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Nora McCarthy Music

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NORA McCARTHY is a New York based singer and vocal improviser/composer/lyricist/poet/actor/teacher. See also www.thezenofsinging.com (TM2006)Currently Nora leads and co-leads several groups:The Nora McCarthy QuARTet; The Sidhe - People of Peace; RED VOXX; The ConceptualMotion 20-piece Orchestra; A Small Dream In Red Voice and Saxophone Duo; The ACE (Afro-Caribbean-Experimental) Collective with alto saxophonist, Jorge Sylvester; and, the Beyond Word Voice and Bass Duo w/ Dominic Duval.Nora is also a featured member of Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris’ Chorus of Poets.

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Member Since: 8/26/2006
Band Website: www.noramccarthy.com "noramccarthy.com
Band Members:
Myspace Layouts - Myspace Editor - Image Hosting
Myspace Layouts - Myspace Editor - Image HostingNora McCarthy - Voice; Jorge Sylvester - Alto Saxophone (Miles' Mind), (Waiting For You - Toninho Horta); Pablo Vergara - piano (Waiting For You); John diMartino - Piano (Something Red); James Gordon Williams - Piano; (Life Is A Song To Sing, Akara Moi Moi); Jeffrey Carney - Acoustic Bass/Electric Bass; (Life Is A Song To Sing, Akara Moi Moi); Santi Debriano (Waiting For You) Essiet Okon Essiet - Bass (Something Red); Radu Ben Judah - Electric Bass; (Miles' Mind); Bruce Cox - Drums (Life Is A Song To Sing, Akara Moi Moi); David Silliman - Drums/Percussion (Waiting For You) Alvester Garnett - Drums (Something Red); Sato Takeishi - Percussion (Something Red); Mike Lee - Tenor (Something Red)All Compositions except Akara Moi Moi and The Sphinx.... written by Nora McCarthy - Akara Moi Moi: Jorge Sylvester The Sphinx - Ornette Coleman All Lyrics: Nora McCarthy.Beautiful Pencil Drawing of St. Brigit my patron saint by Steven Dono, 2006, Renowned Artist, Sculptor and Creative Being. Enjoy the slide show of my family, friends and experiences....some of them. Blessings to Life.




Influences: Jazz, Soul, African-Caribbean, Avant Garde and Free Musics primarily. All sounds, colors, design, forms, shapes, space, emotions, language, people...all musical instruments, all rhythms. Jorge Sylvester, Sonny Rollins, Albert Ayler, Eric Dolphy, JSun Ra, Juini Booth, James Brown [RIP to the great engine of soul and dance music], Jeanne Lee, Wassily Kandinsky, Romare Bearden, Jackson Pollack. New York City, Harlem USA. Early R&B singers. Eugene O'Neill, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Sam Shepard, Jack Dempsey, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln, Nancy Wilson, Jimmy Scott, Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Sam Rivers, Henry Threadgill, Butch Morris - the sorcerer, Jimmy Lyons, Sunny Murray, Dewey Redman - for his sincere beautiful contribution to humanity and his caring and considerate compassion, Cecil Taylor - for his beautiful madness and his bold defiant courage, Gunter Hempel - for his childlike spirit and foreverness, David Murray - for making unforgettable musical impressions. My beautiful mother and father, my incredible children: Preston, Jason, Kane, Aaron and Daniel, Superman aka Mike Weiss; Allison Banks - my incredible granddaughter, Kane Jr. my incredible grandson, my Celtic and French DNA, my dear friends - my teachers, Ace Carter, Neal Creque, Marietta Richards, Juini Booth, Jorge Sylvester, all the musicians I've worked with and the greatest teacher of all.....The Life Experience.

CDBABY LINK for NORA MCCARTHY: red&blue NORA MCCARTHY: red&blue


Fresh Vocal Acoustic Jazz, original compositions, .."a personal and expressive voice with an impressionistic poetic quality that shows an awareness of post-bop development".

CDBABY LINK for NORA MCCARTHY AND JORGE SYLVESTER: A Small Dream In Red NORA MCCARTHY AND JORGE SYLVESTER: A Small Dream In Red

"An aural adventure of the highest order." Avant-Jazz Voice and Saxophone Duet - Original compositions, jazz standards, improvisational masterpiece recorded live at Cleveland State University's Sundown Jazz Series.

A SMALL DREAM IN RED
Nora McCarthy & Jorge Sylvester
By Jim Santella for Jazz Improv, NYC, July 2007

Recorded during a 2003 concert performance in Cleveland State University’s recital hall, this album documents the adventures of a superb, contemporary jazz duo that forges its own trail. You can’t sit back and say that she recalls this or that singer or that he recalls this or that alto saxophonist. They’re both soulful, dramatic and highly original in their intimate recital, which includes two self-penned songs as well as several highly original interpretations. Nora McCarthy sings with an emphatic delivery. She interprets lyrics with fits of passion and relaxes casually with wordless sprees.

