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Kristina
Some people appear to be driven continually toward some thing. From the day they’re born, they’re happiest when in motion, constantly striking out for new territories, exploring vast continents, crossing international boundaries. Jazz vocalist Kristina Smith can claim life membership in this peripatetic group. Literally born in a car, Kristina entered the world already in motion. She was already vocalizing, too, as her mother remembers, “crying soulfully…and on key.”
Kristina and her family moved to Oakland, CA when she was three years old. She was fortunate to have a sixth grade teacher who saw value in teaching her students to embrace another culture and its musical beauty. By singing in Japanese, Kristina discovered that music could be a visceral, motivating, moving experience in any language.
When she was accepted to Mills College in Oakland, CA, on a dance scholarship, Kristina continued to delve into the rhythmic variations of many cultures while choreographing her dance programs at Mills. However, faced with a trick knee, she soon turned her attention to conveying her ideas vocally. Kristina continued to gain experience by engaging audiences in the San Francisco Bay Area venues and art houses.
During summer vacations in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Kristina studied at the Maria Benitez Institute for Spanish Arts and performed with the Gitano Singers and Dancers. The thriving Flamenco community of Santa Fe gave Kristina a chance to soak up the Latin rhythms and enrich her appreciation of the Spanish counter-culture.
Kristina’s journey would eventually lead her to the studio arranger, producer, trombonist, and Patois Records proprietor, Wayne Wallace. In this collaboration, titled “Offshore Echoes,” Kristina has tied together many musical elements that embrace exactly who Kristina is. Kristina’s choice of “Cherokee” reflects her own paternal Native-American roots mixed with her German heritage, to the songs “Take me to Aruanda” and the Portuguese lyrics of “Ilu Aye,” Kristina examined the close affinity she has to Samba. With African roots in Angola on her mother’s side of the family, as well as European and Native American ancestry on her father’s side, Kristina honors her multiracial - multicultural lineage with rich rhythmic traditions from three continents. This makes Kristina unique, as she herself embodies lineage from the Americas, Africa, and European continents.
She respects the lyric by singing in clear and understandable terms. Influenced by her family’s delightful sense of humor and aptitude for storytelling, Kristina delivers beautiful adaptations of songs from the recent and not-so-recent past. Wayne Wallace’s arrangements embellish the melody with rich orchestrations and he adds just the right accents to provide a solid foundation for Kristina to realize her vision.
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Kristina: Offshore Echoes
by Edward Blanco
Oakland singer-songwriter Kristina Smith--who prefers to go by her first name--makes a charming debut with the ambitious Offshore Echoes. Drawing on a multicultural background, she channels music from Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and world rhythms to American music for a varied and rich palette of styles. Kristina is part Angolan, German and Native American (Cherokee Indian), giving her an interesting perspective and a lifetime of multicultural experiences from which to blend different cultural elements and rhythms. The repertoire was a personal choice, ...
read moreTicketfly VP Kristina Wallander On What Google Search Changes Mean For Live Concerts
Source:
HypeBot
Yesterday, Google announced changes that could help artist and promoters at every level to sell more concert tickets. From now on, a Google Search for an artist or venue will highlight show and ticketing info drawn directly from Ticketfly, Ticketmaster, AXS and other major ticketers. To find out how this might effect the concert business and ticket sales, we turned to Kristina Wallander, VP of Marketing at Ticketfly. Q: What have Ticketfly's own studies shown regarding unsold inventory? Kristina Wallander: Ticketfly’s partners see ...
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Kristina Morales celebrates the release of her debut album "Wonderful World"
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Kristina Morales
Introducing Kristina Morales With the debut of her album, Kristina Morales' Wonderful World is brewing with unique arrangements and playful interpretations. The vocalist charms listeners with a vulnerable passion setting her music a part from the everyday and monotonous. Rooted in jazz, the band pushes through to new genres blending and sifting in a delicate ballet of color, rhythm and texture. With an incandescent brilliance, rising star Kristina Morales sings through reimagined ballads such as “Scarbourough Fayre" and “Amarilli, Mia ...
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Mask Featuring Sonja Kristina (Curved Air) and Marvin Ayres to Release Second Album 'Technopia'
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
London, UK - Much to the anticipation of the music press and fans worldwide, MASK are releasing their second album 'Technopia' on r.a.r.e (Repertoire) Jan 2010 and will be performing in UK and Europe in April - May 2010. This is MASK's first release since their UK Top 20 Club hit single 'Waking The Dream'. MASK are actress/singer Sonja Kristina (Curved Air) and modern classical composer/producer/Cellist Marvin Ayres. Both established innovators in music and performance. Marvin Ayres's album Cellosphere (Mille ...
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The New Revelation from Blue Note, Kristina Train, a Special Intimate Performance Tonight for Montreal Music Industry and Media
Source:
Michael Ricci
Montreal -- The Festival International de Jazz de Montreal and EMI Musique Canada are especially proud to offer media and music industry representatives a special, intimate performance by Kristina Train, the sensational new signing by the legendary Blue Note label. For this grand Montreal premiere, the powerful singer will perform songs from her debut album, Spilt Milk, released just this past October 20 and immediately embraced by the Quebec audience. The performance will be held tonight at 7 p.m. in ...
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Kristina Releases Eclectic Jazz Recording Offshore Echoes on Patios Records
Source:
Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
Muliti cultural jazz vocalist Kristina will release Offshore Echoes on Patios Records October 15, 2009.
Kristina completes an astounding achievement with Offshore Echoes by offering jazz listeners her own eclectic interpretations of classic compositions. From Sting ("Tea in the Sahara") to Kenny Vance ("The Performer"), Kristina pulls out all the stops and delivers convincing performances of every track covered on the recording.
Kristina's track selection holds a personal meaning and particularly with “Cherokee" which reflects her own paternal Native-American ...
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Kristina Train Announces Tour Dates with Keb MO and Susan Tedeschi
Source:
Special Ops Media
On October 20, Blue Note Records will release Spilt Milk, the stunning debut album from singer Kristina Train. After a run of opening dates with Chris Isaak last month, Kristina will be hitting the road again in the coming weeks opening for Keb Mo and Susan Tedeschi, giving audiences around the country an early chance to hear her perform the affecting songs from her debut in a live setting. In showbiz you need flashy costumes and talent, said Isaak. I ...
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Enchanting Cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper Releases Jazz Album
Source:
All About Jazz
Stone and Steel Combines Ancient and Modern For Unique New Sound New York, NY - The enchanting cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper recently launched her latest CD, Stone and Steel, a scintillating combination of the ancient and the modern. Cooper, a resident of New York City and Tel Aviv, is well-known for her adventurousness and her passion for new, popular and contemporary works. In her newest release, she takes some old classics Gregorian chants, songs of the ever-popular Elizabethan composer John ...
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Sonja Kristina and Prog Legends Curved Air Kick Off Summer Tour at Isle of Wight Festival
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
6/9/08 - London, UK - The original 'Rock Chick' Sonja Kristina has reunited with her band, progressive rock legends Curved Air, for some summer festival dates, kicking off with the Isle of Wight Festival on 13th June. Sonja Kristina's extravagant and flamboyant stage presence led to her being nicknamed at one point, 'the female Jagger'. The first female lead singer of a rock band in the UK, she blazed the way for bold rock icons from Siouxie Sue to Amy ...
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