Vento do Mar

This soulful album has the seamless feel of a longtime collaboration, rather than the debut production that it is. Portuguese singer-songwriter Joana Almeida finessed her fado skills at the Casa da Mariquinhas, the oldest fado house in Porto. Moving to Amsterdam in the early 2020s, she then teamed up with Spanish oboist Maripepa Contreras, Brazilian double bassist Pedro Ivo Ferreira and Turkish percussionist Sjahin During to form Cacha Mundinho (Catch a Small World). All the songs on the album were written by Almeida and offer an imaginative journey across the Portuguese-speaking world, blending her fado roots with improv jazz and sultry Middle Eastern harmonies. True to its name, which translates as ‘Sea Wind’, the album’s energy rises, falls and rises again. From the upbeat scatting of ‘Maya’ to the darker, pensive ‘Canto de Vida’ and back up to the soaring ‘Roda’. A fine debut and an enchanting musical voyage around a big ‘small world’ indeed.