Carmen Souza: The Silver Messengers | Soul Searching

We present the first single ‘Soul Searching’ from Carmen Souza’s upcoming album The Silver Messengers, to be released next October. ‘Soul Searching’ is a tribute to Horace Silver on his 5th death Anniversary.

Carmen Souza award-winning singer-songwriter and instrumentalist is a reference in the Cape-Verdean music and a female pioneer creating a new body of timeless Creole Jazz that undoubtedly will inspire future generations.

With a critically acclaimed solid career, in both the World Music and Jazz scenes, spanning over more than a decade, several tours around the world and 8 CDs, Souza, together with her longtime musical partner, Theo Pascal, have managed to imprint ethnicity to Jazz in their signature ‘World Jazz’ and get it closer to its African roots.

Souza´s charisma and earthy virtuoso vocal technique have permitted her to operate far beyond the limits of World Music, Jazz, and singer-songwriter, all genres in which she moves with ease and grace.

The new cd ‘The Silver Messengers’, to be released Worldwide Oct 25th 2019, by Galileo Music, is a tribute to Horace Silver, someone who has been credited, more than once, as a big influence in Souza’s career. Silver left us 5 years ago and Souza’s connection to the emblematic and pioneer hard bop pianist go beyond just the artistic identification.

“Growing up, I listened a lot to my father’s records, which was mainly instrumental cape Verdean music, because he was a guitar player as well and was very much into that.
When I first listen to Horace Silver, I could hear the same vibe, the same swing, intention, harmonically and melodically, familiar movements, cadences, chord changes, somehow I could hear the sound of my childhood, but with a different texture and aroma, in other words – Jazz.”

Indeed, Souza and Silver share the same Cape Verdean heritage and they both, in different ways, mixed that heritage with elements of Jazz.

“The name “Carmen Souza – The Silver Messengers”, comes from the task that is set upon ourselves of continuing to carry the message of his music, as disciples and missionaries… As Horace Said: “- We need more artists like these in music, artists who are willing to sacrifice for what they believe in”.

Only Carmen Souza, with Theo Pascal compositions, who has accomplished so much with their own pioneering musical signature, could have completed this mission with such wonder and authenticity.

“To Honour the music and the composer, the taste, the innovation and to shed a light on his work so that his music continues to touch other people that have never come in contact with it… The songs that we did were based in this Vision, and our reality, our music is filled with the lusophone influence and we brought Horace Silver’s music to this environment…”

Recorded between London and Lisbon, Carmen Souza and Theo Pascal have reworked 6 Silver songs, adding some new creole lyrics to it, also included in this CD 3 previously released versions: “Song for My Father”, “Cape Verdean Blues” and “Pretty Eyes”.
The 11 song line-up is completed with 2 original songs composed by Carmen Souza and Theo Pascal dedicated to Horace Silver.

‘The Silver Messengers’ are Carmen Souza on vocals and guitar, Theo Pascal on Electric Bass/Dbass, Elias Kacomanolis on drums/Perc and Benjamin Burrell on piano.