Preview: Maria Neckam at Pizza Express on May 12th

Vocalist Maria Neckam priviews her London debut at the Pizza Express on May 12th.

I am very excited for my upcoming London debut, on May 12 at Pizza Express. I will be singing the music from my latest album Deeper (Sunnyside Records), as well as some brand new material, with a group of amazingly talented, creative and experienced musicans: Aaron Parks on piano, Michael Janisch on bass and Colin Stranahan on drums.

This music is a reflection of my life in New York, where I’ve moved from Vienna via Amsterdam five years ago, and where I’ve had the pleasure of working with many of the most exciting musicians on the scene, such as Thomas Morgan, Aaron Goldberg, Jeff Ballard, Mike Moreno, Peter Eldridge, Jonathan Kreisberg, Mark Guiliana, The Mahavishnu Project and many more.

My European, classical roots intertwined with the pulse of my generation and touched by the powerful force of New York’s modern jazz are all expressed in these songs, each one a story on its own.

It has always been my goal to challenge boundaries and bridge gaps, therefore I strive to befriend the easy with the complicated, the deep and serious with a little lightness. Yes, we are young and crazy, and we love jazz, so we will see how far we can go on our instruments/voice, but we are first and foremost human, and this is what we’d like to express.

Aaron Parks is widely known for his 2008 release on Blue Note Records, Invisible Cinema, as well as his work with such greats of jazz as Terence Blanchard, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joshua Redman and many more.

Colin Stranahan began touring at the age of 15 with the likes of Bill Frisell and Ron Miles, since then has performed with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter as part of the prestigious Monk Institute and toured Europe and Asia with Kurt Rosenwinkel.

Michael Janisch has a record of wonderful achievements as well, including performances at Carnegy Hall and the Blue Note in New York, with such jazz legends as Shirley Horn, Quincy Jones, Dianne Reeves, just to name a few. He has also enhanced the British jazz scene tremendously since his move to London in 2005.

marianeckam.com


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