Carmen Souza
Of Cape Verdean descent, born in Lisbon and based in London, Carmen Souza is one of the most sought after jazz singers in Europe. After the disappearance of the most famous artist of her land, Cesária Évora, Carmen Souza was designated as one of the musical ambassadors of the archipelago. Her style is unique & convincing, and her Cape Verdean roots are as obvious as her desire to create a new language under the label “World Jazz”.
Since the release of her first album in 2005, Ess e Nha Cabo Verde, with Theo Pascal, her mentor & producer, she has managed to create a new genre, unclassifiable, between traditional rhythms, African, Cape Verdean melodies and contemporary jazz. Carmen has thus become a musical icon of Cape Verde, achieving at the same time emancipation from it, setting her mark on the world music scene.
Her tenth album Interconnectedness tells of our collective experience of separation during the ‘Covid’ pandemic and her understanding that all humanity is connected. It includes 7 new songs and 3 very personal versions of the classics: “My Baby Just Cares For Me”, “Sous Le Ciel de Paris” & “Pata Pata”.
Theo Pascal is one of the most talented & inspired Portuguese multi-instrumentalists, composers & producers on the World music/Jazz scene. A master of arts, known mainly for his work with the award-winning artist Carmen Souza, with whom he created a unique World Jazz signature sound acclaimed throughout the world. In 2022 he released his solo album Quamundos 2 that entered in the ‘Best Album of the Year’ list of the ‘World Music Charts Europe’ and was in Jazzweek USA Radio Charts during 15 weeks, getting very good reviews from the critics & press in several countries.
Diogo Santos was born in Lisbon in 1988. He started studying to play the piano when he was ten years old, and at fourteen began playing as a professional, studying at the same time at the Hot Club in Portugal, the oldest jazz school in the country, with teachers such as Filipe Melo, João Moreira, Vasco Mendonça, Rui Cardoso, João Paulo Esteves da Silva, etc. At nineteen he began his professional career playing piano & keyboards with artists of various musical styles, such as: Sara Tavares, Selma Uamusse, Carminho, Tatanka, The Black Mamba, among many others.
Elias Kacomanolis was born in Mozambique and moved to Portugal in 1976 with his parents at the age of ten, after the civil war had broken out in Mozambique. An ex-pupil at the University of Salford, Elias has developed a long career as a performer and teacher. His experience in Portuguese and African rhythms has enabled him to travel the world with some of the most important artists of Lusophone music, such as: Waldemar Bastos, Carmen Souza, Paulino Vieira, Paulo Flores, Costa Neto, Filipe Mukenga, Sons da Lusofonia, among others. He is an experienced musician with a wide range of styles, from World Music to Jazz.
- Line-Up:
- Carmen Souza: vocals, guitar & piano
- Teo Pascal: bass, contrabass & chorus
- Diogo Santos: piano
- Elias Kacomanolis: drums & chorus
