Vanessa was born in Alto Garças, a small town in Mato Grosso, the central part of Brazil. From an early age she was exposed to the music of Brazil's foremost composers and performers like Luiz Gonzaga, Tom Jobim, Milton Nascimento and Orlando Silva. At just fourteen she knew what she wanted to do when she grew up: sing. Thus, in the early 90s she was part of a female reggae band, Shalla-Ball. A couple of years later she joined Black Uhuru, a Grammy-winner Jamaican outfit. After many musical collaborations that saw her pairing up with the likes of Maria Bethania and Daniela Mercury, Vanessa released her first album in 2002: 'Vanessa da Mata'.
The Killer Opening Song this time around comes courtesy of her 2007 record, 'Sim', an album whose essence is 'a positive response to life, a fighting response'. 'Vermelho', the introductory track, is a sultry, funky number that I am sure will go down very well with the readers of and visitors to this blog. Enjoy.
Copyright 2008
