Sings with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg

Fresh from winning a Grammy for Best World Music Album for 2014's Eve, which featured massed choirs and the Kronos Quartet, Kidjo further pursues the marriage of African rhythms and European conservatoire tradition by re-imagining nine songs from her back catalogue with a 110-piece orchestra, eight-piece African choir and a small combo featuring upright bass, guitar and percussion. Under conductor and arranger Gast Waltzing, the orchestra sympathetically supports the energy and intricacy of Kidjo's African rhythms on such back catalogue favourites as ‘Malaika’ and ‘Kelele’, plus two of the new songs from Eve, and they play with impressive brio, while the thrill of hearing such a powerful swell behind her seems to have brought out the best in Kidjo's rich and supple voice.

The jazz-tinged ensemble mesh seamlessly with the classical players and there's a particularly lovely, lyrical version of Santana's ‘Samba Pa Ti’. There is reportedly more to come from Kidjo in the crossover classical vein, too, for she's said to be recording a Yoruba song cycle composed for her by Philip Glass. The Grammy was richly deserved and this recording confirms that she has steadily grown into one of the most ambitious and accomplished African artists de nos jours.