Toshiko Akiyoshi is a Japanese-American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. A local record collector introduced her to jazz by playing a record of Teddy Wilson playing “Sweet Lorraine.” She immediately loved the sound and began to study jazz. In 1952, during a tour of Japan, pianist Oscar Peterson discovered her playing in a club […]
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Seattle, Washington. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple lineup changes. Since 2013, the lineup has consisted of Homme alongside Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, lap […]
Newen Afrobeat
Newen Afrobeat is an Afrobeat band that started in 2009 in Chile. Newen Afrobeat revisits Fela Kuti’s musical heritage. The word Newén means ‘strength’ in the Mapuche language. Their incendiary live show consists of 15 musicians, fronted by a powerful trio of female singers/songwriters, and oozes high energy. They bring their own unique musical vocabulary […]
The Amalgamation Choir
Τhe Amalgamation Choir was spawned from the workshop “The power of your voice” by Vasiliki Anastasiou, which took place at Fengaros Music Village 2014 and 2015. The all-female a cappella choir is based in Cyprus, and it’s directed by the remarkable Greek-Cypriot vocalist and composer Vasiliki Anastasiou. The independent 20+ member all-female community choir now […]
Swing Girls
Swing Girls is a Japanese 2004 teen comedy film directed and co-written by Shinobu Yaguchi. The plot follows a group of inept high school girls who form a big band. The cast includes Juri Ueno, Yuta Hiraoka, Shihori Kanjiya, Yuika Motokariya and Yukari Toyashima. The film ranked 8th at the Japanese box office in 2004, […]
Astrud Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto was a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer and songwriter. She was raised in Rio de Janeiro. Her father was a language professor, and she became fluent in several languages. She immigrated to the United States in 1963 and settled there permanently. Astrud sang on two tracks on the 1963 album Getz/Gilberto with […]
Edwin Starr
Charles Edwin Hatcher, known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. In 1957, Hatcher formed a doo-wop group, the Future Tones, and began his singing career. However after just one single, he was called up for military service in the United States Army for three years, where he was posted […]
Madeleine Peyroux
Madeleine Peyroux is an American jazz singer and songwriter who began her career as a teenager on the streets of Paris. A native of Athens, Georgia, Peyroux grew up in New York and California. In interviews, she has called her parents “hippies” and “eccentric educators” who helped her pursue a career in music. As a […]
Old Time Sailors
Old Time Sailors is a flashmob musical show designed to take the audience back in time through an unforgettable trip to the 19th century. Every member of the audience receives a copy of the Sunday Sailor, their own newspaper shaped program which includes the lyrics to all the songs and dance moves to the jigs […]
TOKYO GROOVE JYOSHI
TOKYO GROOVE JYOSHI is a female groove band formed in 2018 in Tokyo by three Japanese session musicians, Emi Kanazashi (keyboard and vocals), Juna Serita (bass and vocals) and Yuriko Seki (drums, chorus and composer). Their producer got opportunity to live in NY for eight years in 1980s and 2010s, and he went to around […]