Eco de Sombras: Echo of Shadows

1	De los Amores (About Love) 5:14
2	Valentín 5:20
3	Poema (Poem) 3:13
4	Los Amantes (The Lovers) 5:34
5	El Mayoral (Slave Driver) 4:07
6	La Macorina (Macorina) 3:57
7	Golpe E' Tierra (Hablan los Negros) (Stomping the Ground (The ...) 5:22
8	Panalivio/Zancudito 4:47
9	Reina Mortal (Mortal Queen) 3:22
10	Xanahari 4:41
11	[Untitled] 2:55

Barnes & Noble

Few sounds rise from such humble beginings to reach such stunning sophistication as the music of Peru's black community. From packing-crate drums, jawbone shakers, and ash-box percussion are born fluid, nimble rhythms; from half-remembered chants and Spanish verses come heartbreaking melodies. With her beautiful second album for David Byrne's Luaka Bop label, Susana Baca builds upon this tradition in surprising ways. ECO DE SOMBRAS -- "Echo of Shadows" -- was produced by Craig Street (Cassandra Wilson, Me'Shell Ndegeocello), and features performances from New York downtown jazz figures Marc Ribot, John Medeski, and others. Fans of Susana's spellbinding, seductively mournful voice and her charismatic performances will recognize the slinky "Valentín," the folkloric "Golpe e' Tierra," and the dolorous "La Macorina." And the unlikely fusion of the nearly forgotten rhythms and chants of Peru's black populace with haunting, avant-garde touches works surprisingly well: Accordions, organ, and even wah-wah guitar accent these ancient songs without overpowering them. Rather than fusty archivists, Susana and her band come across as sly, insinuating song stylists. Reminiscent of another revolutionary synthesis of ancient sources and jazz flourishes, Brazil's bossa nova, ECO DE SOMBRAS crackles with the same kind of gorgeous, urbane energy. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

On this record Susana Baca delivers yet another solid example of why she is the queen of Afro-Peruvian music. These songs drift by like time in a crowded dirt-floor bar, like the hard sweet-sour of well-made cuba libre. A band composed mostly of well-schooled New York session players provides competent backing. Baca's voice is smooth, her songs and world darkly sinister. Anyone into the sounds of her neck of the woods or serious female singers with a unique voice like Cesaria Evoria will certainly enjoy this. Yet another worthy effort from a woman who refuses to pander to the nouveau hippie crowd. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Music Guide

Rolling Stone

...this melancholy voice of the African diaspora continues to open borders, combining the historic sounds of black Peru with the contributions od avant-garde musicians... Neva Chonin