Happy New Year to all of you! I wish you all the very best for 2013. I am very grateful to all the wonderful things last year brought: amazing trips and shows including the US, Canada, Argentina, Germany, France, Denmark.... My brand new album "De Tierra y Oro". Many new friends and quite a lot of beautiful music. I have just returned from my hometown, Buenos Aires, and I am ready for a great start of this brand new year!
First of all, I would like to invite you to the very first edition of the NYC South American Music Festival! It will happen on January 14th at the Zinc bar. I am honored to be part of this along with three other wonderful South American artists and their bands that include some of my favorite people on this planet. So you can't miss it!! The festival already got great press in the US, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. And it was put together by all artists in collaboration with the wonderful Lilihouse Agency.
FEATURING:
Sofia Rei Koutsovitis, vocals
Eric Kurimski-guitar
Jorge Roeder-bass
Yayo Serka- drums and percussion
Sofia Rei Koutsovitis is one of New York’s most passionate, charismatic and inventive vocalists, but she brings more than the depth and fullness of a riveting voice to her second album, Sube Azul (World Village/Harmonia Mundi). She also serves as the album’s composer, arranger, lyricist and — with bassist Jorge Roeder — producer. Following up on Ojalá, her polyglot and multilingual debut, she offers this time a collection of mostly original Spanish-language songs, building on a new set of growth experiences since moving to New York in 2005.
Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, her project is grounded in traditional South American rhythms such as chacarera, zamba and vidala from Argentina, Afro-peruvian festejo and lando, Afro-Uruguayan candombe, Colombian cumbia and bullerengue and other genres that merge involving jazz harmonies, electronic sounds and rich improvisations. Singing in Spanish, Portuguese or English, Sofia's voice is so graceful as sophisticated, tying together diverse influences in a program full of rhythmic complexity, melody and romance. Her ensemble produces a range of textures as diverse as the cultural roots of its members, an international cast that includes some of the most exciting young talent from North and South America.
Get ready for a whole new approach to Masada music! Expressive and passionate, Basya Schecter, Ayelet Rose Gottlieb, Malika Zarra and Sofia Rei Koutsovitis are four of the most creative vocalists around. Each the leader of a dynamic band of their own, they come together here in an intimate a cappella setting to interpret eleven songs from Zorn's remarkable Book of Angels.
With lyrics in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, French and Arabic drawn from Rumi, Fernando Pessoa, The Hebrew Bible and more, the Masada vocal project is perhaps the most hauntingly beautiful installments in the entire Angels series. Dynamic and evocative New Jewish Music from four powerful women vocalists! (Tzadik Records website: http://www.tzadik.com/)
Upcoming Shows
Jul 1 2010 8:00PM
Montreal Jazz Festival Montreal, CA Sep 6 2010 8:00PM
Ashkenaz Festival Toronto, Ontario, CANADA Find Tickets Nov 7 2010 8:00PM
Mycale in Berlin Berlin, DE Nov 8 2010 8:00PM
Masada Marathon in Milano! Milano, IT Nov 9 2010 8:00PM
Mycale in Slovenia tba, SI
Band Members
Basya Schechter; Ayelet Rose Gottlieb; Sofia Rei Koutsovitis; Malika Zarra
Sounds Like
John Zorn, Basya Schechter, Ayelet Rose Gottlieb, Sofia Rei Koutsovitis and Malika Zarra put together
“As the Argentine singer Sofía Rei Koutsovitis led her multinational band,(…) the passion and clarity with which she assayed a tricky mix of South American rhythms and jazz-inflected harmonies made clear why she has been embraced by New York City audiences from Carnegie Hall to the hippest downtown haunts.” - Phil Lutz, New York Times
Sofia Rei Koutsovitis is one of New York’s most passionate, charismatic and inventive vocalists, but she brings more than the depth and fullness of a riveting voice to her second album, Sube Azul. She also serves as the album’s composer, arranger, lyricist and — with bassist Jorge Roeder — producer. Following up on Ojalá, her polyglot and multilingual debut, she offers this time a collection of mostly original Spanish-language songs, building on a new set of growth experiences since moving to New York in 2005.
Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, her project is grounded in traditional South American rhythms such as chacarera, zamba and vidala from Argentina, Afro-peruvian festejo and lando, Afro-Uruguayan candombe, Colombian cumbia and bullerengue and other genres that merge involving jazz harmonies, electronic sounds and rich improvisations.
Singing in Spanish, Portuguese or English, Sofia's voice is so graceful as sophisticated, tying together diverse influences in a program full of rhythmic complexity, melody and romance. In Danilo Perez words: "She knows how to combine the best of her Argentine roots with the skills and passion necessary to make many contributions to our music community". Her ensemble produces a range of textures as diverse as the cultural roots of its members, an international cast that includes some of the most exciting young talent from North and South America.
