Those who experienced Angelique Kidjo, Lizz Wright and Dianne Reeves appearing as Sing The Truth! at the 2011 Detroit Jazz Festival know that Ms. Kidjo is a master of collaboration. With Eve, her first recording for 429 Records, Angelique Kidjo takes the collaboration to a deeper and broader label: she collaborates with resonant women’s choirs from her home county of Benin and Kenya. A true citizen of the world, Angelique Kidjo sings in her first language from Benin, Fon (her father’s heritage) as well as Yoruba, Mina and Goun with profound passion. And, as a generous true world citizen, she has established the Batonga Foundation for Girl’s Education to give back to young women in her home country while maintaining her position with world aid organizations UNICEF and OXFAM.
Eve grew out of Ms. Kidjo’s travels to Kenya as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. She started singing along with a choir as a playful gesture and then seriously decided that her next recording would be a musical return to Africa and Benin to feature the strong womanly voices of Africa. The collaborative efforts do not end with Africa. Some of Ms. Kidjo’s artistic partners on Eve are The Kronos Quartet, Dr. John, Lionel Loueke, Romero Lubambo and Bernie Worrell. Released as a companion to her autobiography, Spirit Rising, My Life, My Music, Angelique Kidjo’s Eve is dedicated to the women of Africa and to their resilience and their beauty. We will dedicate a portion of 89.1 Jazz on Tuesday morning to Eve by Angelique Kidjo.
