Mariza in Laeiszhalle, Hamburg, December 2014. Source: Facebook

Since music can touch very personal and strong emotions it might happen that one transfers those emotions to the performing artist. You might in fact subconsciously feel a sort of emotional bond with the singer. It is like you actually have a close relation. And, after all, in your own life it is people close to you that normally can arouse such feelings. Intellectually you know that this is not the case with the artist, but emotionally you can still feel the emotions of a close relation.

If you do not understand the true nature of this relation such feelings can be problematic, especially in combination with dissatisfaction with your own life. Then you might build a dreamworld with you and the artist as a substitute for your own life, and dreamworlds are never adequate solutions to real existential problems. Such a situation can also trigger a person to become a stalker.

Source: SaultOnline

But this is not the ordinary situation. Most of us can tell the difference between a personal relation and the relation between an artist and his/hers audience. We understand that the feelings aroused within us stem from the qualities of the song and the artist’s ability to sing or play it in an engaging way.

The asymmetrical aspect of this relation is also emphasized by the sheer fact of numbers. The artist is one person and the audience is a multitude of individuals. The artist’s exclusiveness feeds the image of celebrity, and there is a sort of magnetism in such an image. I suppose many of you have had the experience of spotting a celebrity in a public place, and it is in that situation hard for anyone to carry on with one’s doings unaffected of the presence of the famous person.

Being known and being at least a bit famous is of course important to any artist. It is important for the artist to make a living, and it signifies the fact that his or her music has a value to people. This must be two important aims for most artists.

But the asymmetrical relation between artist and audience can also stand in the way for the artist’s possibilities to live an ordinary life. Even if it is fun and even necessary at times to be in the focused attention of many people, there are times when an artist would like to be anonymous or on equal terms with people. This cannot be easy when the rest of us have a hard time looking away when we spot a well-known person in a public place. And telling the difference between true friendship (or love) and an artist-fan relation can be equally difficult for the artist as for the fan/friend. But as an artist you cannot just turn on and off “famousness” at your convenience. It is there, or not there, whether you want it or not, and being famous can disturb personal relations.

But, although the relation between artists and their audience is a truly asymmetrical relation there are also other aspects worth mentioning. These are so obvious and natural that you might miss to see them. First, the audience have the songs in common with performing artists. Even if one side sends the expressions and the other side receives them, we still have the songs in common. And even if we have different relations to the songs, we have the song together that causes these different relations. And chances are that artists and audience, after all, have pretty much the same kind of relation to a song.

Second, we are all human beings with common basic needs. Even if it at times can seem as if an artist is a “supreme” kind of human being, it is in fact not so. We all have the same kind of basic needs of self-esteem, love, belongingness and understanding of the world. The different roles we play in society offer us different ways to pursue these aims, but it is the same kind of aims. This fact gives us important clues to the understanding of ourselves and others – including the artists we love and their songs.

Mariza. Source: New Internationalist

The day of the concert I had lunch with a colleague at a restaurant close to the concert hall. On my way out after having lunch I saw a person who I recognised, and after a few seconds I realised that it was Mariza sitting there together with another woman. I walked away together with my colleague, but realised when we had parted that I just could not leave it there. I could not leave without expressing my love of Mariza’s music. I had so many times enjoyed her music videos on YouTube, especially those from the outdoor concert in Lisbon 2006, and had felt the deep emotions that I discuss above.

So I went back to the restaurant and walked up to the two ladies, still sitting at their table. I greeted them welcome to Gothenburg and expressed my love of Mariza’s music. I also told them about my introduction to Mariza and her music at Musik.pm (unfortunately only in Swedish), and how much I had enjoyed her concert in Laeiszhalle in Hamburg the year before. They both looked a little bit surprised, maybe because Mariza is not a well-known artist to the general public in Sweden. I might very well have been the only person in that crowded restaurant who recognised Mariza. If she would have got attention from several others I would not have approached her. But Mariza and her company smiled kindly, took my hand and thanked me – and that was it. I said I was looking forward to the concert and left them at the table. Entering in their privacy is something that I did not do without hesitation, and a minute or two of intrusion was what I could force myself to. Afterwards I thought I might have asked for the possibility of a photo, and of course it would have been nice to have a photo of us three together. But if I had done that our short rendezvous would have been turned into something else. To handle an asymmetrical relation in an ordinary life situation is a delicate act of balance.

Keren Ann at Les Etoiles

The concert was quickly sold out, and although it was advertised as the “One night with Keren Ann”, one more concert was announced to take place the day after the first one. My wife suggested that we should buy tickets to that concert as well, and I happily agreed.

The week before we went to Paris I sent a note to Keren Ann addressed to Les Etoiles, telling her about my introduction to her music at Musik.pm, provided a link, and wrote that we would be in the audience on both concerts.

It was two beautiful concerts, and in the end of the first one I suddenly realised that Keren Ann between two songs was talking about the note I had sent her. She said that she had read it only the day of the concert and that she was deeply moved, and she greeted us welcome to both concerts. And then this very special moment was over. We have never met, and we will probably never do. But to me it is a great experience to know that I have reached through to Keren Ann with the expressions of my thoughts, as she has done to me with her songs. In a small way this has a little bit reduced the asymmetry of our relation.

When I got home I posted a story about the two concerts at Musik.pm. There I wrote that the title of the concerts refers to the fact that Keren Ann is alone on the stage. But I also guessed that the choice of title was supposed to convey the meaning that each and every individual in the audience would be alone with Keren Ann. A play with words and meanings. And in the soft parts of the concert this is actually what happened. I have never before experienced an artist who so genuinely can relate to each and every one in an audience. This is also a way to convert an asymmetrical relation to something else.

