Bianca Morales
Helsinki, Central Finland, Finland | Established. Jan 01, 1984 | SELF
Music
Press
En Goody-Goody konsert med
Bianca Morales & OBO Bigband
Konsert Wasa Teater 22 april 2007.
-Maria Holmstroem-
Hela artikeln om evenemanget finns också här:
http://www.tondiktarna.fi/Zenit2/bianca.htm
OBO Bigband är ett österbottniskt storband med musiker från Närpes i söder till Karleby i norr. De samlas för att öva i Oravais och många av medlemmarna har börjat sin karriär som blåsare i Oravais skolmusikkår. Under ledning av Alf Mylläri har de tagit steget ut till blues och jazzmusiken. Söndagen 22 april gästade de Wasa Teater tillsammans med blues/jazzsångerskan Bianca Morales. Det blev en konsert med klassiska kända låtar, från Billie Holidays "Willow weep for me" till "Sunny side" och förstås som bravurnummer "Summertime" där publiken fick klappa och sjunga med. Bianca Morales passade också på att påminna publiken om att hon även är konstnärlig ledare för Pori Jazz Kids där svenskan i år kommer att få särskilt utrymme och programpunkter med bl. a. Sås och Kopp på estraden.
Hon dök upp i strålkastarkäglan med skedar som rytminstrument. Vi är på "Swinging westcoast", inte sant? frågade hon publiken på Wasa Teater och fick strax de vinteryrvakna österbottningarna i bänkarna att sätta sig upp och börja se sig om med jazziga blickar.
Bianca Morales började sin karriär 1984 genom att som 18-åring vinna tävlingen "Spring Tune" i MTV med reaggae-låten "Our Party". Före det hade hon sjungit jazz med Grani Bigband i fyra år. Biancas musikaliska rötter är på Cuba och i Finland, hennes pappa Miquel Morales turnerade på 1950-talet som sångare och conga-musiker i Finland tillsammans med band som Perez Prado och Los Paraguayos. Hennes mamma är från Finland och det var hon som gav Bianca den "sisu" och självförtroende som behövdes att ge sig in i musikbranschen och i 25 år klara skivan som artist, berättas det på Biancas egen webbsida.
Tillsammans med OBO sjöng Bianca "It's only a paper moon", "Body and Soul", "Smile", "Over the rainbow" "Ain't misbehavin" och "Goody, Goody". Här ovan i duett med dirigenten Alf Mylläri.
Göran Backman, (från Oravais Musikskola) internationellt kände Mika Mylläri och Ravelski Lubomir (från Musikhuset i Jakobstad) blåser solon under konserten. Bland annat "Spring can really hang you up the most" är en låt som gav blåsarna tillfälle att verkligen visa bredden i registret.
"You rascal you.."refrängen till "Ain't misbehavin" och "Goody, goody" bet sig fast länge efter konserten speciellt som publiken fick pröva att svara på anropet i "Goody, Goody" och gjorde det med bravur sedan den första traditionella blygheten lagt sig. En verkligt goody-goody konsert med andra ord, tack vare en proffsig inhemsk artist som med lätthet lotsade bandet genom repertoaren med en stor portion öppenhet, glädje och optimism.
-Maria Holmström-
Hela artikel om evenemanget finns här:
http://www.tondiktarna.fi/Zenit2/bianca.htm - Webbtidningen Zenit (Utges av föreningen Tondiktarna r.f)
When in Rome CD
Feedback: Hello Bianca Morales I´m so glad I´ve discovered You and want to express my deepest respect and enjoyment for your work. This record is simply sophisticated, full of sheer beauty and already a jazz classic in my opinion. Wish you all the best and the power and luck for a great future. Sincerely Robert Lochmann (DJ Jazzmadass from Radio X in Frankfurt, Germany) - DJ Jazzmadass
A greeting from Autumn Erickson from Autumn Erickson, Santa Barbara, CA.
I just found your "Riding On My Vespa" on itunes this morning and have been playing it non-stop. I absolutely adore it. I am currently listening to others that you have done as well. Am really starting to adore them too. Thanks for sharing. Good Luck and God Bless. Autumn :)
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Hello from Virlouise Records
Hello brillient and beautiful,
I just love the cut "Where the Jazz Is Hot". Who sings like that?
Incredible. Peace, Bill at VIRLOUISE - Autumn Erickson and Bill at Virlouise Records
Il 1° e 2 agosto sono in calendario due serate al Villa Celimontana Jazz Festival, con inizio alle 22.30, della PORI JAZZ ALL STARS BAND CON BIANCA MORALES E TED CURSON, con Bianca Morales: voce, Ted Curson: tromba & voce, Evgeni Gimer: piano, Jyrki Kangas: basso, Reino Laine: batteria.
La band, suona jazz standard e composizioni originali, create nello spirito della più classica tradizione jazzistica,con uno sguardo rivolto ai modelli degli anni ‘50 e ‘60. La calda e vellutata voce di Bianca Morales è evocatrice di quei tempi ed aggiunge a ciò l'originalità di una sintesi tra il suo essere per metà afro cubana e per l'altro metà finlandese. Il momento clou della sua carriera è rappresentato dal debutto, nel 2007, del nuovo cd "When in Rome". Il disco è una lettera d’amore per Roma, con composizioni originali della stessa Morales e della coautrice Maria Parr. Alcuni pezzi sono composti dall’americano Larry Price e dal finlandese Klaus Roos. Gli arrangiamenti sono di Sven Nygård. La versione finlandese del secondo pezzo del CD , “Yleislakko” (“sciopero generale”), è stata finalista, con menzione, nella categoria jazz della International Songwriting Competition 2004 - Ambasciata di Finlandia, Roma
Suomijazzin arvio:
Bianca Moralesin tuorein levy on ainutlaatuinen
ja hieman erikoislaatuinenkin teema-albumi, jossa
vietetään aikaa ikuisessa kaupungissa jazz-
tunnelmissa. Jo kansi välittää matkailullista
näkökulmaa Roomaan, ja Maria Parrin sanoittamat
kappaleet vievät sekä jokaisen turistin tuntemiin
kohteisiin, että vähän erikoisempiinkin paikkoihin.
Käydään siis pitkin Via Venetoa, ja istuskellaan
Espanjalaisilla portailla. Ihan jokainen matkailija
ei kuitenkaan eksy jazzklubille…
Levyn pääsäveltäjä on Bianca itse, ja jälki on
lajissaan vakuuttavaa. Larry Price on laatinut 5
kappaletta, ja Klaus Roos yhden sävelmän.
Musiikki vaihtelee menevästä swingpohjaisesta
meiningistä balladityylittelyihin. Lattarisävyjäkin
löytyy mm. Casanovassa.
Bianca Moralesin yleensä läpikuultavan puhtoisessa
äänessä on ajoittain jännää savuista sävytystä.
Pehmeä, notkea laulutyyli tuottaa komeata jazz-
viihdettä esimerkiksi hitaassa Ilmalaivassa.
Tavallaan Morales päivittää tässä tyylikkäästi
Sinatran kulta-aikojen tekemisen tapaa, jossa
viihde ja jazz sulautuivat saumattomasti yhteen.
Sittemminhän viihdemusiikin valtavirrat ovat
kulkeneet jazzista ihan muihin maisemiin.
Morales on taustalleen ottanut UMO Jazz Orchestran
neljään kappaleeseen, muuten musiikista vastaa
kahdeksan miehen panosta vaihtelevasti hyödyntävä
Beem Jazz Combo. Levyn kapellimestari on Sven
Nygård. UMO soi komeasti, ja pienemmän kokoon-
panon kera syntynyt tulos on intiimiä, Biancan äänelle
hyvin sopivaa. Hyvä esimerkki on Via Veneto, jossa
Sven Nygårdin tenorisaksofoni ja Moralesin ääni
tukevat hienolla tavalla toisiaan, ovat kuin samasta
lähteestä.
