SALLY MORRIS: “UH, YOU LIKE JAZZ?”
In the words of the bee from the Bee Movie, “Do you like jazz?” If you do, I think you’ll like what I ran across recently on the way to somewhere else. Her name is Andrea Motis. She doesn’t have a long bio - she’s just 25 now, but some might say she has an “old soul”. Motis is Spanish. Catalan, more precisely - she’s from Barcelona. (Every time I say that I think of Fawlty Towers.) Motis began studying music at age 7. She is a trumpet player and also plays sax. And she sings - the way she plays the trumpet - with a jazzy, delicate phrasing that you cannot learn from anyone else, but must have inside. Few have this and when you hear it you recognize it immediately. Intensely musical, Motis sings in Spanish, Catalan, English and Portuguese according to her bio. I’ve also heard her sing in French.
She is the perfect antidote for what’s ailing the world - the most sensitive, mellow and soulful kind of jazz. Listen to some of this amazing music and to Motis’ great musicality - a gift which no amount of training could either create or overcome. Her music is for sunny days and summer nights - I’ll just link a few samples, beginning with
Dança da Solidão:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfnSGiKLG7s
Then here’s a classic - Summertime. It’s 90 degrees in Grand Forks today. That means things slow down a bit. This just seems perfect. Note the tasty sax here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxIPVAPRBi4&list=RDYfnSGiKLG7s&index=2
French flavor: Que reste t il de nos amours?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxIPVAPRBi4&list=RDYfnSGiKLG7s&index=2
Meditacão: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vunw1SurRVc
I Fall in Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo8og3xw-Ys
Here, Motis swings out on the alto sax: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwRpQ-xn1X0
And Chenga de Saudade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wp0XCub3ew
Poor Butterfly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=078_-rru3Gk
Listen to the unique quality in her voice - the subtle color range, the rhythm within a held note. It’s something you hear only with a great vocal artist. The Josés, José and Manuel come to mind in this aspect. I hope you enjoyed Andrea Motis as much as I do. Let me know what you think!
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