Lura

In the United States, the music most commonly associated with the Cape Verde Islands—the Atlantic archipelago seemingly drifting Brazil-ward off the coast of Senegal—is the achingly melancholy morna, as sung by matronly "barefoot diva" Cesaria Evora. Lura Criola is markedly different. Her lithe, sensual voice incorporates an amazing palette of exotic colors and shadings while negotiating the insistently percolating rhythms of more Afrocentric styles from her ancestral home on the island of Santiago. Portuguese colonial influence means that Lura's music also shares an essential ebullient spirit with certain Brazilian music. The feverish, accordion-driven funana, especially, seems a close relative of northeastern Brazil's forró, and a little more distant cousin to Louisiana zydeco and even Caribbean zouk. Lura's last album, 2006's thoroughly enthralling M'bem di For A (Lusafrica), is full of delicious nuance, from flamenco-flecked tunes like "Poinciana" to her bristling, electric-guitar laced duet with Cape Verdean band leader Zéca di Nha Reinalda on the title track, which means "I've come from far away." Lura usually travels with a supple band whose instrumentation includes cavaquinho, accordion, fiddle, guitar, and percussion. $25 at 7 p.m.; $20 at 9:30 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 15, 2008