Dear Music Lovers,
I am writing you from Denmark where I am playing with François this weekend at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival (July 7 & 8 @ 8pm, tickets here). I have strong memories of jazz in Copenhagen from a high school trip; my friends and I went to a concert at the historic Copenhagen Jazz House, and I discovered, in a charming shop, three albums that would become foundational for me as a musician: Stan Getz & João Gilberto’s “Getz/Gilberto”, an Art Tatum solo piano record, and Billie Holiday’s “Lady in Autumn”.
Next I will travel back to one of my favorite places on earth—São Vicente, Cape Verde (Portuguese-speaking islands off the coast of Sénégal)—on a Jerome Foundation Travel Grant to continue my research on traditional Cape Verdean music, and embark upon a new project about music, migration, and diaspora in the Lusophone world, specifically, Portuguese-speaking Africa and India. While there, I will have the honor of playing two concerts with the master guitarist Rufino Almeida a.k.a. “Bau,” who for many years served as musical director for my hero Cesária Évora. Here is a live video of us playing “Amor di Mundo” by Teofilo Chantre.
We play on July 14 at the Kavala Fresk Festival, and July 27 at the Centro Nacional de Artesenato e Design (CNAD).
Before returning home, I will stop in Lisbon on August 4 for a house concert with Brazilian guitarist/singer Pierre Aderne (for more details, email amanda@kavitashahmusic.com).
And back in New York, I will go in the studio to record the large ensemble music of my dear friend and amazing composer Miho Hazama for the third studio recording of her band “M-Unit.”
Lastly, thank you for the many emails, calls, texts, and warm messages last month around our nomination for the Victoires de la Musique! François and I are very happy indeed and have been really touched by all the support 🙂
Wishing you a wonderful summer wherever you are in the globe.
Musically yours,
Kavita