The Squid's Ear Magazine

Mycale

Gomory: The Book Of Angels Volume 25

Mycale: Gomory: The Book Of Angels Volume 25 (Tzadik)

The 25th Book of Angels, performing Zorn's lyrical Masada compositions, is the 2nd B.O.A. release from the a cappella vocal quartet Mycale, using a variety of texts in Portuguese, Berber, Hebrew, French and Spanish to fashion lush harmonies and strong rhythmic drive.
 

Price: $13.95


Quantity:

Out of Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 2.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Ayelet Rose Gottlieb-vocals

Sofia Rei-vocals

Sara Serpa-vocals

Malika Zarra-vocals


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 702397833222

Label: Tzadik
Catalog ID: CD-TZA-8332
Squidco Product Code: 20861

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2015
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack
Recorded at Eastside Sound in New York City, New York in 2015 by Marc Urselli.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"One of the most beautiful of all Book of Angels ensembles, Mycale is an evocative a cappella vocal quartet featuring four of the most creative voices in New Music. In their second CD release they are tighter than ever and approach the Masada music with a sensitive ear, an open heart and a creative imagination. Using a variety of texts in Portuguese, Berber, Hebrew, French and Spanish, they fashion lush harmonies and strong rhythmic drive to bring Zorn's lyrical and elusive melodies to life like never before. A transcendent follow up to their debut recording, Gomory is truly Music of the Angels."-Tzadik


Artist Biographies

"Folklore and futurism, graceful elegance and raw passion, virtuosic precision and spontaneous exploration - all merge together in the music of award-winning vocalist, songwriter and producer Sofia Rei. Redefining authenticity from an intensely personal perspective, Rei has carried diverse Latin American traditions from her native Buenos Aires to the multi-cultural mecca of New York City, where she's fused those sounds with jazz, classical, pop, and electronic music influences to forge a singular and ever-evolving sound.

With a voice that's been hailed for its captivating beauty and versatility by such prestigious publications as the New York Times and DownBeat Magazine, Rei's talents fit comfortably into any number of genres. Her restless curiosity, however, makes her uncomfortable dwelling in any single category for very long. A self-described "frog from another pond," Rei's natural inclination is to leap, an instinct that has taken her on a circuitous route from early classical training and Argentinean folk music through the punk rock nightlife of Buenos Aires, into some of the most prestigious jazz venues in the U.S. and on to a wealth of festival stages around the world.

Along the way she's connected with like-minded innovators including John Zorn, Maria Schneider, Marc Ribot, Bobby McFerrin, Pedrito Martinez, John Medeski, Susana Baca, Guillermo Klein and countless others. Rei also continues to inspire a future generation of adventurous musicians through her educational efforts at such renowned institutions as New York University and Berklee College of Music. She's even shared a sip of mate, the traditional Argentinean tea, with a flirtatious Conan O'Brien from the window of her Greenwich Village apartment on an episode of his TBS talk show.

Rei's latest release, Keter (Tzadik), is a duo outing with frequent collaborator JC Maillard as part of John Zorn's Masada Book 3, the culmination of his 25-year Masada project. With Rei transforming her extraordinary voice through the use of electronics and Maillard playing the SazBass, a hybrid electroacoustic instrument combining elements of the Turkish saz, the Greek bouzouki and the electric guitar, the pairing finds echoes of the ancient in the urgency of the modern.

That tradition-spanning approach is central to Rei's artistic identity. In recent years she's increasingly incorporated looping and electronics into her performances, expanding the potential of the human voice into radical new territories. Her new project Umbral is a breathtakingly imaginative fusion of her broad spectrum of influences, devised during a soul-searching trek through Chile's stunning Elqui Valley. At the same time she continues to delve deeply into the folk musics of a number of South American countries, including Peru, Colombia, Venezuela and, naturally, Argentina. Discovering a profound connection between such musical traditions and the lifeblood of the cultures from which they spring, she's honed a fearless voice that remains deeply rooted while striving continually to stretch new branches into the unexplored.

Sofia started her professional career as a member of the Colon Theater Children's Choir at age 9. In high school she made her first leap, briefly rejecting the strictures of classical composition to bash out punk rock rhythms on a drumset in her parents' basement. She returned to formal training at Buenos Aires' National Conservatory of Music, intending to become an opera singer. While at the Conservatory, Rei found herself dividing her time between performing early music with Renaissance ensembles and premiering new works by contemporary composers - initiating a trend for straddling past and present that would mark her whole career. Her belated exposure to jazz led her to pursue the improvisatory music to Boston's New England Conservatory, where she formed relationships with many of the musicians who would become her closest collaborators, including bassist Jorge Roeder, pianist Leo Genovese, saxophonist Daniel Blake and percussionist Jorge Pérez-Albela. In 2005 Rei moved to New York City and embarked on enriching experiences with Bobby McFerrin and the Maria Schneider Orchestra.

