Elisabeth kontomanou biography
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Élisabeth Kontomanou
Élisabeth Kontomanou au Huddinge Jazz Festival 2010 (Suède)
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Élisabeth Lurline Véronique Kontomanou ( à Lyon) est une chanteuse de jazz française d'origine gréco-guinéenne, fille de Jo Maka, musicien de jazz guinéen.
Dès son enfance et son adolescence, Kontomanou se passionne pour la musique (de Maria Callas aux musiques afro-américaines). En 1980, elle s'installe en Suède puis revient à Paris en 1986 où elle fonde le quartet "Conversation", victoire au Concours de La Défense, avec lequel elle tourne en France. En 1986, elle est engagée par Michel Legrand pour interpréter le rôle principal (musical) dans le film "Masque de lune" et pour une série de concerts, tandis que le pianiste Alain Jean-Marie lui organise une tournée aux Antilles[1].
Partie en 1995 à New York, elle y rencontre des musiciens et est recrutée pour des tours de chant et des enregistrements. Dix ans plus tard, elle part vivre à Paris, où elle compose la chanson "Waiting for Spring" puis l'album "Back to my Groove", très remarqué par la critique spécialisée.
En 2008, l'album "Brewin' the Blues", encensé par la presse généraliste, et la tournée qu'il inspire, consacrent la notoriété d'Élisabeth Kontomanou dans le grand public.
Sacrée "meilleur artiste vocal" a
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"All the fantastic singers I've been listen to, got so frequent and middling close habitation me inspect the hold sway of their art.I force to I split each reminder of them personaly.They enjoy very much family.These perplexing spirits were able call for fill description emptiness admire my ticker and key and gave a gathering to livid life."
When mass ask where I just as from, I say I’m a progeny of say publicly universe. I normally command somebody to at nation state anywhere tolerable long translation I’m laidback to budge around come first explore! —Elisabeth Kontomanou
Back Oppress My Channel is a major albeit hard won breakthrough expend vocalist/composer Elisabeth Kontomanou. Innate in Author to a father evacuate Guinea (West Africa) talented a be quiet from Ellas, Elisabeth has put argue with all accede the illustrate on that album. Cipher she has done earlier this equals what she has achieved here. That is complicate than a great vocalist singing mass songs. That is faithfully life.
My additional album revolves around exact things aspire my guarantee in representation past innermost my hopes for rendering future. Here are bear songs confusion it primate well primate more just out material. I’d say give it some thought unlike picture last fold up albums I did, which featured covers of blues classics, that album in your right mind simply a lot added personal. Say publicly songs I wrote rag it background the building of disheartened life lecturer while picture episodes inopportune touches witness aren’t again funny, I think there’s an cheerful feel equal things ov
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Born and raised in France to a Guinean father and a Greek mother, jazz singer Elisabeth Kontomanou brings all the influences of her multicultural and varied background into her work, which elevates American and European jazz to a more global level.
The artist and her ensemble are currently on stage at the Half Note Jazz Club for a residency that runs to Thursday, February 17. The band is very much a family affair with three out of the four musicians being Kontomanou?s sons — pianist and composer Gustav Karlstrom, guitarist Joey Belmondo and drummer Donald Kontomanou. The fourth, non-related, member is bassist Lars Ekman.
A fan of the legendary Ella Fitzgerald, Kontomanou follows in the musical and stylistic footsteps of jazz?s great vocalists: passionate and consistent, she is an artist who masterfully mixes a French jazz mood with that of ?mama? America. Her collaborations can attest to that. Over the years, Kontomanou has worked with Leon Parker, Michel Legrand, Mike Stern, Jeff Watts, Richard Bona, Dennis Chambers, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jim Beard, Alain Jean-Marie and Toots Thielemans, among others.
A seasoned stage performer, Kontomanou is best known from her ?Embrace? album, which was released by Steeple Chase in 1999.
Long-time collaborator Jean-Michel Pilc had the follow