Sephardic Music

Last week I went to see Yosvany Terry perform with his group at La Pena Cultural Center. He was given a grant to develop music of the Arará tradition and it was an amazing concert. Pedro Martinez, along with Yosvany and all the other very talented musicians on stage, tore it up. Pedro is an incredibly talented percussionist as well as dynamic singer and he had the crowd going wild. The music had the crowd going wild. It was interesting to hear Yosvany talk about his research, following tradition, asking Sandy Perez for guidance and then creating jazz music over the rhythms of the Arará music. Needless to say it was very inspiring to hear as I am developing Sephardic music. As I research it more and more and learn more about the traditions of the many cultures that made up the Sephardic world, I am inspired to continue its development. But I am also inspired to put my own stamp on the music. For awhile I felt that I was tied to the tradition of the music and that I shouldn't stray far from what has already been established. But I now realize that is all wrong. I can almost guarantee that anyone approaching this music does so with their own flavor. And so why not me as well? :) I am a world jazz vocalist, interested in many different world rhythms and this music definitely lends itself to a world music sound. It has been influenced by many different countries all over the world and my goal is to show that in the repertoire of songs we are developing.

As of this writing there are now 3 Sephardic concerts that have been booked and confirmed. One at the De Young Museum on Oct. 5th, one at La Pena Cultural Center on the first night of Hanukah, Dec. 21, which also happens to be the Winter Solstice! and one at the Yerba Buena Gardens in May of 2009. These are all very high profile and prestigious concerts and I am thrilled to be able to bring this music to such varied audiences. I am still trying to book more concerts around the time of Hanukah and hope that we can perform this music throughout the Bay Area, but for now I am very content with what we have accomplished so far. I am also excited about the arrangements that are being developed and can't wait to add the music to my ever-growing repertoire of songs.

Next Wednesday, July 30, I perform with the Reno Jazz Orchestra along with Wayne Wallace, Orlando Torriente, Javier Navarrete and Carlos Caro. It should be a blast singing with a big orchestra like that. I've been diligently learning new songs for this gig and hope I don't forget the lyrics when I perform them!