"...McCarthy reinvents several all-time Jazz classics by scatting,
singing, and intoning over the free improvisations pouring assertively
from Sylvester's alto. McCarthy delivers with absolute clarity, adding
engrossing touches to the melody lines but primarily constructing
original versions of the tunes." Cadence Magazine for Creative and
Improvised Music, 2005
"...Nora McCarthy has a deep voice, with the timbre and range of
Sarah Vaughan....she uses ever-so-subtle pitch-bending and straight
tones and just a lovely touch of vibrato."
"...The duo of Nora McCarthy and Jorge Sylvester presents contrasting
contours stepping into and out of dissonance, with hints of tunes
weaving in and out, far more scat than lyric in the vocals, and
saxophone is fluid, giving energy, direction and depth." International
Society For Improvised Music, 2007
"...It's delightful to hear music that plays so freely with the known
and the unknown elements of jazz." All About Jazz Magazine, NY 2005
"...A superb, contemporary jazz duo that forges its own trail. You
can't sit back and say that she recalls this or that singer or that he
recalls this or that alto saxophonist. They're both soulful, dramatic
and highly original in their intimate recitals, which include
self-penned songs as well as several highly original interpretations.
"...Nora McCarthy sings with an emphatic delivery. She interprets
lyrics with fits of passion and relaxes casually with wordless
sprees."
"...Alto saxophonist Jorge Sylvester brings a character of virtuosity
to the session, conversing with his musical partner in an equal
balance of their two voices. There's closeness in their duo
performance that you don't find in some ensembles. "
"...Dreamy musical interplay mixed with fitful segments of dramatic
tension."
"...McCarthy uses her fluid delivery to jump effortlessly to the
highest and lowest regions of her vocal range, while Sylvester follows
her cues in empathy. McCarthy's Miles Mind" carries a significant
impression, as her voice recalls the frailty found in Davis' horn
through the years."
"...The two artists combine intuition with a love for their music and
it shows." Jim Santella for Jazz Improv, NYC, July, 2007
"...McCarthy and Sylvester show the utmost respect for the formal
elements of music while also possessing the daring to dissolve
borders, making A Small Dream In Red an aural adventure of the highest
order. "
"... McCarthy's voice stretches and soars and whether she's singing
straight ahead, scatting, or simply vocalizing, her voice rings true
and clear. Sylvester has a gorgeous tone and a sure touch, plus a
wonderful ability to weave in and out of melodies." All About Jazz,
2005
"...Sylvester coats the pathways McCarthy carves with freelanced and
fully open interpretations of the tunes, hitting high and low notes in
juxtaposition or in contrast with the vocals." Cadence Magazine for
Creative Improvised Music, 2005
Color, Sound, Form, Line, Perception, Space, Observation, Emotion, Passion, Story, Image, Spirit, All Art Forms, Experimentation,The Life Experience, and GOD.
Sounds Like
Nothing and Everything you've never and ever heard before.
Nora McCarthy and Jorge Sylvester, acknowledge a deep affinity to WassilyKandinsky--the artistic pioneer whose quintessential goal was to achieve the unique immediacy of music in abstract visual form. Incredibly, Nora and Jorge have achieved, in their duo performances, an innovative form of musical expression comparable in impact to Kandinsky's paintings, wherein each work reveals a self-contained world of content, form, improvisation, and--above all--balance."...Ramsey Ameen, former violinist with Cecil Taylor
A Small Dream In Red debuted September 10, 2001 at the Knitting Factory in New York. The group explores visual elements from a musical standpoint, in a totally free environment. The repertoire has expanded to include their original compositions, jazz deconstructions, a composition based on a sculpture of a NY artist, Steven Dono named Piano Jazz, and encompasses several interpretations of Kandinsky’s work namely: Composition VIII, Lyrical, Small Dream In Red and Yellow, Red, Blue combined with deconstructions of jazz standards and music drawn from many diverse sources that communicates via counterpoint and obtuse harmonics.
In 2005, A Small Dream In Red (Sundown), was released. Named after master painter Wassily Kandinsky's masterpiece, Kleiner en Rot (Small Dream In Red), this adventurous CD is a live recording of the voice and saxophone duo's 2003 concert at Cleveland State University's Drinko Hall and beautifully demonstrates the unique symbiosis between the two artists as well as Nora's virtuosity as a musician of the highest order and showcases her ability to "play with the known and the unknown elements of jazz." Florence Wetzel, All About Jazz New York.
McCarthy and Sylvester have written many compositions for this project individually and together interpreting some of Kandinsky’s paintings that deal with music and composition. They also perform their other original compositions as well as deconstructions of familiar standards like My Romance and Afro Blue and other choice songs that transcend categories and genres. “…McCarthy's interpretation of ‘My Romance’ is filled with new ideas that only use the original Rodgers & Hart melody as an occasional guidepost.” Cadence Magazine For Creative and Improvised Music, 2/05
HIGHLIGHTS:
In the Spring of 2007 A Small Dream In Red, performed a series of workshops and concerts in Podgorica, Montenegro to an enthusiastic audience filled-to-capacity concert hall as well as an appearance on the television show Good Morning Montenegro. This unique duo is said to be the only one of its kind in the world and McCarthy has been acclaimed by her fellow musicians and some critics as the greatest atonal singer in the world with her ability to maneuver with ease throughout all the keys, never losing sight of the tonal center in perfect pitch and with an impeccable sense of timing!
