In Lisa Moralesβ newest album, her second as a soloist, the Tucson-born singer-songwriter looks to Spanish-language poets and her mother for inspiration.
βMy mom used to quote (Federico) Garcia Lorca (the poet and playwright from Spain) and I was kind of recalling that, trying to write art. I just really wanted to write art,β she said of her sophomore bilingual recording, βLuna Negra and the Daughter of the Sun.β
Morales, a long-time resident of San Antonio, Texas, will bring her Southwestern-tinged musical art to the Rialto Theatre Friday in a show with her fellow Texans, Los Lonely Boys. Last year, Morales and her band shared the Rialto stage with Los Lonely Boys; this time itβs just Morales and Paul Ramirez, one of her two guitarists.
The spared-down version of her new songs should give the audience a deeper sense of the love, pain and emotions that course through the 11 tracks on her album, as well as a few from βBeautiful Mistake,β her maiden 2012 solo recording after recording six albums as the Sisters Morales with her sister, Roberta.
Morales wrings out of her music the sorrows and joys that she, as a woman, mother and daughter, has experienced in her life but within restrained sentiments. There is no over wrought drama but certainly deep feelings rise to the surface.
In "Veinte Minutos," she sings about the breakup of her relationship with her ex-husband. She had started writing it several years ago before releasing her first album but had to put it away before resurrecting it with new lyrics.
"It was hardβ¦it hurt to write," she said.
In "Pena," she sings and plays the classical guitar with thoughts of her mother, Gloria. It's a song, originally done by Spanish flamenco singer Lola Flores in the early 1950s, that Morales had sung to her mother before she passed away in 2009. Morales was reluctant to cover the "Pena," (Spanish for pain) but her mother recognized it immediately and urged Morales to include it in her repertoire.
And in "Avalanche," Morales teams up with her friend, Austin musician Jimmy LaFave. The duet is bittersweet; LaFave, who was battling cancer during the recording session, passed away last May.
"Luna Negra" is co-produced by Texan musician Michael Ramos, who has worked with Lila Downs and Shawn Colvin, and his own group, Charanga Cakewalk. "We were on the same page," Morales said of Ramos. "He did a beautiful job."
In addition she has help from Austin-based guitarist Charlie Sexton, who worked with Bob Dylan; Adrian Quesada, a driving force in Texas with Brownout, Grupo Fantasma and Ocote Soul Sounds; David Garza: Los Lobos drummer Cougar Estrada and Los Lonely Boys bassist Jojo Garza.
The whole thing was fun. There was not a moment that the recording was a labor," said Morales. "Everybody brought something to the table."
