Daymé Arocena - Cubafonia

The Guardian 80

(Brownswood recordings)

Still in her mid-20s, Daymé Arocena is Cuba’s finest young female singer, a lady with a powerful, versatile style and enormous crossover potential. Her only problem until now is that her songwriting has not quite matched her remarkable voice, but her second solo album helps to put that right. Like Roberto Fonseca, who invited her to sing on his ABUC album, she has decided to stress her Cuban roots on a set that mixes dance rhythms with chanting reminders of the ceremonies of the Afro-Cuban Santeria faith, along with thrilling bursts of scat improvisation and pop melodies. The opening Eleggua shows off her range, with its edgy riff matched against her half-spoken, half-chanted vocals. Then she moves on to an urgent rumba and scat workout, the lively Maybe Tomorrow, and a rousing burst of Cuba-New Orleans jazz fusion on Mambo Na’ Mà. An entertaining, impressively varied return.