And here is first Mariza and then Keren Ann.

Cover image of Dreams and Daggers

A second Grammy for Cécile McLorin Salvant

Cécile McLorin Salvant was born in 1989 in Miami by a French mother and a Haitian father. She took piano lessons early in life, and eventually also singing lessons. After high school, she moved to Aix-en-Provence in France to study law, but also classical song. There she met with the teacher and reedist Jean-François Bonnel, who introduced her to improvisation and vocal jazz. She started to sing with bands, and in 2009 Cécile and Bonnel´s Quintet recorded the album Cécile and the Jean-François Bonnel Paris Quintet.

Sorce: music on MACK AVENUE

Back in the US, Cécile 2010 won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in Washington D.C. Later the same year she released her first own album, titled Cécile. In the fall of 2012 she recorded the album WomanChild together with pianist Aaron Diehl, Rodney Whitaker, Herlin Riley and James Chirillo. The album, released the following year, contains an unusual song material. In addition to original songs, it consists of a number of rarely played songs from the older jazz and blues repertoire. The album was very well received, and Cécile was compared to several of the really big female jazz vocalists. (See, for example, the cited review in the image above.) So I should have known about Cécile.

Her next album, For One to Love, was released in 2016, and for that she received her first Grammy award. And now we are at present date. Yesterday her latest album, Dreams and Daggers, was awarded with her second Grammy.

It should be noted that Cécile has continued her very successful collaboration with pianist Aaron Diehl. Diehl’s trio with Paul Sikivie on double bass and Lawrence Leathers on drums is a perfect match with Cécile. She also sings with other bands, but this is the combination I love the most.

So, a lot of people love the way Cécile McLorin Salvant sings jazz. I am sure many of you also do. Well, what is it about Cécile’s singing that makes me so much appreciate it? I believe it primarily is the natural, personal and self-confident way she interprets the songs. This applies both to the musical and to the dramatic side of her interpretations. She is a remarkable singer, but she also knows how to make theatre out of the songs – without losing sight of the fact that it still is music she is executing. Sometimes it’s comedy, sometimes it’s tragedy, but always very personal. Cécile’s interpretation skills indicate a remarkable measure of artistic maturity.

Despite these qualities, Cécile is only 28 years old. (She becomes 29 in August.) She has made an impressive musical journey before she turns thirty. WomanChild was recorded in the year she became 23, For One to Love came 2016 (the year she became 27) and Dreams and Daggers was released last year. And along with several other rewards and honors she has earned two Grammy awards.

I was fortunate to enjoy Cécile perform in a small club in Oslo May 2015, and as soon as she returns to Scandinavia I will see her again. Probably then in a big concert hall. When your favourites become famous you need to share them with many more music lovers.

In January 2015 I published a post (in Swedish) about Cécile on Musik.pm, including links to some very nice video recordings. Waiting to see her live in the part of the world where you live, you can enjoy those music videos and some more here.

More:

I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate

I Didn’t Know What Time It Was

Nobody

Poor Butterfly

John Henry

Le front caché sur tes genoux

WomanChild

Look at Me

You’re My Thrill

Red Instead

You’ve Got to Give Me Some

You’re Getting to Be a Habit with Me

The cover image of Gravel & Wine

A musical treasure hunt that ended in New Zealand

This service is a valuable tool for those of us who search for new music – and you don´t have to buy anything to use the service. Of course one does not have to stop at the first proposals. Often you need to move on and investigate the artists that are associated with these proposals, and so on. The work does require some patience because many of the artists that are suggested are uninteresting or bleak copies of the artist you started with. But after a few hours, following different paths of musical associations, you can sometimes find an amazing artist that you might not have found otherwise. At least not until much later, when the artist’s reputation might have found its way to your usual media.

Image from YouTube

That is what happened when I in March 2012 found Gin Wigmore from New Zealand. I do not remember today who the starting point artist was, but it may very well have been Amy Winehouse. After having tested many different paths and artists without any luck, Gin’s voice suddenly “cut” through the room. When you hear that voice you know you have struck gold. Not only because her voice is very special, but also because it reveals a strong personality with great professionalism. In short – a solid artist.

This impression is strengthened when you listen to the large variation of her songs. Gin writes all her songs alone or together with colleagues. Everything from beautiful ballads like Hallelujah and Dying Day to powerful rock music like Oh My and Man Like That. Swinging country as in Sweet Hell and catchy folk rock as in Devil In Me. If those are the right labels.

Gin’s first album, an EP also titled Extended Play, came in 2008. The record includes the personal Hallelujah, which Gin wrote as a tribute to her father after his death. Since then she has released three full length albums – Holy Smoke, Gravel & Wine, and Blood To Bone – and a number of singles. I really like all songs on the EP and the two first full length albums. Not a single weak entry. Buy is highly recommended – as is attending one of her live performances. When Gin toured in Europe 2013 we saw her in a memorable performance at the small club Strom in Munich.

Image from YouTube

However, I took me some time to come to terms with the third full length album Blood to Bone. I immediately liked the songs and the arrangements better on the first two, and after listening briefly to the third I turned my attention to other artists and other kinds of music. But while updating this post I realise that I should have given it more time. It did not immediately appeal to me as much as the previous, but it wins by further listening.

Although I appreciate all songs on the EP and Gin’s two first full length albums, the ballads are my favourites. From the EP, of course Hallelujah, and from the first full length album the mighty New Revolution and the more low key Golden Ship and Dying Day. And also Too Late For Lovers. But they do not stand out much from the rest. Everything is really good, and the albums are cleverly composed. On the second album, Gravel & Wine, Gin explores our dark side with the help of some unfamiliar and interesting sound images.

