So many! Anyone who puts heart into what they do.. if I'm moved by it, I like it... But mainly? Carmen McCrae, Ella, Billie, Chet Baker, Lizz Wright, Peter Eldridge, friends... the list could go on but those are the tops...
The sounds of Luciano Pavarotti, Sade, Fela Kuti, Ella Fitzgerald,
Diana Ross, Patti LaBelle, Barbara Streisand, Marvin Gaye and Aretha
Franklin tickled the earbuds of Ayo Awosika as she grew up in Northern
Virginia outside the Washington D.C. area. It was obvious that at the
tender age of 14 the music seed had been firmly planted in the
right-side of her brain and that a music career was the only one she
could choose to passionately pursue.
"Music has been a way for me to figure out what I'm feeling or what I
want to say when my words aren't good enough… "
The classically trained vocalist has transferred her aptitude for
opera and art song to the world of jazz and beyond. Ayo brings new life and
interpretation to jazz standards heard many times over. She has aimed
to be a musician with substance, ability and originality. Ayo's influences
include her surroundings and observations. She's an artist who has
something to say, and with a heritage rooted in West Africa, and
recent travels that reach Japan, Germany, England and France, she's
been tweaking her style; mixing a love for the complexity and depth of
jazz and soul with the honesty and familiarity of folk and roots
music, working to find the place where these worlds meet.
"Playing music is like having a conversation..in my opinion the best
way to convey emotion of any kind."
She has soaked in the jazz history of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday,
and Carmen McCrae, absorbed the songwriting knowledge of Joni Mitchell
and Lizz Wright and carved a niche for herself as a vocalist with
prowess beyond her years.
Welcome to the ever evolving world of Ayo… enjoy…
For booking or otherwise, please send an email to: booking@ayoawosika.com
Ciao,Ayo Thank you for the add and the friendship. you are very good, I like your stupendous music a lot, and stupendous voice. compliments ..really. you are one of my prefeitis, I feel great admiration for you, talk to you soon, and all of my best wishes to always listen to your good music. all the best.. from italy..and good week end neal
everything is going really well!!!!! just exhausted. I don't know how to relax. actually im really good at it once i do it but yeah... how are you?! where in colorado are you? can i come visit?
YOU sound wonderful! I cannot believe I don't have your CD yet!!! Maybe we can do a swap when mine's done. :) Just been busy recording in Nashville, substitute teaching and getting pretty involved in my new church family. :) Life's been great. We just recorded lead vocals last week.
Alright your turn! What's new? SO great to hear from you!!!
Thank you for being our friend and listening to our music!<br /><br />Be sure to check back often for our latest news, songs, and tour dates!<br /><br />~Tripping Lily
