By David Mendonça
♦ Pedro Galveias is an established fado singer in Lisbon who has been on the scene since he was a young boy.
With the release of “Loucuras de Um Fado,” from Saudade Records, his singing is finally getting a proper representation on disc. Here he reveals a deep sensitivity for both established and new material. Tracks such as “Eu Quero” [“I want”] and “Uma Gota de Alegria” [“A drop of happiness”] suggest his compelling presence as live singer.
This is an excellent introduction to the fado as it is happening now in Lisbon — the kind of view that you normally have only by visiting there. For a sample of Pedro singing with some top-flight musicians, see this video:
Pedro recently (12-Jan-2012) appeared on Portuguese TV singing “Eu Quero” and also being interviewed (in Portuguese).He is worth seeking out if you ever visit Lisbon. He sings regularly at Os Ferreiras, and at various locations around the city (tough to predict exactly where).
Though still only in his 40s, he has been singing for more than 30 years — and the experience shows. He won the Grande Noite do Fado twice, first in the young people’s category (in 1986), then in the adult category.
Pedro Galveias is one of a group of very successful singers of this generation, including Jaime Dias, Luis Matos, Vítor Miranda, Ricardo Ribeiro and Miguel Ramos. All of them were deeply influenced by the great Fernando Maurício, particularly in their ability to communicate directly with their audience.
Pedro Galveias’ new record is available in the USA at Amazon.com and via iTunes.
————————————————————————
David Mendonça, a Portuguese American with roots in the Azores, is a contributor to the Portuguese American Journal. A Fado music aficionado, his articles also appear on his blogs Fado Today (English) and Fado Hoje (Portuguese). He lives in New York State. Also in the Portuguese American Journal read David Mendonça’s review Fado: The Carnegie Hall Concert. and the review of Ana Moura’s recent concert in the Zeiterion Theater in New Bedford, MA.
