AVAILABLE NOW:
Bolivian Vocalist Gian-Carla Tisera
Showcases Operatic Roots and Creates Latin American Folklore and Jazz Inspired Album, Nora la Bella
Album Release Celebration
Tomorrow Night at Joe's Pub - 7:30 PM
(see performance lineup below)
"... edgy and brilliant. Its energy is turbulent and visceral, and beautiful. ...With
this recording, Ms. Tisera's career may be going places where she never
dreamt it would go. And she will be adored as well." - Latin Jazz Network
Any
true fusion in music represents a delicate negotiation. It requires
both respect for the different genres in play, their traditions and
codes and a 'why not?' attitude. Cutting-and-pasting is one thing,
translating the approach, technique and sensibility of one tradition to
another demands a special talent and commitment.
On Nora La Bella, her debut recording, New York-based Bolivian soprano Gian-Carla Tisera
makes bold, daring crossings between opera, jazz and Latin American
folk music, art song and political song, experimentation and roots
music.
Throughout
the recording, she sings in English, Spanish, Italian and Quechua.
Co-produced by Tisera and Grammy-nominated Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca, Nora La Bella
includes original songs, provocative versions of two works from the
classical vocal repertoire and several pieces from the Latin American
songbook, including a couple from the socially committed Nueva Canción.
But this is not a lab project. Rather, it's an expression of her experience and her personal search.
"I
had this idea for a new kind of opera, something different, accessible
and fresh," says Tisera. "I love opera and that's my training, and while
I am not a jazz singer or a traditional folk singer, both genres have
been an integral part of my life and my musical experience. And I also
thought: how can I express my immigrant experience? How can I speak of
my perspective as a Bolivian woman, as an American woman looking back at
my country from a distance? All of that came into play when working on Nora La Bella."
Accompanied by a quartet featuring Villafranca at the piano and guest artists such as trumpeter Diego Urcola and five-time Grammy Award-winning bassist John Benitez, Tisera's music includes nods to Bolivian folklore, opera and Latin jazz.
Tisera will celebrate the release of Nora la Bella tomorrow night (Thursday, August 21) at Joe's Pub in New York at 7:30 PM. Accompanying the vocalist for the performance are pianist Elio Villafranca, bassist Carlos Mena, drummer Franco Pinna and percussionist Paulo Stagnaro. The performance will also feature guest trumpeter Manuel Jr. Romero.
About Gian-Carla Tisera:
Born
to a Bolivian mother and Italo-Argentine father, Tisera was raised in
Cochabamba, a city surrounded by mountains located in the center of
Bolivia. She studied at the Instituto Eduardo Laredo, in Cochabamba, and
later moved to Los Angeles, CA, where she completed her Masters Degree
in Opera Performance at the University of Southern California.
She
worked in the United States and Bolivia, performing with the Los
Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia and the
Pasadena Symphony, among others, and for five years she toured with the
Bolivian Baroque Project, performing 17th century music found in the
Jesuit missions of the Bolivian jungle - a project that showcased her
voice on the world's greatest concert halls. But once in New York,
Tisera also started collaborating with visual artists and dipping her
toes in the murky waters of jam sessions.
For those who
see her approach as avant-garde, Tisera says she is "pushing the
vanguard but to bring audiences to experience the greatness of opera as
it relates to modern themes of love, politics and culture. I long to
present opera not like an old, precious form but instead, as a vibrant,
contemporary style that speaks to our concerns now. That's why there are
operatic moments in Nora La Bella - but they might include
improvisation, or the musical treatment might include Bolivian or
Afro-Latin rhythms, and elements of Rock or Spoken Word. I remember
during the recording we were listening to the second take of 'Ernesto in
the Tomb,' with its Afro-Cuban groove and my operatic voice soaring
above the music. The musicians heard it and said 'Wow, it works!' and I
had to laugh. 'Yes guys, of course it works'."
Gian-Carla Tisera - "Senora Chichera" - Official Music Video
Upcoming New York City Performances:
August 21 @ Joe's Pub - 7:30 PM
(w/ Elio Villafranca, piano; Carlos Mena, bass; Franco Pinna, drums;
Paulo Stagnaro, percussion; w/ guest trumpeter Manuel Jr. Romero)
September 30 @ Americas Society - 7:00 PM
featuring Bolivian Folklore Dancers
(w/ Elio Villafranca, piano; Carlos Mena, bass;
Franco Pinna, drums; Reinaldo de Jesus, percussion)
Gian-Carla Tisera · Nora la Bella
Release Date: August 19, 2014
For more information on Gian-Carla Tisera, please visit: giancarlatisera.com
For media information, please contact:
DL Media · 610-667-0501
Amy Miller · amy@dlmediamusic.com
Don Lucoff · don@dlmediamusic.com
Information and press materials (including album covers, promotional photos
and bios) on all DL Media artists can be found at our website: dlmediamusic.com
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