Just as her music has sought inspiration from various corners of the globe, it has also allowed her to traverse the world to share it. Rei has toured Europe, North and South America singing at renowned international festivals and venues, from North America (Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, Lincoln Center and the Village Vanguard in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., SFJAZZ in the Bay Area, the Chicago World Music Festival and the Montreal International Jazz Festival), to Central and South America (International Jazz en Lima Festival and International Cajón Festival in Peru, Teatro Sucre in Ecuador, Mexico City's Teatro de la Ciudad, Teatro Jorge Eliecer Gaitán in Colombia, Uruguay's Lapataia Jazz and World Music Festival, World Music Panama and Teatro Colón in Argentina), to Europe (Wien Konzerthaus and Glatt Und Verkehrt in Austria, Cité de la Musique in Paris, the Barbican in London, the Netherlands' North Sea Jazz, Festival Grec in Spain, Teatro Manzoni in Italy, Tom de Festa in Portugal) and beyond (Israel's Beit Avi Chai, the Festival Iberoamericano de las Artes in Puerto Rico).

Having carved a unique pathway through a wide range of styles and traditions, Rei is also dedicated to guiding others not to follow, but to find their own ways forward. After teaching at both NEC and Berklee, she is now a Professor at New York University's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, where she's helping students navigate the confluence of contemporary music, technology and business. She's also helped bring innovative voices to new audiences as producer and co-founder of two events, Berklee's Latin America Vive Music Festival and the NYC South American Music Festival, and as founder of El Colectivo Sur, an arts collective that aims to increase public awareness of South American music throughout the world and bring together diverse communities."

-Sofia Rei Website (http://sofiamusic.com/about-2/)
3/25/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Natural from Lisboa, Sara Serpa is a singer, composer, improviser, that through her practice and performance, explores the use of the voice as an instrument. Recognized by her wordless singing, Serpa has been working in the field of jazz, improvised and experimental music, since moving to New York in 2008.

Described by JazzTimes magazine as "a master of wordless landscapes" and by the New York Times as "a singer of silvery poise and cosmopolitan outlook", Serpa started her career recording and performing with jazz luminaries such as alto-saxophonist Greg Osby, and Grammy-nominated pianist Danilo Perez.

Literature, film, visual arts, nature and history inspire Serpa in the creative process and development of her music. As a leader, she has produced and released seven albums, (with labels Sunnyside Records, Clean Feed, Tzadik and Inner Circle Music), the latest being a partnership with Portuguese guitarist André Matos, All The Dreams (2016), a successful follow-up to their debut Primavera (2014), which was noted by All About Jazz: "Their music is art at the point where minimalism and cangiante merge, resulting in an otherworldly sound that's utterly enthralling and completely unique."

Serpa's collaboration with her teacher/ mentor, Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow pianist Ran Blake resulted in three recorded albums, providing fertile ground for the singer to explore/ interpret the Great American Songbook along with Film-Noir: Camera Obscura (2010), Aurora (2012), Kitano Noir (2015), the latter described by PopMatters as "wonderfully hypnotic".

Sara Serpa is a member of Mycale, an international a-capella quartet commissioned by MacArthur Fellow and avant-garde composer John Zorn, whose newest release Gomory (2015) was praised by The New York Times as "astonishingly beautiful, a high point in the series; it sounds medieval and new at the same time."

With literature has a source of inspiration, Serpa released the album Mobile (2011), title that refers to themes of travel and movement, reflects her passion for reading. Inspired by authors from Homer to Melville to V.S Naipaul, and featuring André Matos, Kris Davis, Ben Street and Ted Poor, it was noted as "work of art in motion" by the Chicago Jazz Magazine and outlined by JazzMan Magazine (France): "Serpa's commitment to this special and difficult project works wonders - it would be difficult not surrender to it."

Serpa's accomplishments extend beyond the jazz world. Serpa has performed/ interpreted music of contemporary composers such as Andreia Pinto- Correia, Derek Bermel (with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Allan Miller), Aya Nishina (Flora (2014), Guillermo Klein and Joseph C. Phillips Jr. (Changing Same (2015).

A New England Conservatory Master of Music (MM) in Jazz Performance, and a graduate from ISPA (Portugal) in Social Work and Rehabilitation, the Portuguese singer completed her Piano and Classical Singing Studies at Lisbon National Conservatory. She later fell in love with Jazz and Improvisation through the Hot Clube de Portugal's school, while working on her research thesis about Refugee Women in Portugal. She relocated to the United States in 2005 to attend Berklee College of Music, followed by New England Conservatory.

Serpa was voted as "Musician of the Year" in 2010 by the newspaper O Público, one of the major daily publications in Portugal, and was the cover of the U.S magazine Jazziz in 2012. Serpa has been voted and included by the DownBeat Magazine Critics Poll in the "Rising Star Vocalist" list for three times: 2014, 2015 and 2016.

She has performed her own music in Europe, Australia, North and South America, singing at international festivals such as Festa do Jazz, the Panama Jazz Festival, Festival de Jazz de Montevideo, Wangaratta Jazz Festival, Adelaide Festival, or venues like Bimhuis, Casa da Música, Village Vanguard, Jazz Standard, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Kennedy Center for the Arts, among others.

