Gracias

Cuban diva Omara Portuondo became a global superstar following her show-stealing performance in Wim Wender's film, 'Buena Vista Social Club'. Dubbed Cuba's very own Edith Piaf, Omara Portuondo has been thrilling audiences in the cabarets and night spots of Havana with the passionate and moving honesty of her voice for more than half a century. In the 1940s and '50s, she was the velvet voice of the jazz/bossa nova inspired genre known as filin.

Now Omara releases 'Gracias', an album marking her 78th birthday and a professional career spanning 60 years. Recorded in Havana with contributions from such names as Avishai Cohen, Trilok Gurtu, Chico Buarque and Chucho Valdés, and produced by Alê Siqueira, this latest album includes tunes Omara has always longed to sing.

Her voice fills every rhythm on the disc, allowing us to become acquainted with a singer who sets herself way above the virtually all unmerited labels that have been attached to her hitherto. Omara Portuondo illustrates her ability to explore a varied terrain with the same grace, she demonstrates that a double bass solo can be an agreeable part of music that is in essence intended to be sung, she shows her ability to mix with musicians with varying styles and geographical backgrounds and she shares the stage with first-rate solo artists and always shines. All of the songs here are performed with deep emotional feeling, making 'Gracias' one of the most stirring world music albums of 2008.