Sofia is a restless artist, one of the most versatile and in-demand singers on the New York music scene. In a short period of time she has recorded, performed and collaborated with renowned musicians and groups such as John Zorn, Folklore Urbano, John Scofield, Lionel Loueke, Pavel Urkiza (Gema y Pavel), Russ Ferrante (Yellow Jackets), Bob Moses, Aquiles Baez, Samuel Torres Group, Hector Martignon, Pedro Martinez, and Pablo Aslan’s Avantango.
She toured Europe with the Grammy award winning Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra and premiered with the group Cerulean Skies, a piece commissioned by the New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna. Sofia has just finished recording a vocal quartet album for John Zorn’s “Book Of Angels: Masada Book 2” series, which will be released on Tzadik records in January 2010.
She is also the vocalist of Geoffrey Keezer's Aurea, whose self-titled 2009 release received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album. In December 2009 she was one of four featured vocalists chosen to premiere newly commissioned work as part of The Jazz Gallery's "New Voices" concert series. Sofia also contributed her vocals for Ljova Zhurbin’s premiere of Niña Dance at Zankel Hall, commissioned by the Carnegie Hall Corporation in 2009, as part of the Osvaldo Golijov & Dawn Upshaw Professional Training Workshop. She was recently featured with vocal giant Bobby McFerrin at Carnegie Hall in Instant Opera.
Sofia has toured Europe, Asia, North and South America singing at renowned international festivals and venues such as the Carnegie Hall (NYC), Kennedy Center (Washington DC) , Lincoln Center (NYC), the Blue Note (NYC), the Chicago World Music Festival (Chicago, IL), Aspen/Snowmass Jazz Festival (Aspen, CO), the International Jazz en Lima Festival (Peru), the Festival Iberoamericano de las Artes (Puerto Rico), Cite de la Musique (Paris, France), the Festival de Jazz de Barcelona , Festival KESSE and Festival Grec (Spain), the IAJE Conference 2008 (Toronto, Canada), the Lapataia Jazz and World Music festival (Uruguay), the International Jazz and Modern music Festival (Bogota, Colombia) and the Buenos Aires International Jazz Festival. Her debut album Ojala has received great critical acclaim and has been chosen a top 10 album of 2006 by the Jazz Journalists Association. Sube Azul, her second album as a leader has just been released in the US an Europe by the prestigious label World Village (Harmonia Mundi). http://sofiamusic.com/about/
SOFIA REI KOUTSOVITIS, “one of the most versatile and in-demand singers on the New York music scene” as Simon Calle -All About Jazz- wrote about her, is a Buenos Aires native, a singer and a composer who elegantly fuses South American rhythms with a jazz aesthetic in a unique and extremely seductive way. She has been praised by the legendary Curtis Fuller as "one of the most memorable performers I have ever encountered... a superb and original songwriter," and by the great Maria Schneider for her "lovely sound that is human and earthy all at once."
Sofia belongs to a new generation of musicians who in the last fifteen years or so, have created diverse blends of jazz styles with several South American genres, enriching and deeply integrating these musical traditions. But, despite the long relationship between jazz and Latin American music; South American music styles are relatively new to the jazz vocabulary. Since she moved to New York, Sofia has became a highly demanded artist for musical projects that explore Argentine, Brazilian, Afro-Peruvian and Colombian idioms as well as jazz, contemporary and experimental music. In fact, she is leading the vanguard of this movement bringing forward-thinking multicultural music grounded in South American rhythms, fusing all these elements with a post-bop aesthetic to create a fresh, global and innovative sound. [Photo: Delfina Colzani]
Besides her own group she is always active with several musical projects recording, performing and collaborating as a member of groups such as Folklore Urbano, Geoffrey Keezer's Aurea, Samuel Torres Group, Alcatraz and Pablo Aslan's Avantango. Sofia also keeps a busy teaching schedule, organizing workshops and master classes on vocal improvisation and South American music genres.
In Danilo Perez words: "She knows how to combine the best of her Argentine roots with the skills and passion necessary to make many contributions to our music community". Her debut CD, ‘Ojalá', presents a rainbow of poignant melodies, involved orchestrations, folkloric textures and all-around superb musicianship, centered around Sofía's rich, full-bodied, dolorous vocal instrument. Singing in Spanish, Portuguese, or English, Sofía pursues a cross-pollination of traditions reflected in her original compositions and arrangements. ‘Ojalá' has received incredible critical acclaim and has been chosen a TOP 10 album of 2006 by the “Jazz Journalists Association”. A follow-up CD “Sube Azul” will be released in Europe by Harmonia Mundi (World Village) in the summer 2009.