Soon Gin’s fourth album Ivory will arrive. The release is planned for March 2018. Gin won my heart with her first albums, and the fact that one album did not immediately ”work” for me will certainly not prevent me from waiting for her fourth album with great expectations!

More

Dying Day

Oh My

Man Like That

Sweet Hell

Devil In Me

New Revolution

Golden Ship

Too Late for Lovers

Black Sheep

Don’t Stop

Black Parade

Written In The Water

______

This post is a translated and developed version of my post in Swedish, October 2012. Read also about Gin in my post Personality and Music Preferences. There you will find an explanation of why I like Gin’s music, as well as music of quite different characters.

And read in my post Planets that Meet how you might interpret the fact that you sometimes do not like an artist’s recent album as much as the previous.

How can it be that I like so different kinds of music?

The theory

Let’s assume that we as human beings have needs of identification and of compensation. To satisfy the need of identification we might have a predisposition to search for persons, ideas, cultural expressions etc. that we can relate to in terms of qualities that resemble important traits of our own personality. This process does not have to be conscious. On the contrary it probably most of the time goes on although we are unaware of it. In finding friends and partners this might mean that the same kind of personalities are attracted by one another, maybe in order to build smooth relations with few frictions. In terms of music it means that my personality and the music I like are in harmony and speak the same “language” in terms of emotions, expression and ideas. I feel at home with this kind of music.

The need of compensation means instead that we in fact also have a predisposition to search for and relate to persons, ideas, cultural expressions etc. that are different from the predominant traits of our personality. The aim might be to help the weaker sides of our personality to balance our dominant traits. Again, we might very well be unaware of this process. In finding friends and partners this might mean that different kinds of personalities are drawn to one another, maybe in order to build relations with access to different kinds of predominant traits. In terms of music it means that I might like music that helps weaker sides of my personality to come forward once in a while.

Actually I believe that we have both kinds of needs. Sometimes we need more of resemblance and identification; sometimes we need more of difference and compensation. But if we almost always search for resemblance and identification it might be because we are afraid of difference and change, and if we almost always search for difference and compensation it might be because we are dissatisfied with our own personality. At its best the two drives are in balance over a period of time.

Me

In rough terms, who am I? I believe I am a more introverted than extroverted person, more thoughtful and serious than action oriented and funny, more melancholy than cheerful. But underneath my thoughtful appearance there are strong emotions. And beauty and aesthetics is important to me. Sometimes more important than function.

Of course there is much more to say, and there are lots of reservations to such a brief characterization, but let’s see what it can be used for in terms of analysing music preferences.

The artists

So far I have been talking about music preferences, but in relation to Musik.pm it is often more interesting to talk about the individual artists and their music. The charisma and expression of the artists are often important in the music I like. So, in fact, what I am trying to capture might be resemblances and differences between personalities – the personalities of the artists expressed in their music and my own personality. Whether an artist’s personality in music also is his or hers personality outside music, I do not know. When getting closer to an artist you sometimes realise that he or she in terms of personal traits probably is more varied than the expressions of their songs. They, as we, of course have predominant and weaker sides of their personalities.

Below you will find five of my favourite artists and one favourite genre. By means of quotes from earlier posts and a few music videos I try to show why they have become favourites of mine. If you want to read more about the artists and enjoy some more of their music videos you can of course go to the original posts.

Diana Krall

Source: YouTube

I have no difficulties to identify the traits of Diana Krall’s music that attracts me. It is spelled out in my post about Diana in March, 2017, original posted in Swedish in May 2013, telling the story of how I found her in the beginning of the new millennium. The serious and intense expression, manifested by her slowing down even already slow ballads, was in perfect harmony with the basic traits of my own personality. After a couple of hectic decades in life this was what I then really needed, not only as a relaxation but also as a meeting with my own basic mentality.

One day at the beginning of the new millennium, I heard on the radio a Burt Bacharach song in an interpretation that was new to me. The vocalist had a deep and sensual voice, and she sang slowly with a strong sense of presence and with a serious emotional expression. And then there was the beautiful and restrained piano. The expression of this interpretation reached something in me that hadn’t been reached for a long time. The song was The Look of Love, and the singer was Diana Krall. Right there in life I was struck by music again, and it was Diana Krall who hit me. (From the post Diana Krall, 18 March, 2017)

The Look Of Love

I’ve Got You Under My Skin

Keren Ann

Source: YouTube

I can also easily see why Keren Ann’s music is very close to my heart – at this instant in life probably the music that is closest. As an introverted person I need refuges in life, and the seriousness of Keren Ann matches my need for taking things seriously. And the sheer beauty of Keren Ann’s melodies, and her singing them accompanied by her own guitar, satisfy my needs of exactly that – beauty. Her melancholy satisfies my need of both seriousness and beauty. Again, you can find the base for these conclusions expressed in my first post about Keren Ann and her music from 8 June, 2016.

The biography presented on Keren Ann’s current website starts with chapter 7, referring to her seventh album. This is not where I am in terms of listening. I have briefly listened to all seven albums and have found many beautiful songs, but I keep coming back to “chapter 2” and “chapter 3” – the second and the third album – La Disparition (2002) and Not Going Anywhere (2003). On these albums Keren Ann’s musical expression of soft melancholy and intimacy is like a refuge, a sanctuary I do not want to leave for a long time.

But it does not end here. Keren Ann’s later music sometimes has a more rough expression. Can I follow her into that terrain? I think I can. This is what I wrote in my post Alone with Keren Ann after seeing her two concerts in Paris, May 18-19, 2017, trying to describe my feelings towards the more rough parts of her concerts.