Ensiluokkaisella miehistöllä on syntynyt miellyttävän-
kuuloista, hyvin tasapainoista ja pehmeätä melodista
musiikkia. Soolot on sijoitettu paikalleen laulujen
ehdoilla, ja kun solisteina on mm. sellaisia voimia kuin
Mikko Pettinen, Larry Price, Olli Ojajärvi, Tero Saarti,
Jari Nieminen ja Mikko-Ville Luolajan-Mikkola, homma
toimii takuuvarman tyylikkäästi. Bianca Moralesin
monia scat-sooloja ei tietenkään sovi unohtaa levyn
instrumenttien joukosta.
Levyn heikoin osa on sen kansivihko. Tämä erilainen
ja erikoinen projekti ei saa siinä tarpeellista taustoitusta.
Mutta ei hätää, ainakaan internetin käyttäjillä.
Kappaleiden sanoitukset ja evästykset niissä
käsiteltyihin Rooman paikkoihin tai ilmiöihin löytyvät n
imittäin Beem Recordsin www-sivuilta, osoitteesta
http://www.biancamorales.com/unelmaloma_lyrics.html.
Svengaavan swingin ja vanhan ajan jazzahtavan
viihdemusiikin ystäville oikein palkitseva levy.
Pentti Ronkanen 4.12.2003 - Suomijazz
http://www.contemporaryjazz.com/news/index.html
ContemporaryJazz.com
The International Songwriting Competition announced its winners for its 2004 annual competition. Called "the songwriting competition to take note of" by the New York Times, ISC received over 11,000 entries from 77 countries in its third year. ISC prizes include more than $100,000 in cash and merchandise and are shared by 50 winners in 16 categories. Winning First Place in the Jazz category is pianist Chip Crawford for his song "The Wrestler." A recepient of the North Carolina Jazz Composer's Fellowship award, Crawford has worked and performed with Donald Byrd, Jimmy Heath, Herbie Hancock, Slide Hampton, and more. Crawford currently teaches at Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and Shepard Magnet School. Jazz saxophonist Toon Roos from Woubrugge, won Second Place in the Jazz category for his song "Reach For The Rose." A Bird Award winner, he also garnered an Honorable Mention for his song "Vienna's Touch." Coming in Third Place is "Rapture" by Maurice Brown from New Orleans, LA. The Chicago Tribune describes Maurice as "a triple-threat artist, equally effective as virtuoso trumpeter, versatile composer and supremely confident bandleader. That a musician of Brown's young vintage could conceive a work as harmonically bold and structurally intricate as "Rapture," suggests that this talent runs deep."
Honorable Mentions in the Jazz category include:
"Dance For Osiris" Bobby Broom, Evanston, IL, USA
"When You Believe In Love" Juliet Kelly, London, England
"Stalker" David Weiss, New York, NY, USA
"Ways" Peter Sarik, Budapest, Hungary
"A Pesar De Todo" Andres Ramon Bolanos Perez, Las Palmas De G.C., Las Palmas Spain
"Yleislakko" Bianca Morales/Maria Parr, Helsinki, Finland
"Coexistence" Matt Shulman, Riverdale, NY, USA
"Hip Replacement" Pascal LeBoeuf, New York, NY, USA
"Silent Morning" Kerry Politzer, Forest Hills, NY, USA
"Culture Of A City" Ashby Anderson, Richmond, VA, USA
"Stop And Go" Matt Savage, Fancestown, NH, USA
"Waltz For Wayne" Edgar Van Asselt, Den Haag, Netherlands
"Vienna's Touch" Toon Roos, Woubrugge, Netherlands
"Coexistence" Matt Shulman, Riverdale, NY, USA
ISC is now accepting entries for 2005. Entry forms are available at www.songwritingcompetition.com
- Contemporary Jazz
2005 Results - USA Songwriting Competition
http://www.songwriting.net/winners.html
Top Ten of the LATIN Category
Lo Tienes Todo:
Henry Gainza
A?oro:
Armando L. Rosales Lo Mas Grande Que He Tenido:
Rodrigo Cuevas
Bandolera:
Patricia Vonne & Robert LaRoche Samba de Siempre:
Hiroya Tsukamoto
For Good (Is Such a Long Time):
Helle Hansen Saluaciones:
Jeffry Fischman
Via Veneto:
Bianca Morales & Maria Parr
Que se lleve el viento mi dolor: Walter Suhr/Mango Punch!
