Sara Serpa

Bio:

“She’s unique beyond words”- Boston Globe

“A bright young Portuguese singer”- New York Times

“ Serpa is a phenomen.” -All About Jazz

"Sara Serpa is the magical voice.(...) I admire her vocal control and her non-flamboyant stage presence." -Ran Blake

“She possesses a vocal flexibility and dexterity unlike any that I've witnessed in an alarmingly long time” -Greg Osby

" (...) Sara Serpa was a good surprise, presenting one of the best concerts at Festa do Jazz”- Jazz.pt

“ The promise”- Expresso

As a native of Lisbon, Portugal, vocalist and composer Sara Serpa has lived around music all her life. While in her teens she attended the Conservatory of Music in Lisbon, studying piano and singing, setting the basis of her musical vocabulary. When facing the challenge of choosing a career, Serpa entered a Psychology College, graduating in Social Work. Her musical desires remained alive during this period and soon she encountered jazz at Hot Clube Jazz School in Lisbon. Serpa’s aspirations of seeking more knowledge and challenges eventually brought her to Boston where she attended Berklee College of Music and later the New England Conservatory, where she received her Masters in Jazz Performance in 2008. Among her teachers were a very celebrated cast of luminaries such as Danilo Perez, Ran Blake, Dominique Eade, Theo Bleckmann, Hal Crook and Jerry Bergonzi.

From the time Serpa arrived to Boston, she has kept her yearning to learn and for developing her own voice as a composer and improviser. Serpa is a singer of a new generation who seeks out challenges in order to grow. Her ability to navigate through demanding, instrumental music and improvise over complex chord progressions is amazingly natural. As a composer Serpa has a unique approach to sound and emotional depth: she creates melodies that seem to tell everyone a different story and at the same time leave her own signature. The fact that she sings mostly wordless music, going beyond the traditional scat technique, is also part of her creative style. It is no mystery that her compositions and singing have established her prematurely as a pillar among many young jazz musicians.

Very recently Ms. Serpa became a new member of Greg Osby’s band, being the first native Portuguese musician to perform at the famous Village Vanguard in New York. Her recording participations include the latest Greg Osby’s album, “9 Levels”, released by Inner Circle Music, and also the guitarist André Matos “Rosa Shock” to be released by Tone of a Pitch. Serpa’s first album “Praia” is scheduled to be released in October 2008, by Inner Circle Music as well.

For the past years, Sara Serpa has shared stages with an expanding circle of musicians including Greg Osby, John Lockwood, André Matos, Demian Cabaud, Jesse Chandler, Ferenc Nemeth, Matt Pavolka, Pete Rende, Esperanza Spalding, Nick Falk, Peter Slavov, Aruan Ortiz, Leo Genovese, Albert Sanz, Masa Kamaguchi, RJ Miller, Vardan Ovsepian, Nelson Cascais, Bruno Pedroso, Andre Sousa Machado, and Andreia Pinto Correia.

Sara's ethereal voice has graced such spaces as The Village Vanguard, Cornelia St Cafe (New York), Panama Jazz Festival (Panama), Hot Clube de Portugal, Teatro S Luiz (Lisboa), Casa das Mudas (Madeira) Regatta Bar, Ryles Jazz Club, Berklee Performance Center, Jordan Hall (Boston),Kennedy Center (Washington DC)..



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Member Since:

February 28, 2005

Members:

NEW ALBUM "PRAIA": Sara Serpa (vocals), Andre Matos (guitar), Vardan Ovsepian (piano), John Lockwood (bass), Nick Falk (drums) & GREG OSBY (alto sax)


Greg Osby "9 LEVELS": Greg Osby (alto sax), Sara Serpa (vcls), Nir Felder (guitar), Adam Birnbaum (piano), Joe Lepore (bass), Hamir Atwal (drums)


Andre Matos "ROSA-SHOCK": Andre Matos (guitar), Sara Serpa (vcls), Albert Sanz (piano),Demian Cabaud (bass), Alex Frazao (drums)


Mike Pinto "PROLOGUE": Mike Pinto (vibes), Logan Richardson (sax), Sara Serpa (vcls), Chris Tordini (bass), Tommy Crane (drums)

MUSICIANS THAT HAVE BEEN PLAYING MY MUSIC INCLUDE: Masa Kamaguchi, Albert Sanz (p), Pete Rende (p), Joshua Davis (b), John Lockwood (b), Matt Pavolka (b), RJ Miller (d), Demian Cabaud (b), Nelson Cascais (b), Jesse Chandler (p/organ), Ana Araujo (p), Marcos Cavaleiro (b), Aryeh Kobrinsky

Record Label:

INNER CIRCLE MUSIC