Edna Vazquez, Sola Soy (Rootbound Music)

Whether it’s tender Mexican folk songs, mariachi or rock ’n’ roll, Vazquez's powerful voice is the centerpiece of whatever she does.

[SPANISH BALLADRY] Edna Vazquez has a voice that can squeeze tears from a stone. First discovered via a televised Spanish-language talent competition, the Mexican-born singer-songwriter—who came to the U.S. after coming out to her parents as a teenager, eventually making her way to Oregon—has recorded in a variety of styles, and whether it's tender Mexican folk songs, mariachi or rock 'n' roll, her mournful alto is the centerpiece of whatever she does. The best thing the music can do is simply give her enough room, and Sola Soy, her new solo album, is built of an appropriately soft touch. Arranged primarily in collaboration with Pink Martini alum Martin Zarzar, the spare instrumentation mostly gives light shading to her declarations of resolve in the face of heartbreak. Shimmers of guitar and keyboards, along with occasional colorings of strings and whirring synthesizer, refract off lightly pulsing rhythms, allowing Vazquez to fill in the spaces. But while she is certainly capable of broad gestures—she cut her teeth performing in restaurants and at quinceañeras—Vazquez is often as restrained as the music, coming off as more jazz balladeer than folk singer. Some of it edges toward adult-contempo territory, but as always, Vazquez's presence keeps you transfixed—whether you understand the words or not.

SEE IT: Edna Vazquez plays the Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave., with Three for Silver, on Wednesday, Nov. 18. 8 pm. Sold out. All ages.

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