeiro's fado became a richer territory, and he kept importing some of those geographies into his more traditional records. Respeitosa Mente, however, stands out as a singular album. It is Ribeiro's love-letter to poetry (mostly Portuguese) and for it he chose to work with jazz pianist João Paulo Esteves da Silva and Arabic percussion master Jarrod Cagwin.

It's a gorgeous musical experience, with superb tracks like ‘Depois de Ti’ or ‘Canto Franciscano’ serving as a perfect example of how the three of them share a common Mediterranean musical language.

‘Alla Luna’ and ‘Deserta Liberdade’ show us that the music itself can also become a poetic language when musicians like these listen to the words and find the right way to help them lift off the page.