‘Latin Divas’ Crosses Genre, Cultural Borders

“Latin Divas” was the headline for Saturday night’s world music concert at the Greek Theatre. And with Brazil’s Gal Costa and Mexican American Lila Downs present, there was indeed plenty of diva power on stage.

But the subheading, noting that the program was a fund-raiser for the Los Angeles Latin Jazz Foundation, added another slant to the event--one underscored by the evening’s third starring entry, Brazilian guitarist-singer-arranger Dori Caymmi, whose husky vocals and subtle rhythms are steeped in a harmonically lush blend of jazz and samba.

The result was the sort of genre-indefinable program that is becoming increasingly common, filled with musical encounters between cultural expressions that do not always seem to have a great deal in common.

Downs’ program, for example, was yet another persuasive effort from this remarkable artist, sung in English, Spanish, Mixtec and Zapotec, crisscrossing easily through the extraordinarily diverse musical currents coursing through Mexico. Her rendering of “La Llorona,” for example, afforded a musically compelling view into the heart of a darkly intense traditional song.

But Downs, who is the offspring of a Mixtec Indian mother and a Scottish American father, with a voice that moves easily from masculine bravura to gentle, romantic lyricism, also brought a contemporary slant to her set, notably in her marvelous medley combining “Pastures of Plenty,” “This Land Is Your Land” and “Land.”

Add to that the jazz-tinged support of saxophonist-keyboardist Paul Cohen, Downs’ partner and musical collaborator, and the total package was an utterly beguiling example of the manner in which talented artists can completely eliminate cultural boundaries.

The Costa-Caymmi set was similarly diverse, if a bit less surprising--Brazil and jazz have had a long love affair. Costa is one of her country’s great artists, a principal in the MPB movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s and a performer capable of singing everything from bossa nova and American standards to Bob Dylan.

Her program, no doubt tailored for American audiences, was filled with such familiar Antonio Carlos Jobim items as “Dindi,” “Triste” and “Wave.”

But Costa surprised her audience with a fascinating Portuguese rendering of Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady” and an equally gorgeous version of “I Fall in Love Too Easily.” And the highlight of her set was a mesmerizing duet with Caymmi on the Luiz Gonzaga classic “Baiao.” Stirring music by any definition, it further underscored, as did Downs’ performance, the irrelevance of musical overcategorization.