It’s no surprise that Ana Moura embraced fado while growing up in Northern Portugal. Fado, the mournful folk music of the Portuguese, which dates back more than 200 years, is ubiquitous throughout Moura’s country.
Moura, 34, came of age while immersed in sad provincial songs. “Some of my earliest memories are of my mother and father singing fado songs and that had quite an impact on me,” Moura said during a telephone interview from Stockholm, Sweden. “My father would play guitar and drums and my mom would sing these wonderful, moving songs. I remember singing fado at a party when I was six-years old and I loved it.”
Moura, who will perform Saturday, Nov. 8 at Uconn’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts in Storrs, had no idea that was the genesis of her career. The striking, sensual Moura has become a fado sensation throughout Europe. She has had dalliances with pop and rock but her tie to fado has never been broken.
“I could never do that,” Moura said. “Fado is close to my heart.”
The melancholy songs with stripped down acoustic instrumentation shares traits found in American blues music. The songs are sad but somehow uplifting.
“There’s no doubt about that,” Moura said. “There’s definitely that connection between fado and the blues. Much like the blues, fado also gets your hips moving.”
The Rolling Stones, who were heavily influenced by the blues, are huge fado fans. The legendary band invited Moura to join the act for a concert in Lisbon seven-years ago. “It was amazing,” Moura said. “It was like magic singing with the Rolling Stones. I don’t know what was more fun, performing with them or going to dinner with them in Lisbon. You forget about their age when you’re with them. They seem so young. They want to keep evolving and they do whatever they can to accomplish that.”
The same can be said for Moura, who ventured to Los Angeles to record “Desfado” with venerable producer Larry Klein (Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin ). Moura effectively fleshes out her minimalist guitar-driven sound. The laidback Moura, who normally records and performs in a trio, made the most baroque album of her career. She was flanked by a number of well-respected musicians. Keyboard wizard Herbie Hancock and accomplished saxophonist Tim Ries add a great degree of color to Moura’s compelling jazzy project.
“I wanted to work with Larry Klein for so long,” Moura said. “One of my favorite musicians is Joni Mitchell (who was married to Klein) and I love what they did together in the studio. Joni is my favorite songwriter and Larry is a great producer, who has made a number of great albums with women. The ideas between us came in such a natural way. I talked about the folk music of Portugal and showed him the traditional instruments. He brought in a great group of musicians, who performed on vintage instruments. The songs are diverse. Some are poppy and some are jazzy. I love it since I went into a new direction. I need to explore what options I have as a recording artist. I don’t want to do the same old thing. You have to keep pushing the boundaries and challenging yourself. Look at someone like Prince, who has done that his whole career.”
Prince, who is a big fado fan, met Moura and spoke with her about collaborative possibilities. “It’s great when a recording artist on the level of Prince is interested in what you do,” Moura said. “That was very flattering.”
Moura isn’t sure what she would like to accomplish next.
“I’m uncertain about it but I do want to do something exciting,” Moura said. “I want it to be fun, interesting and challenging. I’ll get to the next thing soon but I’m just thinking about coming to America for these shows right now.”
ANA MOURA appears Saturday, Nov. 8, at 8 p.m. at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Connecticut, 2132 Hillside Road, Storrs. Tickets are $28, $30, $34 and $36. Information: 860-486-4226; jorgensen.uconn.edu.
