Raizes / Roots (Digi-Pak)

Raﾡzes (Roots), the new recording by Brazilian singer and songwriter Nicole Borger, is more than a collection of great songs. It's a celebration of a life story. It's there, written in her choices of repertoire and in the arrangements, which turn traditional and contemporary Jewish songs such as "Yidl Mitn Fidl," "Abi Gezunt," "Bulbes" or "S'Iz Nito Kein Nekhtn" into Brazilian bossa novas, baiaos and frevos. It's also a story told in her own words, in her translations to Portuguese of the original Yiddish lyrics and her original song, "Passarinho" (Little Bird). "I am this mix," says Nicole. "I'm part Brazilian and part American. I am Jewish and I'm cosmopolitan. I like mixes. I believe in fusion and I believe that I express myself in this mixture." Raﾡzes is a celebration of roots and reinvention.