Currently, Serpa leads City Fragments, an ensemble featuring three voices (Sofia Rei, Aubrey Johnson), cello (Erik Friedlander), guitar (Andre) and drums (Tyshawn Sorey), which allows her to deepen and expand her passion for vocal music. Serpa has been working on a composition/suite inspired by French philosopher/ feminist Luce Irigaray's writings, to be recorded in 2017."

-Sara Serpa Website (http://www.saraserpa.com/?page_id=1685)
3/25/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Huzia 4:48

2. Tzadkiel 3:29

3. Mumiah 3:46

4. Yofiel 4:20

5. Peliel 4:11

6. Achusaton 3:23

7. Qaddisin 4:54

8. Belial 2:32

9. Grial 3:23

10. Shahariel 4:58

11. Paschar 1:47

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Jazz
Unusual Vocal Forms
Zorn. John
Tzadik

Search for other titles on the label:
Tzadik.


Recommended & Related Releases:



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Prehn, Tom Quartet
Centrifuga & Solhverv
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Two early free jazz masterpieces from 1964 never released in their day, from Danish pianist Tom Prehn and his Kvartet with Poul Ehlers on bass, Fritz Krogh on tenor saxophone and featuring drummer Finn Slumstrup, the close mic recording bring their swinging and enthusiastic music to the foreground in an adventurous album that absolutely demands to be heard!
McPhee, Joe / Andre Jaume
Nuclear Family
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
In 1979 saxophonist/cornetist Joe McPhee met French reedist Andre Jaume in Paris to record this exceptional album of standards, drawing on works from Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Duke and Ellington, and Ornette Coleman; melodic, poignant, emotional and insightful jazz.
Laubrock, Ingrid / Tom Rainey
Buoyancy
(Relative Pitch)
Drawing on several years and many shared projects, the duo of Ingrid Laubrock (sax) and Tom Rainey (drums) recorded this excellent album of sophisticated improvisation at the end of a 17-date tour, performing for a studio audience at Audio for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin.
Evans, Peter / Tim Dahl / Mike Pride
Pulverize The Sound
(Relative Pitch)
The trio of trumpeter Peter Evans, electric bassist Tim Dahl, and drummer/percussionist Mike Pride have played together since 2010, crossing the boundaries of improvisation, composition and rock in dynamic genre-defying music intended to be played loud.
Threadgill, Henry & Zooid
In for a Penny, In for a Pound [2 CDs]
(Pi Recordings)
Henry Threadgill's new epic work in four movements written specifically to feature each of the musicians in Zooid: "Ceroepic" for Elliott Kavee (drums), "Dosepic" for Christopher Hoffman (cello), "Tresepic" for Jose Davila (trombone & tuba), and "Unoepic" for Liberty Ellman (guitar).
Roberts, Matana
Always
(Relative Pitch)
Two passionate studio improvisations from saxophonist Matana Roberts, who lovingly dedicates the album to "those bard(s) of summer...the ideas herein of which I gleaned/interrogated/investigated/celebrated with you..."; subtle, rich, and inspiring.
Sorey, Tyshawn Trio
Alloy
(Pi Recordings)
Drummer Tyshawn Sorey's trio with bassist Christopher Tordine and pianist Cory Smythe in an album dedicated to Butch Morris and to his mother; intelligent and pensively restrained through-composed jazz influenced by modern composition as much as the history of the jazz trio.
Fujiwara, Tomas Trio
Variable Bets
(Relative Pitch)
Merging different sub-genre of NYC's rich jazz and creative music scene, drummer Tomas Fujiwara's trio with Brandon Seabrook on guitar and Ralph Alessi on trumpet furtively builds into a free jazz album of contrasting dynamics and superb playing.
Morris, Joe Quartet
Balance
(Clean Feed)
Joe Morris reunites his NY quartet as their last configuration from 2000, with violist Mat Maneri, bassist Chris Lightcap, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and Morris on guitar, bringing us an update on the intently informed collective improvisation that defines this great- band.
Gottschalk, Gunda / Xu Fengxia
You Lan
(Les Disques Victo)
A duo of contrasts and compatabilities from German violinst Gunda Gottschalk and guzheng virtuoso Xu Fengxia, exotic and beautifully textured improvisation live from Victoriaville, 2008.
Braxton, Anthony
Trio (Victoriaville) 2007
(Les Disques Victo)
Braxton's Diamond Curtain Wall Trio with Mary Halvorson and Taylor Ho Bynum live using laptop and interactive electronics at the 24th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville.
Art Ensemble of Chicago
Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium [2 CDs]
(Pi Recordings)
Art Ensemble of Chicago
Sirius Calling
(Pi Recordings)
Parker, Evan Trio & Peter Brotzmann Trio
The Bishop's Move
(Les Disques Victo)
Art Ensemble of Chicago
The Meeting
(Pi Recordings)



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC