Main band members:
Marta Topferova - vocals, maracas, cuatro, guitar; Aaron Halva - tres & accordion; Roland Satterwhite - violin; Pedro Giraudo - bass & vocals; Neil Ochoa - percussion
// Other band members - past collaborators:
Jenny Scheinman - violin; Yulia Musayelyan - flute; Edmar Castaneda - harp; Chris Komer - French horn; Angus Martin - piano, accordion, guitar; Ben Monder - guitar; Steve Cardenas - guitar; Adam Cruz - drums & percussion; Ugonna Okegwo - bass; Aidan Carroll - bass; Chris Eddleton - drums; Franco Pinna - percussion; Nuno Antunes - clarinet; Erik Friedlander - cello; Lucia Pulido - vocals, cuatro
Etkilendikleri
My family & bohemian heritage + Celia Cruz & Johny Pacheco, Eliades Ochoa, Los Compadres, Guillermo Portabales, Atahualpa Yupanqui, Mercedes Sosa, Joao Gilberto, Antonio C. Jobim, Inti-Illimani, Camaron de la Isla, Paco de Lucia, Rafael de Utrera, Lucia Pulido, Juan Carlos Formell, Nereu Sao Jose, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Patti Smith, Tracy Chapman, Nick Drake, Miles, Federico Garcia Lorca, Pablo Neruda, Tennessee Williams, Ingmar Bergman, James Baldwin, D.H. Lawrence, Herman Hesse, James Hillman, New York City.........and many more.........
Marta started singing at age eight in her native Prague, Czech Republic with the Mládí choir. Upon moving to the US in 1987, she continued her vocal and music studies with The Seattle Girls' Choir. At an early age, she sang in many languages as well as a wide range of works by renowned composers. But Marta's first encounter with Latin American music goes back to when she was six years old, she remembers her favorite album being Inti-Illimani's songs from the Andes. Her parents, both actors, had gotten the record from a Chilean friend that had come to live in Czechoslovakia in the 1970's. Then around age fifteen, when she started developing as a soloist, exploring her own style and direction as a singer, she was again completely drawn to music from Spain, Cuba and South America. Continuing in her musical calling, she first majored in music and dance at Bard College from 1992 to 1993. Afterwards, she moved to Moron de la Frontera, Spain, to study privately and further develop as a musician. She took up playing the guitar, hand percussion and now most recently, her favorite accompanying instrument, the four-string cuatro.
After spending two years in Spain and back in the Czech Republic, she settled in New York City in 1996 and since then has been actively composing, arranging and performing her original songs as well as collaborating with other groups including Lucia Pulido and Fiesta De Tambores among others. Her love and dedication to Latin American music as well as the folklore of Czechoslovakia, makes her a unique artist who sings in and is fluent in both Czech and Spanish.
Marta has performed in many venues in New York City including Joe's Pub, The Blue Note, SOB’s, The United Nations and across the United States in venues such as Scullers in Boston, The Philadelphia Museum Of Art, Jazz Alley in Seattle and The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. She's participated in festivals such as The World Music Festival in Chicago, Tanglewood Jazz Festival and internationally at The Brighton Festival, London Jazz Festival, Vienna Jazz Festival, The New Morning in Paris, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Bim Huis in Amsterdam, Birdland in Vienna, Notorious Jazz Club in Buenos Aires, Centro Cultural De La Villa in Madrid and many other venues in Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic. She has also been featured on many television and radio programs in the US including BBC's "The World" and NPR's "Around Noon", in Spain (TV/Radio 3), Colombia (Radio W), Mexico (Fiestas Patrias), Argentina (Radio Palermo), France (ARTE TV) and the Czech Republic (Radio Proglas, Nova & Prima TV).
"Marta Topferova is a Czech singer whose heart is in Latin American music. She dips into styles from across the Caribbean and South America - Cuban son, Venezuelan joropo, Puerto Rican bomba - plays the cuatro and sings with an elegant longing in her voice.'' - New York Times
"a leading light in the nueva cancion movement of today" -BBC
Hiya Marta.. just dropping by to say hello, and listen once again to your beautiful music! Hope you're well and happy. Best wishes from the Emerald Isle.. Ro. :)
Hola Marta, saludos cordiales desde Berlín / Alemania. Con ilusión y curiosidad leo de tu nuevo "bebe discográfico".... Cuándo se puede escuchar algo.... hay que esperar hasta diciembre... ;-)...? Besos y cuídate, Katrin
Tu voz y tu música son gozo puro… y es un genial mestizaje lo que hay en tu pagina ! Como se complementan Praga, Morón de la Frontera y Buenos Aires !! Me gusta la letra de « Flor nocturna » y ese « Fin de fiesta » tan poético lleno de influencias bohemias, latinoamericanas etc. Si vienes a tocar a Suíza, avisa por favor…
HOLA!!! Saludos Musicales, Visita mi myspace y podras escuchar un pequeno adelanto de mi proximo trabajo discografico YAOUNDE HI!!!!! Musical Greeting, visit my myspace and you will be able to listen a small preview of my upcoming release YAOUNDE. Mucha Paz, amor y musica Much Peace, Love and Music
hey,
we just returned from the studio with tony momrelle (incognito).
here's a link to the "making of..."-video of our new song "give love a chance".
hope, you like it!
cheers
..
Online!