Sofia has also recorded, performed and collaborated with renowned artists such as John Scofield, Lionel Loueke, Bob Moses, Aquiles Baez, Hector Martignon. She toured Europe with the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra and premiered with the group Cerulean Skies, a piece commissioned by the New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna. She was featured with vocal giant Bobby McFerrin in Instant Opera at Carnegie Hall, November 2008.
Last but not least, she had made presentations in Europe, Asia, North and South America singing at renowned international festivals and venues such as the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Blue Note, Festival de Jazz de Barcelona (Spain), Chicago World Music Festival, Festival Internacional Jazz en Lima (Peru), Festival Iberoamericano de las Artes (Puerto Rico), Cite de la Musique (Paris, France), the IAJE Conference 2008 (Toronto, Canada), Lapataia Jazz and World Music festival (Uruguay), Festival Internacional de Jazz y Musica Moderna (Colombia), and of course in Argentina where she started her musical studies at the age of 4 and began singing professionally in the prestigious Children's Choir of Buenos Aires Opera House Teatro Colón when she was 9 years old. In Buenos Aires, she studied classical vocal performance at the National Conservatory and gained experience within the circles of classical and avant-garde music, performing in the most distinguished halls. She was part of the internationally acclaimed National Youth Choir with which she toured extensively the country for about four years before moving to the US.
Program: 21 fev 2010 20:00 John Zorn Masada Marathon (with MYCALE)@ the Henry Street Settlement New York, New York 3 mar 2010 20:00 Tutuma Social Club - Sofia Rei @ Tutuma Social Club New York City, New York 5 mar 2010 19:00 Zinc Bar - Sofia Rei and Jorge Roeder DUO @ the Zinc Bar New York, New York 12 mar 2010 17:30 Philadelphia Museum Of Art - Art after 5 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 14 mar 2010 20:00 Forsyth Chapel - The Forest Hill Educational Trust Boston, Massachusetts 26 mar 2010 19:00 Joe’s Pub - New England Conservatory 40th Anniversary Celebration - Vocal Night New York, New York 31 mar 2010 20:00 Levontin (Israel) - John Zorn’s Mycale Tel Aviv 1 abr 2010 20:00 Beit Avi Chai - John Zorn’s Mycale Jerusalem 10 abr 2010 20:00 Centro Cultural de España - Festival Internacional del Cajón Lima, Lima
Influences:
Elis Regina, Clara Nunez, Billie Holiday, Carmen Mc Rae, Sarah Vaughan, Flora Purim, Luciana Souza, Monica Salmaso, Bethe Carvallo, Chavela Vargas, Susana Baca, Toto la Momposina, Cecilia Todd, Bjork, Radiohead, Danilo Perez, John Coltrane, Miles, Brad Meldhau, Keith Jarrett, Carlos Gardel, Hermeto pascoal, Egberto Gismonti, Gilberto Gil, Marisa Monte, Djavan, Caetano Veloso, Silvio Rodriguez, Astor Piazzolla, Steve Reich, Mercedes Sosa, Raul Carnota, Suna Rocha, Cuchi Leguizamon, Luis Salinas, Tomas Lipan, Pedro Aznar, Fito Paez, Charlie Garcia....
A Latin Jazz artist with a strong compositional sensibility looks at the big picture of their work and shapes a powerful setting that appropriately conveys their message. They strive for a clear emotional message and refined musicality, but they also understand the power and impact of tone, timbre, and texture in their pieces. They call upon sounds from South American and Caribbean cultures to reference tradition and history. Percussion speaks volumes about these cultures, and the choice of certain percussion instruments automatically leans the piece in a certain direction.
At the same time, common phrases, the use of traditional guitar sounds, and specific instrumentations can all mix together into a powerful blend. The artist also enhances their work with modern timbres, such as recording techniques, overdubbing, guitar effects, and etherial sounds. Jazz harmony and chromatic melody variations color the work’s musical content and references North American culture. The artist faces a bit of a balancing act as they decide which sonic elements should come into the forefront of their work.
It’s a vital decision for the artist that potentially defines the character of their work. Once an artist finds the right balance and mixes it with potent musicality as well as strong emotional ideas, they can send a powerful message. Vocalist Sofia Rei Koutsovitis captures that magical mixture of ideal setting and powerful musical content on Sube Azul, delivering a strong musical statement. http://www.chipboaz.com/blog/2009/11/13/album-of-the-week-sube-azul-sofia-rei-koutsovitis/
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