Search - Vania Abreu :: Seio Da Bahia

On her third album, Vania Abreu, the sister of the more famous Daniela Mercury, makes a strong claim for inclusion among the top singers in MPB, the Brazilian popular music. A tribute to her native Bahia region, it's melodic, a set that sways as only Brazilian music can, from the sizzle of "Mais de Mim" to the sensual samba of "Conto de Areia." While it's her voice with its happy quality that carries the music, the arrangements that frame the material are never cluttered, and put her in marvelously sympathetic settings. Like fellow Bahian Maria Bethiana, Abreu is a vocalist who can put her own unique stamp on a song, but this is a new generation, far removed from the Tropicalia movement of the '60s. Abreu has a very personal vision to her music, quite rooted in Bahia, with its soulful influences from singers such as Margareth Menezes, but its face is turned firmly toward the new century. --Chris Nickson