Brazilian women vocalists tend to favor the high, clear, precise tones of a Gal Costa or Rosa Passos, but Maria Bethania's voice is low, throaty and honey smooth, richly romantic. Maria has almost attained Grand Dame status, with a long and varied career: she performed early with Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso, her brother (and if you get the chance to see the DVD of their reunion performance, it's worth the hunt.)
"Maria Bethania Sings the Vinicius de Moraes Songbook" is a tribute to her mentor and the father of the Bossa Nova movement: classic, classic songs, interspersed with her readings of lyrics as poetry. So much to love about this CD, but the stunner for me is her performance of "Tarde em Itapoa", a longing reverie about time spent in Itapoa, with the sea and the sun -- it's the ultimate in languorous romance.
"Tempo Tempo Tempo" is a DVD of 2 1/2 hours of Maria in concert. She sings a variety of composers and styles (MPB, samba, bossa nova); she commands the stage with her relaxed sensuousness and that voice. (I've had problems accessing the English translations on some copies of this DVD, but listening to the Portuguese lyrics you can almost intuit what the songs are about -- did I mention romance?.)
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