Cutting your debut album aged 73 is leaving it late, but this Brazilian diva doesn’t falter on this engaging set of originals. Having spent her life as history professor and secretary of culture in her Amazonian hometown, where she sang to river dolphins, Onete was “discovered” in retirement by a local band. She’s no dreamy balladeer; led by Onete’s piercing but still agile vocals, Feitiço Caboclo lopes along to Afro-Brazilian percussion and sharp brass parts on rowdy standouts Jamburana and Moreno Morenado, while downtempo numbers such as Boi Guitarreiro also have a sensual beat. An unlikely but seductive success story.
