Carmen Souza was born in Lisbon within a Christian family of Cape Verdeans. Very early she experienced the “Sodade” feeling of missing someone with the long absence of her father due to his work at sea. She grew up in a mixed language environment of Creole, the Cape Verde dialect her parents spoke at home, and Portuguese, always surrounded by the Cape Verdean way of life. Theo Pascal, her producer and mentor and one of the best bass players in Portugal, discovered her talent and introduced Carmen to Jazz and other contemporary sounds that markedly influenced her musical development. Carmen Souza has been touring extensively around the World since 2005 and played festivals like The North Sea Jazz Festival, Leverkusener Jazztage, San Francisco Jazz Festival and many others. Her first concerts in Cape Verde received great reviews from press and audience and all recognized her special and unique place in the Cape Verdean music culture. In 2013 Carmen Souza won the title of Best female singer and Best Morna with the album Kachupada at the Cape Verdean ‘Grammys’- Cabo Verde Music Awards 2013. Undoubtedly, she is a true world music force and one of Europe’s most in-demand jazz singers, as someone said: “Carmen Souza does not have to decide whether her music is Jazz or ‘World Music’. Her style is just as unique as convincing and her Cape Verdean roots as evident as her desire to create a new language under the label of ‘World Jazz’.
Carmen Souza sings in her native creole dialect with an intimacy, sensuality, and vivacity, characterised by a tremendous lightness of touch. Her music has a deceptive simplicity, a rare clarity, derived from a unique mix of influences from her Cape Verdean background to jazz and modern soul creating this beautifully vibrant, largely acoustic, accessible hybrid.