Argentine vocalist Sofia Koutsovitis' Group @ Ryles Jazz CLub, March 30!

Featuring: Sofia Koutsovitis, vocals
Dan Blake, soprano and tenor sax
Adam Schneit, alto sax/clarinet
Jason Palmer, trumpet
Leo Genovese, piano
Jorge Roeder, bass
Richie Barshay, drums
Jorge Perez Albela, percussion

“Sofia Koutsovitis is a remarkable singer. Her rich, warm alto is equally at home with quick latin rhythms and sensuous ballads. Her sound appeals right to your heart, but her witty and intelligent interpretations and compositions will win your mind. A unique and wonderful talent"--Dominique Eade

“ ... a wonderfully unique young singer"--Luciana Souza

“Sofia Koutsovitis is one of the most memorable performers I have ever encountered...As a songwriter she is superb and original"--Curtis Fuller

The music of the Sofia Koutsovitis Group is grounded in South American rhythms like chacarera and zamba from Argentina, Afro-Peruvian festejo and lando, and various Brazilian genres, which it unites with the harmonic and melodic innovations of jazz in a pan-stylistic tapestry of sound.

Singing in Spanish, Portuguese, or English, Sofia Koutsovitis' voice simultaneously employs stylistic codes drawn from multiple sources. This cross pollination of musical traditions is reflected in her original compositions and arrangements of selections by eminent musical poets such as Silvio Rodriguez, Astor Piazolla, Paulinho da Viola, and Raul Carnota.

The ensemble produces a range of textures as diverse as the cultural roots of its members, an international cast that includes some of the most exiting young talent from North and South America. Koutsovitis has appeared as a leader at Washington D.C.'s esteemed Kennedy Center, Boston's historic Jordan Hall, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and top-tier jazz clubs like the Regattabar and Ryles. In 2004 she took part in the international 'Betty Carter Jazz Ahead' institute, a program designed to promote emerging jazz composers. After her professional singing debut at age 9 in the Teatro Colon Children's Choir, Sofia later became a member of the internationally renowned National Youth Choir of Argentina, taking part of seven tours to South America, Europe and the USA. In her hometown of Buenos Aires, she worked with several ensembles that specialized in different time periods in Classical music, ranging from Renaissance to Contemporary music. Sofia has performed in some of the most distinguished halls of Argentina such as the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires Cathedral, Gran Rex Theatre and Recoleta Cultural Center. In 2001, she moved to Boston to pursue a Master's Degree in the Jazz Program at the New England Conservatory where she studied with jazz masters Danilo Perez, Dominique Eade, Charlie Banacos and Steve Lacy.

Peruvian bassist Jorge Roeder has worked in a variety of settings ranging from Classical, as assistant principal bassist of the Lima Philharmonic at age 21, to folkloric music and jazz (with jazz legend Roy Haynes, among others). Jorge Perez Albela, also hailing from Peru, has wide-ranging experience in jazz and folkloric traditions from his country, having worked with legendary vocalists Eva Ayllon, Tania Libertad and Fabiola De La Cuba. Young drumming phenomenon Richie Barshay has been a member of Herbie Hancock's group since 2003. Rounding out the rhythm section is Argentine pianist Leo Genovese, a Fresh Sound recording artist who tours Europe and South America regularly as part of several ensembles. The sounds of saxophonist Dan Blake, whom Dave Liebman has called “one of the most diverse and adventurous young players I have heard," sure-toned saxophonist and clarinetist Adam Schneit, and Jason Palmer (a current member of saxophonist Greg Osby's touring quintet) on trumpet, intermingle to create unexpected sonorities and flights of collective improvisation.

Ryles is located at:
212 Hampshire St., Inman Square
Cambridge, MA
617/876-9330
$10
www.rylesjazz.com