The program includes periods of tension mixed with areas of leisurely release. Alto saxophonist Jorge Sylvester brings a virtuosic character to the session, conversing with his musical partner in an equal balance of their two voices. There’s closeness in their duo performance that you don’t find in some ensembles. McCarthy and Sylvester have given a name to their duo, A Small Dream In Red, which amplifies several of the characteristics from their session: dreamy musical interplay mixed with fitful segments of dramatic tension.

Miles Davis’ “All Blues” is one of those standards that we can recognize without even trying. It lovely melody and comfortable rhythm can make for a pleasant afternoon. Here, McCarthy and Sylvester adhere to the song’s familiar waltz pattern while going off on tangents that instill a serious tone. She uses her fluid delivery to jump effortlessly to the highest and lowest regions of her vocal range, while follows her cues in empathy. McCarthy’s Miles Mind” carries a significant impression, as her voice recalls the frailty found in Davis’ horn through the years. Punctuation the piece with vocal and saxophone surges, the duo delivers a thoughtful tribute. Sylvester’s “Akara Moi Moi” swings with a relaxed jazz frame of reference, as wordless vocals combine with soulful alto fun to close the concert on a comfortable note. The two artists combine intuition with a love for their music and it shows.

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR IMPROVISED MUSIC
A SMALL DREAM IN RED (Nora McCarthy & Jorge Sylvester)
NOVEMBER, 2007
Julianne Carney

The duo of Nora McCarthy and Jorge Sylvester presents contrasting contours stepping into and out of dissonance, with hints of tunes weaving in and out, far more scat than lyric in the vocals, and saxophone fluid, giving energy, direction, & depth. The five tracks offer a flowing, meandering walk, with occasional glimpses of recognizable melody, and otherwise a wonderful blend of shapes, colors and textures. Nora McCarthy has a deep voice, with the timbre & range of Sarah Vaughan, but without the quick vibrato. She uses ever-so-subtle pitch-bending, and straight tones, and just a lovely touch of vibrato on occasion. Splashes of color are drawn into play with the saxophone. Jorge Sylvester plays with virtuosity and artist's subtlety. Seemingly in the background, the listener is then surprised to notice the fascinating punctuation, melodic fragments, and extrapolated melody or harmonic contrast. McCarthy's comradeship with Kandinsky (whose painting Kleiner Traum in Rot gives this CD its name) is certainly presented well in this recording.

What They Are Saying:

"...McCarthy reinvents several all-time Jazz classics by scatting, singing, and intoning over the free improvisations pouring assertively from Sylvester's alto. McCarthy delivers with absolute clarity, adding engrossing touches to the melody lines but primarily constructing original versions of the tunes." Cadence Magazine for Creative and Improvised Music, 2005

"...Nora McCarthy has a deep voice, with the timbre and range of Sarah Vaughan....she uses ever-so-subtle pitch-bending and straight tones and just a lovely touch of vibrato."

"...The duo of Nora McCarthy and Jorge Sylvester presents contrasting contours stepping into and out of dissonance, with hints of tunes weaving in and out, far more scat than lyric in the vocals, and saxophone is fluid, giving energy, direction and depth." International Society For Improvised Music, 2007

"...It's delightful to hear music that plays so freely with the known and the unknown elements of jazz." All About Jazz Magazine, NY 2005

"...A superb, contemporary jazz duo that forges its own trail. You can't sit back and say that she recalls this or that singer or that he recalls this or that alto saxophonist. They're both soulful, dramatic and highly original in their intimate recitals, which include self-penned songs as well as several highly original interpretations.

"...Nora McCarthy sings with an emphatic delivery. She interprets lyrics with fits of passion and relaxes casually with wordless sprees."

"...Alto saxophonist Jorge Sylvester brings a character of virtuosity to the session, conversing with his musical partner in an equal balance of their two voices. There's closeness in their duo performance that you don't find in some ensembles. "

"...Dreamy musical interplay mixed with fitful segments of dramatic tension."

"...McCarthy uses her fluid delivery to jump effortlessly to the highest and lowest regions of her vocal range, while Sylvester follows her cues in empathy. McCarthy's Miles Mind" carries a significant impression, as her voice recalls the frailty found in Davis' horn through the years."

"...The two artists combine intuition with a love for their music and it shows." Jim Santella for Jazz Improv, NYC, July, 2007

"...McCarthy and Sylvester show the utmost respect for the formal elements of music while also possessing the daring to dissolve borders, making A Small Dream In Red an aural adventure of the highest order. "

"... McCarthy's voice stretches and soars and whether she's singing straight ahead, scatting, or simply vocalizing, her voice rings true and clear. Sylvester has a gorgeous tone and a sure touch, plus a wonderful ability to weave in and out of melodies." All About Jazz, 2005

"...Sylvester coats the pathways McCarthy carves with freelanced and fully open interpretations of the tunes, hitting high and low notes in juxtaposition or in contrast with the vocals." Cadence Magazine for Creative Improvised Music, 2005

Sounds Like:

NEW CD - CIRCLE COMPLETING - RELEASE DATE JULY 2008 - LOOK FOR IT ON CD BABY

Record Label: F'wd Music and RedZen Music Publishing
Type of Label: Indie