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Lyambiko |
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 In April 2001 Lyambiko gave their first concert, in the Berlin jazz club Atalante, billing themselves as ‘the new school of cool’. Now, some 300 concerts later, Lyambiko has brought out their third CD, titled simply after the name of the singer (mother from Thuringia, African father from Tanzania) and the group. From the beginning the listeners were captivated by Lyambiko’s voice and performance. The group touched many jazz lovers, so much so that their first 2 CDs (Out of this Mood, 2001, and Shades of Delight, 2003) placed in the top 10 of the German jazz charts (Shades of Delight rose to 2nd spot , only behind the unstoppable Norah Jones). Lyambiko has been casting her spell internationally as well --- in Austria, Switzerland, France, The Czech Republic, Poland, as well as the USA, mainly in New York City, Miami, and Boston. After their Regattabar concert the Boston Globe wrote : ‘Lyambiko is the most promising vocalist jazz has seen in a long, long time …(she) is the reason the crowds will come. |
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She conveys the naked drama of Billie Holiday, the breathy sexiness of Julie London, and the mustard of Nina Simone… She does amazing things with her voice, which possesses vulnerability and attitude at once. Depending upon her phrasing and intonation, she can sound like three different singers in a matter of bars.’ And the Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote : ‘She comes very close to the vocal jazz goddesses’.
You can’t overhear Lyambiko’s influences : Sarah Vaughan, Billie, Ella, Nina Simone. The way she controls her voice, from plush velvet to broken glass, the way she gives known jazz standards her own charm and vitality is astounding.
Luckily Lyambiko and Sony found each other, and the new CD has been brought out by Sony Classical. Lyambiko has 14 titles invoking many styles of classic jazz ---‘Summer Samba’ with its’ Brazilian flair, ‘April in Paris’ with its’ intimate bar feeling, the hot, swinging ‘Love Me or Leave Me’, as well as originals from the pens of Draganic and Lowenthal.
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 on the CD with vocalist Lyambiko are three distinguished jazz musicians --- Marque Lowenthal (piano and keys), Robin Draganic (bass), and Torsten Zwingenberger (drums and small percussion), as well as their fabulous guests on a few titles : Giorgio Crobu (acoustic and electric guitars) and Helmar Marczinski (tenor saxophone). |
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