The guitar she uses is an electric one. The way she plays it does not contribute to the soft side of her music. On the contrary, the strong and sometimes forceful electric sounds stand out in sharp contrast to the soft guitar from her early career. At first I am a little bit disappointed, but after some time I acknowledge that this is an alley which Keren Ann wants to explore, and then I want to follow her. I trust her and she seems so much to enjoy what she is doing. Her usual shy expression is still there, but it is mingled with happiness for the strong music she is making.

So Keren Ann provides music that I can relate also to my search for compensation and development. It is as if she herself gives an example of the second part of my theory, the search for difference, change and development. Maybe it is also her search.

But after some thought I realize something. The guitar fools me. Although the guitar is rough, that rough expression is still harboured in Keren Ann’s general expression of melancholy. I can recognize myself in that. Could it be that whatever Keren Ann (and I) do, it is always within a framework of melancholy?

La corde et les chaussons

Not Going Anywhere

It Ain´t No Crime / In Your Back

Fado

Domingos Mira, Joana Almeida and João Vinhas at Conserva-te

What about my love of the Portuguese fado then? Where does it come from? Although fado and I come from different cultures, and I learned to love Fado only a couple of years ago, I actually believe my love comes from identification and resemblance. In the post I wrote after our fado excursion in Portugal last year the resemblance theme is to me obvious – the beauty, the seriousness, the emotional involvement, the concentration of the expression. The excursion started at the fado restaurant Casa da Marinquinhas in Porto. Here are some quotes from my post A Fado Experience, 11 November, 2016.

And then one of the most beautiful combinations of instruments – the Portuguese and the classical guitar – starts to colour the background of the Fado song. Soft, but nevertheless energetic. They do so with a delicate fabric of tones in which it is sometimes difficult to distinguish who is contributing which thread. Still, the different sounds of the two guitars are very distinct.

After a short and beautiful guitar introduction, often with a bittersweet colour, the fadista starts to sing. And the song is not less beautiful. The fadista tells the emotional story (most often a sad one) with closed eyes, and he/she does not open them until a storm of applause releases the tension of the fadista and the audience. There is never a second of silence between the song and the applause. It is as if the concentration of the strong emotions that the fadista and the musicians create gets its release when the last almost forceful tones of the guitars and the fadista are hit.

And later about me as an emotional man.

I find that the male Fado expression communicates a more sincere representation of genuine male emotions than the ones I have experienced in many other cultural expressions. I can in Fado find a home for my own emotions, not only as a “male guest” in the female representation of Fado, but also when members of my own sex interpret Fado.

And finally again about the beauty of concentration.

In general, the strong emotions of Fado, and the common focus on the experience at the Fado houses, fit my personality and temperament very well. The emotions that the music creates are felt inside every Fado house guest, but those feelings are not expressed during the Fado song. We all know that we share the experience, but we do not devalue it by comments, chit chat or eating.

On the surface it might not be obvious that fado is congenial with my personality, but it hits me right in the heart.

Casa do fado

Carminho: Lágrimas do Céu        (A post about Carminho here.)

Gin Wigmore

Source: YouTube

And now for something completely different. We are heading for three examples of artists who with their charisma and their music bring me something that balances my main personal traits.

First out is Gin Wigmore from New Zeeland. Although not quite accurate, the simplest way to characterize Gin is that she is a rock star.  On the whole her music, her voice, her looks, her tattoos, her video productions under-pin the rock star image – but still, underneath all that there is also something else. Her ballads are beautiful, and after having seen her perform live in a small club I must say that she seems to be a very nice person – not at all the depraved rock star type. And what gives me reason to provide a reservation to the rock star characterization might be a bridge to the predominant traits of my personality.

But although there are these deviations from the rock star image, Gin with her music is a person that very much enriches me by being quite something else than my predominant personal traits. Although Gin’s music, her voice and appearance are far from the music above, it gives me happiness. It does so by compensating the introverted and thoughtful traits of my personality – and thereby helps the weaker sides of my personality to come forward.

I do not quote my Swedish post about Gin Wigmore from 2012 here, but there are lots of music videos there to prove my case! Here are two of them.

Sweet Hell

Too Late for Lovers

(After the publication of this post about personality and music preferences, I have updated and translated the Swedish post about Gin Wigmore into English. You can find the new post here.)

Zaz

Source: YouTube

My next example is a young woman whose personality even less resembles my predominant traits. In the post I wrote about her in 2012 you can easily see why she is an artist who richly compensates those traits. In my first contact with her music videos I just couldn´t have enough.

At 00.02 on June 14, 2011, I received a music tip by e-mail from a friend in Germany. It took me a few days until I had time to investigate it, but as soon as that was done, a new great music personality made an entrance into our home – the young French singer Isabelle Geoffroy, better known under the name of Zaz. There are plenty of live performances with her on YouTube, and I must admit that I the weekend 18-19 of June spent many, many hours searching for her music, and time after time enjoyed what I found.

Zaz is a singer with great musicality and a lovely, somewhat hoarse voice. She is also equipped with a lot of positive energy and a large measure of personal and natural charm that unites with the musical expression. No choreographer seems to have given Zaz advice on how to perform on a stage. Only her musical pleasure of performing and singing shapes her bodily language. It is irresistible. Someone has said that she needs to be disciplined as a performer to be able to perform an entire show, but I wonder if that medicine can make her better than what you can see now. (Translation to English of my Swedish post Zaz, 7 December, 2012)

Join me in enjoying two of the videos from my post about Zaz. This is far from the main traits of my personality, but I love it.

From Montmartre: Les passants

From La Fête de la Chanson Française – Je veux and Le long de la route

Lucy Woodward

Source: LW

And last, a singer who I found in February 2014, Lucy Woodward. In the beginning I especially came to enjoy some of her early recordings where I apprehended something of a cabaret style and in some of the songs also an R&B influence. But regardless of genre it was Lucy’s charisma built on energy and humour that appealed to me. She made me happy. Again, humour and energy was needed to balance my serious and thoughtful traits.

This is the introduction to my Swedish post about Lucy, originally from 2014, later included in an English post 2017.

Lucy Woodward is a young American music entertainer with a great feeling for jazz, funk, soul, R&B and other related genres. The reason why you should call her an entertainer, and not just a singer, is her ability to engage both herself and the audience in an entertaining mix of musicality, soul and humour. This is something you have to experience. Attempts to describe her in words will not do her justice. Therefore I stop trying here, and instead refer you to the links below.

And these are some of the songs that at first made me fall for Lucy Woodward and her music. She has now musically moved on, but she is still a favourite.

Please Baby Please

Use What I Got

Babies

You

So what about you? Has this post made you think about your personality, the music you enjoy and why you like it? If so, what are your thoughts and conclusions?

Domingos Mira, Joana Almeida and João Vinhas at Conserva-te

Lisbon November 17, 2017

We step into the small restaurant and are welcomed by a young man at the door. We tell him our name and that we have a reservation. He obviously has already guessed who we are, and he introduces himself. “I am Domingos.” Our friend has told us that Domingos is the owner of the place and that he also plays the Portuguese guitar.

We are invited to our table and we order a menu with lots of small dishes and red wine. This means that we leave all other decisions to the staff. It proves to be a very wise decision. Although not expensive the wine is nice, and small very nice dishes keep coming to our table during the night. Domingos tells us that Conserva-te is built around the concept of music, food and drinks emanating from the Portuguese speaking parts of the world. The language that unites these countries has given way to mutual exchange of cultural expressions, and this is what Domingos wants to acknowledge and promote in music, food and drinks.

Domingos Mira

In terms of music this means that the guests at Conserva-te of course can enjoy the Portuguese fado, but also for instance Cap Verdean Morna or Brazilian Bossa Nova. What you will hear when you visit Conserva-te depends on the performing musicians that particular night. The night we visit Conserva-te is dedicated solely to Fado.

Domingos is passionate about his idea, and he would like to create new places built on the same concept as the original Conserva-te. He talks in an entrepreneurial way, but his entrepreneurial drive is not about earning money regardless of business. His passion rests with the idea of Conserva-te.

As a young man Domingos studied to become an engineer, and he was employed as one for some years. But he was also a good guitar player, and when labour market was troublesome he decided to go for music and his idea about promoting the cultural expressions from the Portuguese speaking parts of the world. It is not uncommon that fado musicians start their own fado restaurant, and Domingos is a musician in this tradition. However, it might be that it is not as common nowadays that it used to be.

Domingos speaking so passionately about developing his idea makes me ask if he rather wants to be a business manager than a musician. But Domingos does not want to choose between the two, and I hope that he will not have to. Domingos plays the Portuguese guitar very well, and his passion for the Conserva-te concept deserves success.

Domingos’ concept makes me remember how I myself found the Portuguese fado. I wanted to get to know Brazilian music better and, as I often do, I used the associative serendipity of the search engines of Internet to find my way to new musicians. And at one point the Internet, sensitive to cultural connections, forwarded me to a Portuguese fado song. I was intrigued by the beautiful melody, the concentrated and strong expression of the fadista – and the beautiful guitars. From that start I have made fado an important part of my music listening. So Brazil is actually the cause for us being in Lisbon, and tonight at Domingos’ place.

What about the fado then? We have heard from the well informed fado guide who travels with us that tonight’s fadista Joana Almeida is a very good one, although only 19 years old. After a while we see a very young woman step into Conserva-te, and we conclude from her youthful apperance and the way she is dressed that it must be her. It takes some time before it’s time for the first performance, and we see her sitting at the back of the small restaurant fingering her mobile. She appears so very young. Can she really sing fado in the mature way that we believe is important to the fado expression?

And then it is time. Domingos Mira, Joana Almeida and João Vinhas place themselves in the only free space that is large enough for the three of them to perform in – a couple of square meters right in front of, and very close to, the entrance door. Domingos makes sure that no one is about to enter before they start.

Domingos Mira, Joana Almeida and João Vinhas

Domingos and João starts with a beautiful traditional guitar introduction, and then it is Joana. And from one second to another there is an astonishing transformation of her character. She closes her eyes, straightens her body and concentrates – and then she sings fado strong and beautifully. She now radiates maturity and confidence.

During the night Joana performs four times. There is no other fadista, which to us is unusual. But our impression of Joana does not change, and we have no wish for another fadista to perform. Joana’s singing is of high quality through all performances and songs.

What happened when Joana started to sing? Did the melancholic fado lend her maturity while she was singing? Or did the fado make me interpret the singing Joana as a more mature woman than she really is? Or, vice versa, was I maybe misinterpreting her youth before she started to sing? Is she really so young in mind that I concluded from her appearance before the performance?

Whatever the explanation, the combination of Joana Almeida and fado is beautiful. I feel privileged to have the possibility to see this young fadista develop in the years to come.

And unfortunately I will have to wait until I can enjoy her singing again. She has so far not recorded a CD of her own, and I have not been able to find any video recordings that do her justice. So there are no YouTube links in this post. But obviously there must be some nice YouTube videos with Joana soon. When I find them I will update this blog post with those YouTube links and also post them on Musik.pm on Facebook.

But you who live in or visit Lisbon can of course enjoy Joana performing live. One very nice place to do that is at Domingos’ place, Conserva-te.

_________________

Two years later, I keep my promise! Here is “Vem Ver A Lua”.

Lisbon

Lisbon November 15-21, 2017

Lisbon is not only the capital of Portugal; it is also the capital of fado music. The tradition is rich and there are more than a thousand fadistas and guitarristas singing and playing at numerous fado places. My wife and I have visited Lisbon twice in order to experience fado, and we will certainly come back. We have recently returned from the last visit – a one week fado excursion.

This time we travelled together with a small group in order to access the expertise of the group’s fado guide, Ulf Bergqvist. Ulf is the author of a very solid introduction to fado in Swedish – a story about the influences, the history, the fadistas/guitarristas, the fado houses etc. Ulf’s book is not only valuable as an introduction. With all the examples it also serves very well as a book of reference for the experienced fado lover. (FADO, en vägvisare till musiken och musikerna, 2013)

Ulf composed a nice mix of fado houses and fadistas for the group to enjoy. Since the decisions about performing fadistas particular nights sometimes were made as late as the day of the performance the program had to be flexible. Members of the group could also influence the program by individual wishes. One of the nights the group did not go to a fado restaurant but to a concert with Ana Laíns – and another night my wife and I went on our own to a small fado house, following the advice of a Portuguese friend living in Sweden.

These are the five fado houses my wife and I visited – together with the group and on our own.
– Parreirinha de Alfama
– Fado em Si
– Conserva-te
– Tasca do Jaime da Graça
– Adega Machado
And then there was the concert at the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia.

Of course we did not have the possibility to record the performances on video, but I nevertheless want to give you a notion of what we experienced during the week. Below you will find music videos with some of the individual fadistas – although with other songs than the ones we heard and with two exceptions not at the fado houses where we met them. Nevertheless – enjoy!

Read also A Fado Experience – reflections from our first fado excursion. 

More

Joana Amendoeira: Eu Quis Demais

Sérgio da Silva: Canto o Fado

Joana Melo: Fado Mayer

André Vaz: Maria da Madragoa

Cláudia Duarte: Sou do Fado/Fado Loucura

Cláudia Duarte: Fado em cinco estilos

João Soeiro: Da janela do meu quarto

Ana Sofia Varela: Fado Cravo – Dá-me O Braço Anda Daí

Pedro Moutinho: Fado Um Copo de Sol

Pedro Moutinho: Leva-me Contigo

Ana Laíns – Quatro Caminhos

Ana Laíns – Não sei porque te foste embora

Image source: My Corner Kiosk

Carminho’s first solo album Fado was released 2009, and was a huge success. Since then she has released two more albums with a base in fado – Alma (2012) and Canto (2014). Carminho is of course famous in Portugal, but she has also conquered the fado loving part of the world. However, she has over the years also tried other genres, and she is often referred to as a “crossover artist”. In the world of fado, where tradition is important, this is not always looked upon with approval.

Other renowned fadistas have tried to sing jazz and other genres, but it has not always been a successful venture. Often they cannot compete in terms of a pure genre expression and they do not find a fruitful way to utilize their fado character in other genres. Some singers are from the beginning in between genres, which means that they do not have a strong fado expression in the first place.

Carminho is unique in this respect. She has in my view a very strong fado expression and she interprets the traditional fado songs as a true fadista. You can experience this in some of the music videos below. But Carminho can also sing in other genres in a beautiful way. She knows how to use her fado expression within those other genres, and she thereby creates something unique and completely new – like on her latest album with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim. (Carminho Canta Tom Jobim, 2016) Her expressive and modelling way of singing, strong and yet gentle as the long waves of the ocean, rests in a beautiful way in the light Brazilian accompaniment by Banda Nova. Three out of the four members were once members of the original Banda Nova which played with Tom Jobim. It doesn’t get any better than this. It is just beautiful!

Another example of Carminho’s singing within other genres is her collaboration with Brazilian Marisa Monte. Marisa Monte is also a beautiful singer, but two beautiful singers do not guarantee that the combined expression will be beautiful. Duets can be problematic. But the voices and expressions of Carminho and Marisa form a very nice combination, and you can sense that they also have a good time together. Among the music videos below there are a few duets with Carminho and Marisa Monte. Unfortunately, in two of these the technical quality of the recordings is poor. However, I want to include those anyway since they illustrate the beauty of meetings between the Portuguese and Brazilian music cultures. Carminho and Marisa interpret in turns the fado song Saudades do Brasil em Portugal and the Brazilian Dança da Solidão (Desilusão) with their own cultural music accents.

Of course I hope that Carminho will continue to sing fado with her beautiful and strong fado expression – sincere, emotional and with “sand in her voice” as a Portuguese friend of mine put it. But I am also very expectant to everything that Carminho can do in the future within other genres. So far she has been spot on in whatever she has tried. Her voice and expression lend themselves easily to different styles, but her fado voice is always present as a base and essential ingredient.

I am not Portuguese, but as many I have come to love fado in spite of that fact. I do not even understand the Portuguese language, but I do understand that the poems of fado are important. I have to rely on the fact that the fadistas understand what they are singing about, and that their understanding colours their expression. The expression is the way to my emotional understanding and appreciation of fado. What is said above about the fado expression should be interpreted from this fact. Carminho communicates strongly with my emotions.

The videos below show emotions of pain and joy, musical friendship and professionality. Carminho’s expression, musicality and slightly hoarse fado voice alongside with her beautiful companion musicians make her music irresistible.

More:

Bom Dia, Amor

A Bia Da Mouraria

Meu Amor Marinheiro

Disse-te Adeus

Escrevi Teu Nome no Vento

Lágrimas do Céu

Uma Vida Noutra Vida

Andorinha

Perdóname (Duet with Pablo Alborán)

Cais (Duet with Milton Nascimento)

Carolina (Duet with Chico Buarque)

Falando de Amor (Duet with Chico Buarque)

Chuva no Mar (Duet with Marisa Monte)

Saudades do Brasil em Portugal (Duet with Marisa Monte)

Dança da Solidão / Desilusão (Duet with Marisa Monte)

Carminho Canta Tom Jobim

Estrada do Sol (Duet with Marisa Monte)

A Felicidade

Wave

Sabiá

Triste

Aarhus July 18-20, 2017

The reason why I go to a specific festival is normally that an artist who is special to me will perform there. The first time we went to Molde Jazz Festival in Norway was because of Melody Gardot, who was new to Scandinavians by the time. The second time in Molde our main attraction was Kurt Elling. We went to Ystad Jazz Festival when Hiromi Uehara performed in Sweden for the first time, and to Stuttgart and Juan-les-Pins because of Diana Krall, etc. Once at the festival we of course enjoy some other musicians as well, but only a few.

The reason we decided to come to Aarhus Jazz Festival in Denmark this year was Lucy Woodward. I discovered Lucy on YouTube in February 2014 and I have told the story about this very personal, all-round and truly professional singer before at Musik.pm. It is also a story of how I unsuccessfully have tried to see her perform live several times. For the full story and some very nice music videos follow this link!

So when I learned that Lucy was coming to Aarhus, I wanted to give it a new try – and this time I was successful! My wife and I came to Aarhus on Tuesday 18 July, in good time to find our way around in Aarhus before Lucy’s concert the next day together with the TipToe Big Band, a band from Odense in Denmark. The collaboration is new, and I had not heard Lucy sing with a big jazz band before. Her collaboration with the funk-fusion band Snarky Puppy is not quite the same. But I thought that the dynamics of a big jazz band might suit Lucy´s temperament, expression and vocal resources very well.

And so it did! The concert was in my view a big success for the combination of the band and Lucy. I loved the forceful and swinging music they executed together. Although already being all round musicians they both probably added new dimensions to their usual expressions. If Lucy wants to carry on with this type of collaborations, the big bands can queue up.

The day we arrived in Aarhus we enjoyed another beautiful concert. We have listened a lot to Madeleine Peyroux at home, but this was the first time we saw her live. The experience was something quite different from a big band concert. Madeleine’s voice and guitar was accompanied only by another guitar and a bass – Jon Herington on electric guitar and Barak Mori on upright bass – and in a few songs also by the two musicians’ backing up vocals. The concert was beautiful and very low key. (However, Madeleine’s views on politics were not low-key.)

And then we experienced Lars Jansson Trio in a very enjoyable performance – Lars on piano, Peter Vuust on bass and Lars’ son Paul Svanberg on drums. The only problem with that concert was that it came to an end far too quickly. Not because the concert was short – it was standard format – rather it was so pleasant that you did not notice time. The music was beautiful in a relaxed way, and Lars Jansson is a fun person full of positive charisma and humour on stage.

So we visited three very different concerts, all three very enjoyable, and that was it. After all, we only stayed two days. I am sure most visitors stayed longer (or live in Aarhus), and enjoyed many more concerts. As music lovers we have different agendas, preferences, capacities and strategies.

If you go to a jazz festival you usually stay a couple of days or maybe a full week. This means that there has to be something more than music to enjoy, not least if you want to be selective in your attendance of concerts. Aarhus is indeed a very nice city to host a festival. Big enough to have lots of nice restaurants and pubs, good hotels, nice parks and shops – but small enough to give a feeling of nearness and intimacy. The venues are located close to the centre of the city, which means that you can cover most of them strolling around on a nice summer evening walk. During the festival week the festival colours the feeling of the city, but it does not dominate it. Ordinary city life and the festival co-exist in harmony and with a very nice balance. We fully enjoyed our days in Aarhus!

Found Lucy at last – at Aarhus Jazz Festival!

Image from Jazz to Jazz

I found Sant Andreu Jazz Band through a video on YouTube in September 2016. I have since then introduced the band on Musik.pm twice – last time after having experienced a lovely performance by Sant Andreu Jazz Band in Premià de Mar, a small town close to Barcelona. In these introductions I have linked to a number of YouTube videos with both constellations. But La Màgia de la Veu & Jazz Ensemble deserves a post of its own. This is it!

In the beginning I saw the constellation as a group of senior, but still young, band members from Sant Andreu Jazz Band (La Màgia de la Veu) playing together with the Joan Chamorro Quartet (Jazz Ensemble), but after having enjoyed the band for a while I acknowledge that they should be looked upon as one band – the band La Màgia de la Veu & Jazz Ensemble. You could not imagine the band without the young members from Sant Andreu Jazz Band or the experienced musician from the Joan Chamorro Quartet. They unite in their love of music and their joy of playing and singing together – for us to enjoy.

The way the young female members take turns as vocal front figures and backing up singers and instrumentalists is very nice – and impressive. They sing excellent and play several instruments. Since the four young man of the band are not featured as vocalists they do not get in the spot light as much as the girls, but they are of course qualified musicians and they are very important to the expression and energy of the band – like the experienced musicians from the Joan Chamorro Quartet are.

La Màgia de la Veu & Jazz Ensemble performed last night (July 7) in Premià de Mar, and of course I would very much have liked to be there. I am convinced that the lucky ones who managed to get tickets to the performance had a great night, just like I had with the Sant Andreu Jazz band in April 21. I compensate myself, and all others who were not there, by providing links to YouTube videos where the band perform all songs (but the last) from the beautiful album Joan Chamorro presents La Màgia de la Veu & Jazz Ensemble.

