Latin Female Singers - Any suggestions?


I have always wanted to expand my listening repertoire beyond the traditional jazz ballads/balladeers. It seems as I discover new singers in the idiom I keep hearing many of the same traditional ballads being redone in much the same way. This is great to a point but a little spice of the Latin variety sure wouldn’t hurt. In that regards, I've done a little research and discovered Yasmin Levy (Landino, flamenco). Her album, Sentir blows me away. The recording quality is quite good too. I also like Brazilian Ceu (samba, reggae, jazz) on her self-titled album. Ojos de Bruja are also doing interesting stuff. None of these can be called jazz in the traditional sense but good nonetheless.

Concha Buika's collaboration with Chucho Valdes is another great find. Fantastic synergy between Concha and Chucho here, with very good sound quality as well. Others I have manage to sought out so far are Mexican singers Lhasa, Lila Downs,Chavela Vargas and Argentinian Mercedes Souza.

I'd be interested to hear of any others, along these lines, that you might be aware of.
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Agree with many of the above but must add
Cesaria Evora….the barefoot diva from Cape Verde.Try an album called 'Cesaria' …one of my all-time faves.
Virginia Rodrigues…Brazil…check out an album called 'Nos'
Rash, which country of origin for this musician if you don't mind me asking?
Hew if you like Gal Costa with that breathy shimmer at the end of a phrase, uniquely Gal, I would highly recommend "Gal Costa Canta Jom Jobim" a live 2 cd set with excellent sonics, superb arrangements and Gal in top form. The "Elis and Tom" recommendation is superb as well. Other Brazilian artists I've enjoyed over the years include Mincha, Simone, Marisa Monte, Ana Carolina and Beth Carvalho among others. All quite different but the idea is that Brazilian singers cover a wide range of styles and music.

Frogman I would guess you are probably right, I would say the Elis Regina is probably Brazil's most beloved Brazilian female singer even though she's been gone over 30 years.