I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the wonderful musicians with whom I had the grace to work: Alex Acuna, percussion; Ernie Adams, percussion; Baligashma Xylophone Group (Uganda); Sophie Barker, vocals; Charlie Bisharat, violin; Eliseo Borrero, bass; Jimmy Branly, cajon; Bridgman, drums; Catto, keyboard; Vinnie Colaiuta, drums; John Cruz, guitar and vocals; Puna Dawson, Hawaiian chant; Melissa Dittman, vocals; Steve Dubey, trumpet; Richard Fammerée, guitar; Steve Gibons, violin; Caroline Glass, accordion; Steve Hashimoto, bass; Jeff Hedberg, flugelhorn; Robert “Baabe” Irving III, piano, keyboards, programming, and choral arrangement; Dolly Kanekuni, vocals; Keyelitsha (S.Africa); Larry Klein, bass; Iki Levy, percussion; Isha Molinea Lewis, vocals; Bob Long, piano; Diane Madison, vocals; Pete McNeil, drums; Paula Miller, vocals; Mustapha Tettey Addy Drummers (Ghana); Omashar, keyboards; Adero Neely, vocals; Jose Prieto, vocals; Mike Rowe, keyboards; David Ricketts, drums, e-bow, keyboards, piano; Cameron Stone, cello; Strunz & Farah, acoustic guitars; David Tickle, keyboards, drums, bass, programming; Tracey Urchal, vocals; Dave Wilder, bass; Peter Woods, guitar.
Influences
Leonard Cohen, Laurie Anderson, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan
Your vote can make the difference!
In 2007, we won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest grand prize in the Electronica category for our song “The Bible Before.” The voting was done by their very select panel of judges. Now, the grand prize winners from the fall 2007 session and the spring 2008 session are competing for the “Lennon Award,” and the only votes that matter now are yours.
For each genre, the song that receives the highest number of votes will the LENNON AWARD WINNER for that category!
The first time you vote, you will have to do a brief email authentication (it takes less than a minute).
Each email address that is registered and goes through the process of authentication will be allowed to vote once a day for the duration of the contest. Voting is from Mar 19 th to April 26, with the winner being announced on May 1st.
Your continued votes can launch this album, and the whole genre of poetry and music, in serving the art of awakening. Winning this prestigious award will really help launch this album.
If you want to be a true benefactor, you could send out a request to all of your friends, family, and associates to vote also.
(If you haven’t already heard our winning song, "The Bible Before," you can hear it when you register to vote.)
Voting goes from March 19th to April 26th, during which period, you can help us by voting everyday!
As a thank you, when you return to our website each day to vote, you can download a new song every day for free as a gift for you support.
John Lennon Songwriting Competition 2007 Grand Prize Winner
John Lennon Songwriting Competition 2007 Grand Prize Winner!
The winners for Session I of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest for 2007 were just released. It turns out that my song, "The Bible Before," won the Grand Prize for the Electronic Music genre. This is very exciting, as you can probably imagine. Thanks to everyone for their support.
The Art of Awakening
poet performance artist songwriter dancer
storyteller visual artist healer author speaker
Riding the edge of the wave of our evolution, Risa Kaparo sees art as a practice to consciously extend presence into the unknown, deepening our felt connection with the infinite. Her multi-disciplinary art speaks that connection into being. Her work has been described as a poetry of soul-making, inviting a creative, compassionate, and empowering participation with all that is.
Risa Kaparo is an award-winning poet, performance artist and tango dancer who has been featured internationally. Embrace, her first collection, was published by Scarlet Tanager Books.
Risa’s debut album Feel of A Woman’s Tongue leads an emerging genre, which she refers to as Spoken World. It represents a deep intimate marriage of poetry and music, not unlike Shakespeare, whom we may never have heard of had he not married poetry to the most popular art form of his time, theatre.
Her album is informed by her work in archetypal psychology and healing. She is also the developer of Somatic Learning (sm) - a methodology of transformative learning and change based on a synthesis of psychological, somatic and meditative disciplines, studied by practitioners and therapists around the world. She has lectured and taught at seminars and institutes in The United States, Europe and Asia such as MIT, JFK University, the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), New College, and the Dalian Medical School in China.
This practice of deeper listening is evident in her upcoming album which reintroduces poetry as alchemy and the art of the awakening. The album is a convergence of her poetry, music, performance art, consciousness studies, and an extraordinary life. Each song is a poem of witness and an exploration of life’s unfolding mysteries. The poems weave a braid of history, personal narrative, and the archetypal realm of mythology and fairytale. Her work has been spoken of as a poetry of soul-making, expressing a deep connection to the infinite, to what sustains us, and awakens our participation with all that is.
Reviews
Risa Kaparo’s work is a magical musical arabesque into the depths of human experience. A combination of abstract art, gypsy soul, sensuous woman and sage, this work will transport you into raw surrender and sheer amazement. Courageous, outrageous, fluid and feminine, it is pure genius.
- Lennie Rose
Feel of a Woman’s Tongue is a CD that deliciously invites its audience to enter a space where beauty, sensuality, poetry, and world music are re-interrupted and redefined. It is an album where ancient Hawaiian chants, jazz, Eastern European Klezmer, and Latin rhythms are all seamlessly interwoven into a new fusion that is both intimate and danceable. Risa Kaparo manages to capture the real feel of a woman’s tongue. She sings, chants, speaks, and caresses the listener into a twenty first century vision of music where spirit and body meet.
- Gail Shafarman, Ph.D.
psychologist, author and poet
Risa Kaparo’s Feel of A Woman’s Tongue is luminescent, ground breaking and courageous. It speaks straight to the heart and creates an access to what matters most deeply. Simultaneously gentle, powerful and transformative, it is recommended for everyone. Don’t miss it.
- Kelly Fidei
Expect the unexpected with this album. Truly, you have never had the opportunity nor the experience that Risa Kaparo provides with her in-depth wisdom shared through her poetry and the unique creativity of combining that with song and instrumental magic. You are in for a treat that will stimulate your imagination, your sensitivity, your passion and compassion. Enjoy.
- Kay Snow-Davis
international author and inspirational speaker
Risa, Thank you for being a friend. We enjoyed listening to your music. Congrats, on the John Lennon Songwriting Competition. We are big fans of John Lennon.
Hope you have a chance to listen to our songs. Have a beautiful day. J&G
