Sandy Cressman (Vocals)
Once in a while, an artist is born with an inexplicable connection to a culture is the case with Sandy Cressman. Born in New York City of American parents, but with a Brazilian heart, Cressman began her recording career with the highly acclaimed vocal trio Pastiche, with whom she recorded three CDs, "That’s R&Bebop(Pony/Canyon), "Remember That" (BluePrint) and “Pastiche”(Summit Records).
Sandy’s connection with Brazilian music was first sparked when she first heard the music of Ivan Lins while at U.C. Berkeley in the late 70’s. After transferring to San Jose State University in order to major in Vocal Jazz, Sandy began hearing the music of Flora Purim, Tania Maria and Djavan, and began to study Portuguese. From then on, her record collection filled with recordings of Lins and Djavan, as well as the work of Milton Nascimento, Dori Caymmi, Toninho Horta, Elis Regina, Gal Costa, Jobim and others.
In 1992, Sandy began a solo career while still a member of Pastiche, and in 1996 began performing as a duo with Brazilian master keyboardist Marcos Silva. Cressman and Silva developed an extensive repertoire, musical interplay and following in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1997, they expanded their group to a quintet, and in 1999, released “Homenagem Brasileira”, their critically acclaimed tribute to the great composers and performers of Brazilian Jazz. The followup CD, “Brasil-Sempre no Coração”, was released on August 1, 2005.
Homenagem Brasileira has since performed at important West Coast Jazz Festivals such as the Monterey Jazz Festival and the San Jose Jazz Festival, and Jazz at Filoli, as well as featured performances for radio stations KXJZ(Sacramento) and KCSM (San Francisco). Sandy recently brought the Homenagem Brasileira show to New York city for a performance at Living Room, Norah Jones’ old downtown haunt.
Sandy has lent her vocals to recordings by such diverse artists as Ray Obiedo (Windham Hill), Pete Escovedo(Concord Crossover) and Jai Uttal(Narada Records). Her love of languages and world music has led her to become a much-in-demand session vocalist for Latin and World Music artists. Sandy often performs with Rebeca Mauleon-Santana, Orquesta Candela, and Jai Uttal and the Pagan Love Orchestra.
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