Recorded in Mindelo, Lisbon, and New York over a five-year period, this new album of (mostly) traditional Cape Verdean music from the award-winning NYC-based vocalist, composer and educator Kavita Shah presents a stunning paean to one of her musical touchstones, the iconic vocalist Cesária Évora, an artist who single-handedly catapulted the Cape Verdean blues, morna, onto the world stage.

Accompanied by Évora's former musical director, Bau, and percussionist, Miroca Paris, Shah's purity of tone and command of the melodic line is perfectly illustrated in the beautiful album opener, ‘Angola’.

Underpinned by a rich backdrop of multitracked guitar lines, Shah is joined by the wondrous Cape Verdean vocalist, Fantcha, an erstwhile protégé of Évora, on the quietly dramatic ‘Um abraço di morabeza’, while Shah’s rhythmic flexibility and emotional candour light up a gorgeous take on ‘Amor di mundo’, which builds to an imposing climax.

Prefaced by an impressive, free time guitar introduction, ‘Situações triangulares’, one of two pieces by the Cape Verdean classical composer and instrumentalist, Vasco Martins, is a transporting, wordless reverie which lingers long in the memory. Written and first recorded by the Brazilian singer-songwriter Djavan in 1976, ‘Flor de lis’ has been covered in more recent times (in both Portuguese and English) by Gretchen Parlato, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Samara Joy, among others; Shah's take is one of the most infinitely touching I've had the pleasure of hearing. A reimagining of the Gujarati nursery rhyme ‘Chaki Ben’ sees the vocalist joined by the Morocco-born, NYC-based Gnawa master, Maalem Hassan Benjaafar, on guembri, qraqeb and voice. ‘Sodade’, a song forever associated with Évora which Shah first recorded on her 2014 debut album, Visions, represents the heart of this incredibly special recording.