Members
Joan Chamorro double bass and leader, Andrea Motis sax, trumpet and vocals, Rita Payés trombone and vocals, Alba Armengou sax, trumpet and vocals, Alba Esteban vocals, saxes and clarinet, Elia Bastida vocals, violin and tenor sax, Abril Saurí vocals and trumpet, Joan Mar Sauqué trumpet and trombone, Joan Codina trombone, Joan Martí saxes and flute, Marçal Perramon clarinet and saxes, Josep Traver guitars, Ignasi Terraza piano, Esteve Pi drums

Read also my earlier posts about Sant Andreu Jazz Band:
Sant Andreu Jazz Band
Sant Andreu Jazz Band live

More:

Stardust

Baião de Quatro Toques

I Got Rhythm

Por Toda a Minha Vida

I Cried For You

Skylark

Triste

I Like To Hear It Sometimes

My Funny Valentine

Sister Sadie

Photo from sourtieOuest

Paris May 17, 2017

Walking into Chez Papa we see her sitting on a bar stool by the grand piano in a stunning red dress, enjoying the piano solo of the song. She pays attention to what happens in the place, and when we pass by she recognises me from Facebook and waves happily to us. And in between songs she later introduces us to the other guests in the restaurant. This is a kind of reception I am not used to, and I suspect few are!

Angie’s first album has received some very good reviews, and you can find some of them on Angie’s web site. Her alto voice and singing style is praised, and critics say that this is a very promising debut.

“This terrific debut release features an impressive range of styles on a mix of covers (some well-known, some less so) and original tunes. Wells’ voice is warm & pleasing.”

“She sings with expressive conviction.”

“She has her own unique sound and style.”

I cannot but agree. For me, I especially like the two original songs of the album – the ballad The Moon Is Swinging on a Line by Raphael Lemonnier, Mathis Haug and Angie Wells, and the blues She Ain’t the Kinda girl by Wells and Lemonnier. We have listened to the album a number of times at home, and now we are here to listen to Angie live for the first time – today together with the French pianist Philippe Duchemin, who during the night proves to be a very good match with Angie’s voice and expression.

Angie does not disappoint us. On the contrary, what is said in the reviews about her singing on the album does show even more at this live performance. And a live performance also lets her add pleasant small talk and a beautiful outfit to her singing. Angie takes it seriously to be an entertainer, with a platform in jazz. She is a lady who combines hard work with a happy flavour of glamour.

In the break between the two first sets Angie comes to our table to talk to us, but not only to us. During the two breaks during the night I believe she tries to cover every table in the place and she talks to almost everyone. She does not actually take a break herself from the beginning of the first set to the end of the third and last set. She performs or talks to people.

This little story tells a lot about Angie and her personality. She likes people. Of course you can say that making contacts and talking to people is part of her work, but every artist doesn’t see it like that. And you can see that socializing comes natural to Angie. In spite of the stunning dress, Angie is not a diva.

We have a nice meal and of course we stay through all three sets. Angie singing ballads, swing and blues accompanied by Philippe Duchemin is a real treat. In a year or two we might not be able to enjoy Angie’s music in this kind of small places any longer, so we are happy we were in time to do that. Before we leave the club for the night we decide with Angie to meet for coffee and a talk next morning.

And so we do. During a long coffee session we learn a lot about Angie. When I in the end of our conversation ask Angie what she particularly would like to see in the text I am going to write, she points out her varied background. She does not point out that she is outstanding in this or that – it is the varied background she wants to highlight.

And she really has a varied background. Angie comes from Philadelphia where she in high school took a major in science. In college she continued with science for two years, and then took a business degree. During college Angie was working as a corporate trainer, but shortly after graduation the company downsized and she lost her job.

Angie’s father had a barber shop, and maybe that is one reason why she is also interested in makeup. She went to cosmetology school and became a hairdresser, and worked as such in Philadelphia for some years. Eventually she moved to Los Angeles and attended a makeup school to become a professional makeup artist. Then she started to work as a makeup artist in Hollywood.

During this time Angie visited a friend in Paris (2006), and one night they went to Chez Papa. The friend told the people in the restaurant that Angie was an American jazz vocalist, and that she could sing with the band that played there that night. Well, Angie liked singing but she was not the established vocalist that her friend’s recommendation implied. But Angie was offered to sing a song, which became three songs, and her performance was appreciated. But that was that, and the next week she went home.

Well at home she wanted to give singing a chance and started to take singing lessons. Those were interrupted for a short while when she had her baby. When her son was six months old Angie made a demo with Bill Cunliffe on piano, Tom Warrington on base and Joe LaBarbera on drums – three established musicians. The songs were When Sunny Gets Blue, The Man I Love and Too Close for Comfort. She distributed the demo and clubs started to book her.

Cover image of Love and Mischief

And now we are at present time. Angie has released her first album on her own label, and she tours in France with French musicians. The appreciation she received at her unplanned debut at Chez Papa is spreading in France. So she comes here once in a while to sing. And she of course also sings at clubs in the US.

But she keeps her job in Hollywood as a makeup artist, and works as such six months a year. The job is a union job, gives pension, and in general provides good conditions. It also gives her the freedom to devote herself to music the rest of the year. But this combination is not only a way to raise the money needed to invest in her music career. Angie likes to combine tasks on both sides of show business – the performing side and the supporting side, and she likes her work as a make-up artist. This interest also shows in the way she profiles herself on stage and photos. (Have a look at the cover of Love and Mischief and other photos on her web site!)

It will be interesting to follow Angie in the years to come. If my prophecy will come true she might at one point have to reconsider her combination of careers. But if that happens I am sure that Angie with her drive and creativity will find a new interesting way to combine her interests. I will certainly follow what happens with great interest!

So far there are only a few videos with Angie Wells on YouTube, but you can listen to Love and Mischief on Spotify and other streaming services. Or you can, of course, buy the album.