"A voice as great as Patrick de Santos’ comes along only once in a lifetime.... The first time I heard this gifted singer in New York City, I was immediately impressed by his breathtaking artistry, stunned, actually, that such a formidable talent could arrive on the city’s music scene relatively unheralded."
"... a remarkable balance between disciplined technique and emotional abandon. His voice is an extraordinarily flexible instrument, ranging from velvety low tones to crystalline high notes and topped by a sparsely used astonishing siren-like falsetto."
-- Joel Siegel, Washington City Paper
A native of the Cape Verde Islands, West Africa, Patrick De Santos moved and was raised in France from the age of 6. He started playing the guitar as a teenager but later dedicated himself to his real love: singing. Mostly a self-taught vocalist, De Santos nevertheless attended a classical conservatory for two years. However, his desire to improvise and use the full range of his voice led him to a more personal and eclectic development and approach to singing. He has traveled extensively and has lived in France, Cuba, Senegal and the United States, gradually perfecting his craft from the sources of Jazz, Samba, Salsa, R&B and Bossa Nova, developing a very distinctive style, great stage presence and the ability to make a strong emotional impact. With a clear, resilient, 3½ octave range and fluency in 4 languages (French, Spanish, English and Portuguese), he is a cultural crossroads. In the year 2000, 2001 and 2005, Patrick De Santos won the Washington Area Music Award ( Wammies ) for best Latin vocalist.
De Santos weaves his many influences and styles creating a unique sound. His success has led to packed nightclubs and numerous requests for private performances and concerts to benefit causes to which he is committed such as the National Geographic’s concert to aid the victims of Hurricane Mitch and the One Song-One Causeconcert in support of world hunger and foodfirst.org. His musical expression exploits the endless variety of timbre and nuance and transcends the limitations of any particular style.
Hey Patrick, what's up man. Hope all is well. I went and learned a lot of Djavan's tunes after those gigs at V.U. =) Be fun to play again. Talk soon. Mike
