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Karen Souza

Although Karen Souza’s voice seems to be made for Jazz, her career began under different pseudonyms, writing songs and providing vocals to several electronic music producers, which made her part of many House hits, included in numerous records as prestigious as Pacha Ibiza, FTV (Fashion TV), Paris Dernier, Hotel Costes and Privé, among others.

Karen started flirting with Jazz when she was invited to participate in the first album of the Jazz & 80's series. Back then, no one could imagine how successful these series would become overnight. Her producer saw in Karen the ideal voice for this project. They worked together enthusiastically, making Karen Souza and her unique voice the core of each album in these series. This granted Karen an active participation in these bestselling and successful albums. She went on to record vocals continously for the series Jazz & 70's, Jazz & 80's and Jazz and 90´s, which bring together great pop songs from all these eras in a jazz/bossa/blues format. To the surprise of the entertainment business, these albums have earned an amazing fan base in many countries and within different age groups, which resulted in almost every record label trying to recreate the concept. Essentials, her first album, compiles Karen’s best renditions from the albums previously mentioned. It was released in march 2011, and it immediately became a sales success, to the point it was tagged as “New and Noteworthy” on iTunes.

By the middle of 2011, Karen and a classic jazz trio, began to perform all around the world. That gave the audience the chance to meet her in person. With Music Brokers, her record label, they thought it was the right time to produce new material. As a result, she went to Los Angeles to work with some of the world’s greatest songwriters, such as Pamela Phillips Oland (pamoland.com), a multiple Grammy nominee lyricist who has worked with artists as important as Whitney Houston, Earth, Wind & Fire and Aretha Franklin, among others.

In 2012, Karen Souza released Hotel Souza, an album that brings Karen back to the composition sessions, but this time her new record was produced by Joel McNeely, famous for his work with Tony Bennet and Peggy Lee. The album was a total surprice given its originality and beauty. About this album, Karen said “it’s been a pleasure working with Joel, this record represents that magical time”. Shortly after its release, HOTEL SOUZA reached the first positions in the Top 10 of the most popular record stores in Latin America, staying for months. It also reached the #10 position in the Top Jazz Albums in the US.

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Album Review

Karen Souza: Hotel Souza

Read "Hotel Souza" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


There is a 19th Century short story by author Frank Stockton entitled, The Lady, or the Tiger? The hook of that work is the teaser leave-you-hanging ending: is there a Lady or the man-eating Tiger behind the door that is selected and “opened." With Hotel Souza, her second CD, Buenos Aires-based vocalist Karen Souza leaves little to the imagination. This hotel has musical rooms of exquisite talent, beauty, elegance and intimacy.Displaying sensuality without a cloying phoniness, Souza delivers ...

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Recording

Jazz Singer/Songwriter Karen Souza To Release Highly Anticipated New Album "Velvet Vault" on December 1, 2017

Jazz Singer/Songwriter Karen Souza To Release Highly Anticipated New Album "Velvet Vault" on December 1, 2017

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Jazz singer/songwriter Karen Souza will be releasing her highly anticipated new album Velvet Vault on December 1, 2017! Featuring several jazz standards, “Velvet Vault” is a more mature and more subtle than Karen's previous efforts, and she truly feels is her best album to date. Saya Karen, “Velvet Vault is really three albums that coexist as one. On the one hand I wanted to record several of the jazz standards that the public love when I sing them live. Then, ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Velvet Vault

Self Produced
2017

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Hotel Souza

Selecta Records
2013

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