Trio of Global Divas Spins Strands of Universal Spirit

The Global Divas concert at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater on Sunday brought together three gifted artists from distant parts of the world--Peruvian singer Susana Baca, Mexican American singer Tish Hinojosa and African mbira (or thumb piano) player and singer Stella Chiweshe.

Representative of different cultures and musical styles, they nonetheless share several qualities. Each symbolizes the powerful emergence of female star performers in the world music arena, and--first individually and now collectively--each has worked to promote the cause of women’s rights.

Their performances, filled with rhythm, color and spirit, revealed a musical connection as well: the creative power of African music and its diaspora to the Western hemisphere.

As the program unfolded, that connection became clear, moving subtly but persistently from Chiweshe’s transformation of traditional Zimbabwean mbira music through Baca’s revelatory exposition of Afro-Peruvian rhythms to Hinojosa’s rich blend of sounds combining American country and folk music with Mexican rhythms tinged with traces of Spain and North Africa.

Chiweshe’s music was dominated by the sound of amplified mbiras--sometimes three instruments in concert. Her declamatory vocals and a cascade of complex but irresistibly gripping rhythms served as the foundation for an intense musical experience, fully illustrative of its traditional role in spirit-calling ceremonies.

Baca’s lush, sensual voice and surging rhythmic accompaniment were enhanced by excellent material--immediately memorable songs--as well as her own stylish, dance-like presentation.

And the Texas-born Hinojosa, the only English-speaking member of the trio, singing with a sweet, Joan Baez-like timbre and an unerring sense of melody, revealed, in illuminating fashion, how easily music flows back and forth across the Rio Grande.