Chico César

With his outlandish neo-Indian costumes and music that borrows from reggae, hip-hop, and Senegalese mbalax, Chico César serves notice that he's doing Brazilian popular music his way. He marries an elastic voice that croons and purrs one moment, yelps and yodels the next, to a dexterity on guitar that puts him in the league of tiptop instrumentalists. Originally released on a small independent label in Brazil, the live, mostly solo recording Aos Vivos launched César's career, putting him in demand as both a performer and the composer of hit songs like "A Primeira Vista," which Daniela Mercury transformed into the theme song for a smash TV soap opera, and the reggae-styled "Mama Africa." His unique take on the accordion-driven forro melodies of northeastern Brazil evoke Congolese and Angolan pop on "Tambores" and "Duvida Cruel" when he sets them against his bouncy, circular guitar lines. This welcome reissue easily trumps César's concurrently released studio recording on the Putumayo label, Chico César, proving that the charisma of a singer-with-guitar concert can brandish more firepower than an amplified ensemble. --Bob Tarte