CARMEN SOUZA - Take Five No: 64
Can you tell us about your new album and concert dates?
My new album is called Silver Messengers, and it’s a tribute to the great late pianist and composer Horace Silver, he was born and raised in the USA but his origins on his father’s side were Cape Verdean as well as mine. So, he is a big inspiration to me musically. Basically, what we did was bring his music to the Cape Verdean/Lusophone musical rhythms, where we mixed traditional rhythms from Cape Verde like ‘funana’ or Angolan Semba with his Hard Bop/Funk. We have a solid number of dates now, and more are coming for 2020, there is the 3rd of October in Madrid, we have Lisbon, London, Vienna, Milan, Rome, Germany, USA etc.
What other projects are you currently involved in?
There is a new great project that i am very happy to be part of and I feel very blessed every day when I walk in, which is a Creative Collective Lab called Sessions, www.thisissessions.com, and it’s a space for interaction and sharing music and several other art forms. This is a space where artists feel at home, to compose, record, rehearse etc, another great way for me to be on the other side of music, which is very interesting, producing, it is a great learning process, to be able to understand sound, we have vintage pre amps and microphones and these not only have a great history from the BBC times in 60's 70's, but they have great character and the way they capture sound differently is a great study work.
Several projects are lined up in the near future, which makes me very happy, because they are projects that give me chance to rediscover myself, as I assume different roles. I am working as we speak in Theo Pas'cal new album Quamundos, it’s an album that gives me great pleasure and honour to be part of, where we mix our Lusophone roots with jazz and other influences, my role in this project is playing piano, Rhodes and keyboards, so it’s a new perspective that I am very looking forward to. Theo Pascal has finished recording another new album called 'While I wait - Lisboa', that is more Avantgarde/ all improv album, where I assume the role of Spoken Word. The line-up is, Theo on Double Bass, Zoe Pascal on Drums, Lenny Sendersky on Saxophone, me on Spoken Word and it’s a multi-disciplinary project, so there are videos made especially for each song, and live we will present ourselves with an artist who paints and draws from improv in real time and his name is Valerio Giovannini.
My new album is called Silver Messengers, and it’s a tribute to the great late pianist and composer Horace Silver, he was born and raised in the USA but his origins on his father’s side were Cape Verdean as well as mine. So, he is a big inspiration to me musically. Basically, what we did was bring his music to the Cape Verdean/Lusophone musical rhythms, where we mixed traditional rhythms from Cape Verde like ‘funana’ or Angolan Semba with his Hard Bop/Funk. We have a solid number of dates now, and more are coming for 2020, there is the 3rd of October in Madrid, we have Lisbon, London, Vienna, Milan, Rome, Germany, USA etc.
What other projects are you currently involved in?
There is a new great project that i am very happy to be part of and I feel very blessed every day when I walk in, which is a Creative Collective Lab called Sessions, www.thisissessions.com, and it’s a space for interaction and sharing music and several other art forms. This is a space where artists feel at home, to compose, record, rehearse etc, another great way for me to be on the other side of music, which is very interesting, producing, it is a great learning process, to be able to understand sound, we have vintage pre amps and microphones and these not only have a great history from the BBC times in 60's 70's, but they have great character and the way they capture sound differently is a great study work.
Several projects are lined up in the near future, which makes me very happy, because they are projects that give me chance to rediscover myself, as I assume different roles. I am working as we speak in Theo Pas'cal new album Quamundos, it’s an album that gives me great pleasure and honour to be part of, where we mix our Lusophone roots with jazz and other influences, my role in this project is playing piano, Rhodes and keyboards, so it’s a new perspective that I am very looking forward to. Theo Pascal has finished recording another new album called 'While I wait - Lisboa', that is more Avantgarde/ all improv album, where I assume the role of Spoken Word. The line-up is, Theo on Double Bass, Zoe Pascal on Drums, Lenny Sendersky on Saxophone, me on Spoken Word and it’s a multi-disciplinary project, so there are videos made especially for each song, and live we will present ourselves with an artist who paints and draws from improv in real time and his name is Valerio Giovannini.
Click on the album cover to read our review
What are you currently listening to and what was the last CD or download you bought?
I don’t download albums, I am old fashioned, I like to have the physical work of art in my hand. Recently I have been listening to the music of the genius, Brazilian multi-instrumentalist and composer Hermeto Pascoal, he is fabulous what an inspiration.
What is your all-time favourite album and why?
There are several albums, that are my all time favourites, In and Out - Joe Henderson, Ella Fitzgerald - Get Happy , Bill Evans - New Jazz Conceptions, Weather Report - Heavy Weather, etc.
Who has caught your attention recently that we should be listening out for?
Recently I have been listening to the amazing young Jazz scene in London, there are amazing musicians in the London scene now, to name a few, drummer Zoe Pascal, trumpet player Ife Ogunjobi, pianist Deschanel Gordon, double bass player Freddie Jensen etc.
UK Dates:
13 Nov. Brighton - The Verdict; 15 Nov. Birmingham - Pizza Express club; 16 Nov. Maidstone - Pizza Express club; 17 Nov. London - Pizza Express club Soho - London Jazz Festival
I don’t download albums, I am old fashioned, I like to have the physical work of art in my hand. Recently I have been listening to the music of the genius, Brazilian multi-instrumentalist and composer Hermeto Pascoal, he is fabulous what an inspiration.
What is your all-time favourite album and why?
There are several albums, that are my all time favourites, In and Out - Joe Henderson, Ella Fitzgerald - Get Happy , Bill Evans - New Jazz Conceptions, Weather Report - Heavy Weather, etc.
Who has caught your attention recently that we should be listening out for?
Recently I have been listening to the amazing young Jazz scene in London, there are amazing musicians in the London scene now, to name a few, drummer Zoe Pascal, trumpet player Ife Ogunjobi, pianist Deschanel Gordon, double bass player Freddie Jensen etc.
UK Dates:
13 Nov. Brighton - The Verdict; 15 Nov. Birmingham - Pizza Express club; 16 Nov. Maidstone - Pizza Express club; 17 Nov. London - Pizza Express club Soho - London Jazz Festival
