SYLVIA

.. -- -- -- CDBABY LINK for SYLVIA PILAR: Seduxion --
Sylvia Pilar "Seduxion" .................................................... CD Review byCD Review by Thomas M. Kitts ............................................................ ............. ............................................................ ...................................................... Sylvia Pilar has been a featured singer and actor, performing in the underground theaters of San Francisco, a one-woman show on Sunset Strip, off-Broadway stages in New York, and lounges on both coasts. On Seduxion, her first album, Pilar creates a rich listening experience of enchanting sounds, enticing rhythms, and slyly dramatic vocals. While Seduxion might be considered Euro-lounge, its pop-jazz underpinnings and its persistent Latin rhythms make it simultaneously an eclectic and coherent album. Seduxion is primarily an album of love songs, but not love sentimentalized. Pilar treats love in various phases: the magic of new love ("Magic in the Night"), the power of lasting love ("Hard Times"), love gone wrong ("Time Is an Illusion"), erotic love ("Seduxion"), and playful love ("Whatever Lola Wants"). Yet Pilar's ethereal and yet sultry vocals, her understated drama, and her original songs bring freshness and adventure to a standard concept. More than half of the eleven tracks on Seduxion were written by Pilar. Several of her songs concern the quest for love. Among the more powerful are "Magic in the Night," a Euro-lounge ballad with Pilar's vocals lifting above the new-age textures, the earthy percussion, and the sensual saxophone of Ruben Gutierrez, and the erotically soulful "Seduxion," perhaps the album's strongest track, with confident and alluring vocals by Pilar as well as a sizzling electric guitar by Tal Matthews. "Magic Words" treats the theme of magic, which runs throughout the album, with dreamy vocals, a thumping bass line, and Santana-like guitar by John Ficarrotta; however, the track is overproduced and its soulfulness slightly lost in its straining for ambiance. More assured is "If I Let You," which features a deft Spanish guitar from Gene Engelgau and expresses the confusion of new love as Pilar evokes desire and hesitation and authority and vulnerability. Pilar makes some bold choices with the covers, selecting songs frequently recorded ("Besame Mucho") or tied to specific performances ("Midnight at the Oasis"). Yet the covers work. "Besame Mucho," performed by seemingly everyone from Frank Sinatra to the Beatles and from Wes Montgomery to Julio Iglesias, features Pilar at her sultry best in dialogue with the smooth jazz guitar of Keith Jordan. Both "Midnight at the Oasis" with its invitation to "kick up a little dust," its strong hypnotic rhythms, and synthesized flute, and "Whatever Lola Wants Lola Gets" with Pilar's playfully wicked performance, fit in well with the theme of seduction. However, my favorite cover is the opening track, "Summer Samba (So Nice)," which receives a breezy rendition with Pilar's airy vocals creating the sensual and mystical atmosphere that so compellingly balances the album. With Seduxion, Pilar delivers an accomplished first album. Her vocals - ethereal and assured, erotic and transcendent - resonate with the very drama of love. At times, she reminds me of the young Billie Holiday or the "soft and cool" Peggy Lee, with the vintage feel of Norah Jones. Yet there is an unmistakable newness to Pilar that is engaging, stirring, and, well, Seductive. . . http://www.nybluesandjazz.org/reviews/spilarcdkitts.htm
For more info see website:www.presentingsylvia.com............................ ......More about Sylvia by Alyson Campbell ....................................................... Sylvia's sound presents a unique mix of old and new. She softly scats across genres tasting new flavors from classic jazz standards to more contemporary lounge rhythms. Her jazzy tones infused with Latin, bossanova, Euro-lounge and even hip-hop beats are simply delectable...
Like Sylvia's musical taste, her entire world is a dichotomy of classic versus contemporary: her personality, her style, and her career are all multideimensional. With a background in acting and commercial print, Sylvia is able to take on the many roles in her life with ease: savvy business woman by day, actor/artist/songstress by night. Her free-spirit thrives on the rebellion of contradiction.
Today, living amidst the hectic Manhattan mindset, this California lady has a mysterious ability to stop time momentarily. Like rich chocolate that you have to savor slowly, her delicate and sweet voice touches the notes ever so softly.
Her talent to relax those in her presence is likely attributed to her own spiritual lifestyle. Sylvia embodies eternal youth through daily meditation, yoga and enjoying lifes indulgences as they present themselves. Comfortable in her skin, Sylvias zen-like philosophy timeless mind, ageless body shines from within.
That being said, her latest project, Seduxion" includes one of her original songs "Time is an Illusion, could not be more fitting. The new album provides the perfect blend of sweet spins on old, soothing vintage classics and flowing trance vibes. With writing and producing credits on the CD, Sylvia delivers a polished product and a fresh focus on her music career. Ready to pour her innermost thoughts and light-hearted grooves into the New York City scene, Sylvia revels in the experience: When you write, you get to share your inner most emotions on love and life without judgement.