Sara Serpa

MCMill, Milica Paranosic and Rubens Salles present:

New York, 17 April 2013
For immediate release:

“Magical Voice”, Portuguese Singer upcoming attraction at Brazil Project

Yes, she is Portuguese. No, not fado – but it could be. Sara Serpa is “the magical voice” according to pianist Ran Blake, who knows a thing or two about singers. Her unadorned, vibratoless delivery has been described as “smooth as glass” and her ability to sing complex vocalese lines on an equal footing with instrumentalists marks her as one of the most innovative singers of recent years. Praised by All About Jazz as “the freshest vocalist on the scene at the moment,” Serpa has risen from the Hot Clube Jazz of her native Lisbon to New York’s Village Vanguard in a surprisingly short time.
She is scheduled to share her magical singing as the next star attraction at Gallery MC, in New York, for the Brazil Project. On Friday, April 26, Sara delivers her perfect vocalese into Brazilian rhythms like choro and samba. The special appearance highlights her regular duo with André Matos on guitar. “Sara and I studied together at NEC. She is just fantastic”, says musical director Rubens Salles, who challenged the singer to be part of the project focused on Brazilian culture. Not that she is new to Brazilian music. Sara used to listen to Chico Buarque in her teens in Lisbon, and has already performed in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro – but she takes a New York stage for the first time to dedicate her incredible voice to Brazil.
Serpa first studied classical singing and piano at the Conservatory of Music in Lisbon. With a renewed focus on jazz and improvised music, Sara decided to come to the United States to study at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and later at the New England Conservatory, where she received her Master’s in jazz performance in 2008. After graduating from NEC, Serpa moved to New York City, where her unique style quickly brought her to the attention of many of the city’s best musicians. Among them were saxophonist Greg Osby. 2008 also saw the release of her debut American album, Praia (Inner Circle Music), which features compositions from her time in Boston. In 2010, Serpa again mined her Boston experiences for Camera Obscura, a duet album with her former NEC teacher, pianist Ran Blake. Serpa’s rapid advance to the forefront of new jazz singers has also included an appearance on her NEC professor Danilo Perez’s 2010 Grammy nominated Providencia (Mack Avenue Records). Since moving to the United States Serpa has performed with great musicians such as Danilo Perez, Ran Blake, Greg Osby, Ben Street, Thomas Morgan, Esperanza Spalding, among many others. She has also toured in Brazil, US, Europe and Australia.

“Sara Serpa is cool all over, from conception to execution. She’s got a style just about locked down.” New York Times
“She’s unique beyond words.” Boston Globe
About

The ‘Brazil Project’ at Gallery MC was launched early November 2012 focused on contemporary music and artists from or interested in Latin America’s largest country. The monthly series promotes innovative live performances.

Curator Rubens Salles is a Brazilian pianist, composer and arranger who has performed and recorded with internationally acclaimed artists like Zeca Baleiro, Omir Stockler and David Fiuczynski. Based in New York for the past five years, Rubens is a graduate of the New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music and FAAM (Brazil), and has recently released his latest album Liquid Gravity.

What: Brazil Project featuring Sara Serpa & André Matos
When: Friday, April 26 at 9pm (doors open at 8pm), tickets at $20
Where: Gallery MC, (212) 581-1966, www.gallerymc.org
Address: 549 West 52nd Street, 8th Floor – New York, NY (between 10th and 11th Avenue)
Contact: Rubens Salles (917) 302-0829 or rpeixinho@msn.com

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