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LURA On the elegant new Eclipse (Four Quarters), Portuguese singer Lura expands her survey of traditional music from Cape Verde, the land of her immigrant parents: in addition to upbeat genres like batuku and funana, where she already shines, she tackles morna, the sorrowful ballad style made famous by the legendary Cesaria Evora, and proves herself a match for it. More than ever her sound is ecumenical, contemporary, and accessible, and though Jose da Silva’s production is a bit glossy for my taste—I could die happy without ever hearing another wind chime—it can’t drag down Lura’s effervescent singing. She thrives on dance material, shaping melodies with great precision even over the most rigorous grooves and simultaneously imbuing the songs with the essential saudade—a hard-to-translate Portuguese term that more or less means “longing.” And of course the record’s slickness won’t be an issue at all when she hits the stage, where she’s a commanding, magnetic presence. Chiwoniso opens. a 6:30 PM, Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Michigan and Randolph, 312-742-1168. F A —Peter Margasak
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JULIAN LAGE See Thursday. Tonight Lage’s group is joined by the Monterey High School All-Star Big Band. a 8 and 10 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, 312-360-0234, $20.
JULIAN LAGE See Thursday. a 8 and 10 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, 312-360-0234, $20.
JULIAN LAGE See Thursday. a 4, 8, and 10 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, 312-360-0234, $20.
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