Emy Tseng

..."Emy Tseng has honed a beguiling sound steeped in jazz and the sensuous rhythms and melodies of Brazil. This impressive debut album is the work of a self-possessed artist with superlative taste, discernment reflected both in her unfailingly exquisite repertoire and her incisive interpretive skills. Exploring songs by Brazil’s most sophisticated composers, including Jobim, Toninho Horta, Caetano Veloso, Baden Powell, Ivan Lins, and rising star Chico Pinheiro, she puts a personal stamp on a treasure trove of tunes. Her Brazilian lens is equally effective on unexpected material, like a beautifully bossa-ized version of Freddie Hubbard’s jazz standard “Little Sunflower” and a wistfully flirtatious reading of Johnny Mercer and Jimmy Van Heusen’s standard “I Thought About You.” She puts her transformative powers to most startling use on a revelatory reinterpretation of the Mamas and the Papas pop classic “California Dreamin’,” a reharmonized arrangement informed more by a bone-deep ache of homesickness than saudade, the delicious sense of longing that defines much of her Brazilian material. She concludes the album with her most exposed piece, her pleasingly pillowy voice soft and insinuating on Bernice Petkere’s “Close Your Eyes,” accompanied only by David Jernigan’s lithe and agile bass.

You can tell a lot about Tseng by the company she keeps. One of the album’s highlights is a jazz-infused arrangement of Ivan Lins early hit “Se Dependesse de Mim” by pianist Marcos Silva, with whom Tseng studied at the Jazzschool in Berkeley. She already had a solid foundation in the Brazilian songbook when she moved back East, so it’s not surprising that DC’s vibrant Brazilian jazz community embraced her. Many of those world-class players are featured on the album, and she credits her collaborators with “pushed me to think of myself at a professional level and to do this album,” Tseng says. “A lot of these musicians have been mentors to me. It was a very old school apprenticeship, sitting in, gigging and learning on the bandstand, getting critiques and recordings to study.” The quality of her ad hoc academy is evident throughout the album, particularly in the consistently inspired arrangements, mostly by Russian guitarist/violinist Matvei Sigalov and bassist Leonardo Lucini, one of three remarkable Rio-born brothers who have energized DC's Brazilian music scene. It’s an environment in which Tseng has thrived, and this captivating project promises more extravagantly beautiful music to come." Andrew Gilbert contributes regularly to the San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, Seattle Times and JazzTimes. - Sonho Liner Notes

..."Emy Tseng has honed a beguiling sound steeped in jazz and the sensuous rhythms and melodies of Brazil. This impressive debut album is the work of a self-possessed artist with superlative taste, discernment reflected both in her unfailingly exquisite repertoire and her incisive interpretive skills. Exploring songs by Brazil’s most sophisticated composers, including Jobim, Toninho Horta, Caetano Veloso, Baden Powell, Ivan Lins, and rising star Chico Pinheiro, she puts a personal stamp on a treasure trove of tunes. Her Brazilian lens is equally effective on unexpected material, like a beautifully bossa-ized version of Freddie Hubbard’s jazz standard “Little Sunflower” and a wistfully flirtatious reading of Johnny Mercer and Jimmy Van Heusen’s standard “I Thought About You.” She puts her transformative powers to most startling use on a revelatory reinterpretation of the Mamas and the Papas pop classic “California Dreamin’,” a reharmonized arrangement informed more by a bone-deep ache of homesickness than saudade, the delicious sense of longing that defines much of her Brazilian material. She concludes the album with her most exposed piece, her pleasingly pillowy voice soft and insinuating on Bernice Petkere’s “Close Your Eyes,” accompanied only by David Jernigan’s lithe and agile bass.

You can tell a lot about Tseng by the company she keeps. One of the album’s highlights is a jazz-infused arrangement of Ivan Lins early hit “Se Dependesse de Mim” by pianist Marcos Silva, with whom Tseng studied at the Jazzschool in Berkeley. She already had a solid foundation in the Brazilian songbook when she moved back East, so it’s not surprising that DC’s vibrant Brazilian jazz community embraced her. Many of those world-class players are featured on the album, and she credits her collaborators with “pushed me to think of myself at a professional level and to do this album,” Tseng says. “A lot of these musicians have been mentors to me. It was a very old school apprenticeship, sitting in, gigging and learning on the bandstand, getting critiques and recordings to study.” The quality of her ad hoc academy is evident throughout the album, particularly in the consistently inspired arrangements, mostly by Russian guitarist/violinist Matvei Sigalov and bassist Leonardo Lucini, one of three remarkable Rio-born brothers who have energized DC's Brazilian music scene. It’s an environment in which Tseng has thrived, and this captivating project promises more extravagantly beautiful music to come." Andrew Gilbert contributes regularly to the San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, Seattle Times and JazzTimes. - Sonho Liner Notes

... "can stand shoulder to shoulder with any of her influences like Claudia Acuna or Luciana Souza--and she probably used those old Sergio Mendes albums as a jumping off point to get into Wanda deSuh, Gal Costa and others. First class nu Brazil vocals all the way with a backing crew of DC players that should have reputations spread out from the nation's capitol, where Tseng currently has a day job of bringing Internet to the under privileged. Give up the day job already!" - Midwest Record Blog