Ni?a:
Marcelo Trevi?o - USA Songwriting Competition
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Bianca Morales is a renown recording and performing jazz vocalist and composer. In recent years her international career has been in full swing. Audiences in concerts, festivals and clubs all over the world has welcomed her warm hearted. After releasing the English version of the Unelmaloma Roomassa-album called When in Rome, she has been invited to perform this original nostalgic jazz music in Italy: Rome, Pescara, Sicily and Sardinia, Russia: Moscow, Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Barnaul, Ufa and Perm, Turkey: Istanbul, Bulgaria: Bansko, Belarus: Minsk and Volkovysk, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and jazz clubs in Los Angeles. Most talented local Big Bands and Jazz Combos has been a great way to get to know fellow musicians in different cultures. Some videos from the trips to Siberia and Italy are posted in Youtube. Links to the videos on Biancas website http://www.biancamorales.com.
Bianca celebrated her 30 years in the music business 2014. Her professional career as a singer started in 1984 after winning the first Spring Tune Competition arranged by the Finnish nationwide MTV3 Channel. Bianca co-wrote the winning funky reggae tune Our Party as well as all songs on the album Our Party with Bianca Morales & FF (Fast Forward). The vinyl LP was released internationally and Bianca and the band toured successfully around Finland in two years. Beside the touring in the 1980s Bianca was a DJ, radio host and founded her own company Bianca Morales Productions Oy in 1989. In the 1990s started her career in the theatre. First plays were Laivalastillinen jazzia 70 years of Finnish jazz, Godspell and Kuvan laulu (songs inspired of paintings) following 20th Century Blues in honour of the Millenium at the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki. Biancas latest musical role was in Hairspray at Helsinki City Theatre in 2005-2006. Marc Shaiman with some key persons from New York attended the opening night in Helsinki.
Bianca has collaborated with American songwriters, lyricists and arrangers over 20 years. Singer, lyricist, screenwriter Judy Lamppu from Los Angeles, has written lyrics to two critically acclaimed albums, Ive Been Dreaminand When in Rome. Composer and musician Larry Price, USA/Finland, wrote five beautiful songs on the album When in Rome. To the same album Bianca co-wrote seven of the songs together with lyricist and composer Maria Parr. Jonathan David Neal, also from Los Angeles, wrote fantastic string arrangements for the albums nostalgic original jazz tunes. Four demos were recorded in Los Angeles with American string players and a harpist. All arrangements are available, for philharmonic orchestras and big bands who are interested in new fresh easy listening jazz concert repertoire. You can listen to Dream of Rome string demo right here on this site. The other songs here are from the original album. General Strike (Yleislakko in Finnish) reached the top ten and got a honourable mention in the International Songwriting Competitions Jazz category. Via Veneto reached the top ten in the American Songwriting Competition in Latin category.
Bianca has a big heart for childrens music. Collaboration with Lois Skiera-Zucek started in Los Angeles in 1993 and has been a great success. In the late 1990s YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Company) produced two series, altogether 24, music videos for kids titled Save The Animals, Save The Earth and Swinging Chef. Most of the songs are by Lois, but Bianca and Maria Parr (aka Merja Partanen) also wrote some of the songs. Each song features a different music style such as rap, cha-cha, salsa, samba, swing, reggae and bossanova. Bianca performs these popular songs in live concerts with children choirs, junior bands, Youth Orchestras with horns and strings and big bands both in Finland and abroad.
The International Pori Jazz Festival, est. 1966, has hosted an impressive list of greatest jazz and rhythm musicians during the past 51 years. In 2005 it started a groundbreaking project. In addition to the main festival, the Pori Jazz ry arranges a special music festival experience to kids and families. Bianca Morales was invited to create the concept of the Pori Jazz Kids Festival and also to produce the festival. She produced a total of 11 festivals during 2005-2015.
Visit the Pori Jazz website at http://www.porijazz.fi
Band Members
Links
