The Whole Music Experience

World Franca Masu Almablava World Village Poetry reflecting the coming and going of the tide and sailors, lost loves, and the fragility of life pour from the songs on Franca Masu’s Almablava .   Hailing from the Italian island Sardinia, Masu possesses a powerful voice ten times bigger than her petite frame.   She paints a Sardinian landscape with an emotional palette fueled by longing, melancholy and hope.   In 2011, I reviewed a live album by the performer which reminded me of two Catalan favorite vocalists--Marina Rossell and Maria del Mar Bonet.   However, on her new studio album, Masu explores tango and other musical traditions along with Catalan and Sardinian songs.   Masu composed contributed poetic lyrics which she sings with great conviction. Laced with accordion, guitars, double bass, piano and percussion, the songs sound both warm and melancholic with Masu’s voice grabbing the spotlight.   The only sore thumb for me is Un ...

Franca Masu 10 Anys Aramùsica Once in a while a new diva crosses my path which is the case with Sardinian jazz vocalist Franca Masu who sings her repertoire in the Catalan language.   So not only am I discovering a new vocal talent (to my ears), but I also discovered a Catalan connection to the Italian island of Sardinia.   If you go back hundreds of years, you’ll discover a goldmine of cultural and language connections in the Mediterranean, but for the sake of this review my goal is to pique your curiosity.   Closet anthropologists similar to me will dig right in. Franca Masu marks the first female Sardinian vocalists I have listened to, but she’s not the first chanteuse that I’ve reviewed that sings in the Catalan language, Mariana Rossell (Barcelona) and Maria del Mar Bonet (Majorca) come easily to mind.   Masu weds jazz vocals with traditional instruments on her live album 10 Anys . Masu’s vocals alternate between sedate/tender on Aquamare and ...