... "can stand shoulder to shoulder with any of her influences like Claudia Acuna or Luciana Souza--and she probably used those old Sergio Mendes albums as a jumping off point to get into Wanda deSuh, Gal Costa and others. First class nu Brazil vocals all the way with a backing crew of DC players that should have reputations spread out from the nation's capitol, where Tseng currently has a day job of bringing Internet to the under privileged. Give up the day job already!" - Midwest Record Blog

...On her debut album, Emy Tseng utilizes such excellent musicians as her frequent collaborator guitarist Matvei Sigalov, keyboardist Wayne Wilentz, Leonardo Lucini or David Jernigan on bass, drummer Alejandro Lucini, percussionists Bruno Lucini and Roberto Berimbau, and saxophonists Lyle Link and Andy Connell (who doubles on clarinet). Four songs feature the Brazilian guitarist Rogerio Souza who was visiting from Rio. The music ranges from traditional pieces with Souza, to modern Brazilian jazz with the main group, and a couple of jazz standards.

The CD opens with “Aquelas Coisas Todas” which at first has Emy’s wordless voice sounding a bit like a trombone. Wilentz’s fluent and swinging keyboards are well featured. “Deixa” and “Coracao Vagabundo” have Emy joyfully interacting with Connell’s clarinet while “Berimbau” and the delightful “Brigas Nunca Mais” feature Emy’s voice sharing the spotlight with Link’s soprano sax. “California Dreamin’,” a duet with Souza’s acoustic guitar, is taken at a slow ballad tempo and finds Emy fully embracing the melody, giving the wistful song a bit of homesickness. Freddie Hubbard’s classic “Little Sunflower” (which in Portuguese is “Helianthella”) is given a particularly haunting rendition. Of the other selections, “Se Dependesse de Mim” is thoughtful and melancholy, “Na Beira Do Rio” is a hypnotic bossa, “I Thought About You” gives Emy the opportunity to sing some straight ahead jazz, and the closing “Close Your Eyes” is a duet with bassist David Jernigan that perfectly wraps up the memorable program.

Emy Tseng’s singing, which is mostly in Portuguese, sounds very authentic throughout this CD. “I feel that the album really reflects my musical voice. It is our modern take on Brazilian music.” Emy is enthusiastic about the future. “I want to spend more time in Brazil, absorbing the music. So much of Brazilian music has the happy interwoven with the sad, with longing and wistfulness. I love performing this music, and take it seriously while having fun with it. Exploring these rhythms and harmonies is a lifelong journey.”

With the release of Sonho, Emy Tseng has taken her place in the music world as one of the most promising of the new Brazilian singers, and she is just getting started. - Biography

...On her debut album, Emy Tseng utilizes such excellent musicians as her frequent collaborator guitarist Matvei Sigalov, keyboardist Wayne Wilentz, Leonardo Lucini or David Jernigan on bass, drummer Alejandro Lucini, percussionists Bruno Lucini and Roberto Berimbau, and saxophonists Lyle Link and Andy Connell (who doubles on clarinet). Four songs feature the Brazilian guitarist Rogerio Souza who was visiting from Rio. The music ranges from traditional pieces with Souza, to modern Brazilian jazz with the main group, and a couple of jazz standards.

The CD opens with “Aquelas Coisas Todas” which at first has Emy’s wordless voice sounding a bit like a trombone. Wilentz’s fluent and swinging keyboards are well featured. “Deixa” and “Coracao Vagabundo” have Emy joyfully interacting with Connell’s clarinet while “Berimbau” and the delightful “Brigas Nunca Mais” feature Emy’s voice sharing the spotlight with Link’s soprano sax. “California Dreamin’,” a duet with Souza’s acoustic guitar, is taken at a slow ballad tempo and finds Emy fully embracing the melody, giving the wistful song a bit of homesickness. Freddie Hubbard’s classic “Little Sunflower” (which in Portuguese is “Helianthella”) is given a particularly haunting rendition. Of the other selections, “Se Dependesse de Mim” is thoughtful and melancholy, “Na Beira Do Rio” is a hypnotic bossa, “I Thought About You” gives Emy the opportunity to sing some straight ahead jazz, and the closing “Close Your Eyes” is a duet with bassist David Jernigan that perfectly wraps up the memorable program.

Emy Tseng’s singing, which is mostly in Portuguese, sounds very authentic throughout this CD. “I feel that the album really reflects my musical voice. It is our modern take on Brazilian music.” Emy is enthusiastic about the future. “I want to spend more time in Brazil, absorbing the music. So much of Brazilian music has the happy interwoven with the sad, with longing and wistfulness. I love performing this music, and take it seriously while having fun with it. Exploring these rhythms and harmonies is a lifelong journey.”

With the release of Sonho, Emy Tseng has taken her place in the music world as one of the most promising of the new Brazilian singers, and she is just getting started. - Biography