Angélique Kidjo has a tremendous voice — bold, energetic, clear — and equally strong social commitment. Kidjo’s magnetism is such that she can have Bill Clinton blurb and Desmond Tutu write the foreword of her new memoir, and feature jazz greats Christian McBride and Lionel Loueke, among others, on her new album, “Eve” — plus guests Asa, Dr. John, Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij, and the Kronos Quartet. What makes “Eve” shine, though, are the nine women’s choirs that Kidjo recorded in her native Benin, plus one from Kenya; they give texture to the band’s cosmopolitan groove, and anchor Kidjo’s message of women’s empowerment in an organic, non-didactic way. The songs are crisp, uptempo, concise; Kidjo, singing in Fon, Yoruba, English, and more, accompanies as much as she leads. One exception, “Blewu,” a melancholy duet with guitarist Romero Lubambo, is a gorgeous, stripped-down reminder of what brought her here. (Out Tuesday.)
Essential “Bana”
Angélique Kidjo plays at the Somerville Theatre on Feb. 23.
Siddhartha Mitter can be reached at siddharthamitter@gmail.com.