Djavan

b. 27 January 1949, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil. Djavan’s marriage of traditional South American rhythms with music drawn from Africa and Europe, including rock and pop, has made him successful in North America. Indeed, his music has been named ‘South American Global Pop’ in some quarters although it retains enough ethnic flavour to please its native audience too. Albums such as Seduzir (his third collection) illustrate his sound, with a strong melody balancing the furious backing tracks. On songs such as ‘Luanda’ and the title-track it can be a spectacular combination. Other recordings, including Puzzle Of Hearts and Bird Of Paradise, have seen him mix English language songs with ones sung in Portuguese, although the English ones are rarely as effective or fluent. His 1988 Epic Records single, ‘Stephen’s Kingdom’, featured a guest appearance from Stevie Wonder.