Cristina Branco 'Ulisses' album

Portuguese fado songstress Cristina Branco raises the bar once again with her third Decca release, Ulisses. Named for the mythical character Ulysses, the albums lush and varied tracks evoke a feeling of adventure, wandering, love and longing. Ulysses symbolizes the drive and stamina to conquer all setbacks during endless journeys and return home safely to the ones you love. Sharing this message with audiences around the world, Branco will make a stop in the U.S. with tour dates starting March 3rd in Madison, WI and wrapping up in Alexandria, VA on March 12th.

Ulisses features arrangements and Portuguese (12-string) guitar playing by Branco’s husband, Custódio Castelo. As usual, the Portuguese guitarist is accompanied by Alexandre Silva on the guitar, Fernando Maia on the bass guitar and Miguel Carvalhinho on classical guitar who provides his talents on the beautiful track “Choro.” For the first time ever, Cristina and Custódio chose to use the piano through the entire album with Ricardo Dias on the ivories to give new color and life to the singer’s songs.

Throughout Ulisses, Cristina invites the listener on a voyage to experience different countries and cultures including; South America for “Alfonsina y el Mar” performed in Spanish, North Amercia for her flawless rendition of “A Case of You” by Joni Mitchell, and France for the musical adaptation of the famous poem by Paul Eluard, “Liberté” and “Choro.” With this album, Cristina moves away from the strictly fado repertoire that she is so well known for and expands on her rich vocal style resulting in a sophisticated and bold sound. The last track on the album “Gavivota,” hints at what could be considered fado, but is challenged by purists as continuing its traditional form. The “new fado” is seen in the lively track "Sete pedaços de vento” which respects tradition while fundamentally revising its formula.

Each one of Cristina Branco’s albums is like a chapter in the book of her life- in a more or less conscious way they build on one another. Her previous album, Sensus, was the exploration of the erotic vein that touched on the field of a song in the work before it, Corpo Iluminado. To find inspiration or trace the evolution of her newest album, Ulisses, one can hear the South American inflections which also appeared in "Sonnet de Séparation" on Senus. Cristina was recently quoted as saying her new album “is a meeting of Titans... it is once more an appointment with love, this time a love that is satisfied and self-assured... a love enlarged.”

Critics from around the world continue to praise the singer and her remarkable vocal style. Time Magazine stated that Cristina has "a voice that makes people weep.” The Chicago Sun-Times agreed by commenting her voice had “exquisite beauty” and the Village Voice called Branco “the finest Portuguese fado singer since the late Amalia Rodrigues.”

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Tracklisting

Cristina Branco - Ulisses