(Latin Jazz, Bossa Nova) Amanda Martinez - Дискография (4 альбома) - 2006-2019, MP3, 320 kbps

This album exultingly blends Amanda Martinez’ unique Mexican and South African roots with flamenco soul. Usually described as a Latin jazz singer, her style is more eclectic, with world music, cabaret and pop elements also coming to play.
Local music lovers are fortunate that Amanda Martinez let her heart rule her head in terms of her career. After graduating with a Masters degree in business (her earlier degree was in biology), opportunities in the world of banking presented themselves to the Toronto-born singer/songwriter. Simultaneously, her passion for Latin music remained strong, as shown when Martinez began producing and hosting a popular weekly radio show, Café Latino, on local radio station JAZZ FM, as well as performing in city clubs. “I had a decision to make,” she tells Tandem in our recent interview. “Do I go for it, or just keep playing music for my friends as a hobby?” Thankfully, she went for it, and Martinez is now reaping the rewards of that courageous step. On Oct. 20, she releases her second album, Amor, and then launches it in grand fashion with a concert in the prestigious setting of the new Koerner Hall at The Royal Conservatory of Music. That show will be something of a homecoming for Martinez.
“When I was growing up I studied classical piano, and I used to take my exams at The Conservatory. I’d always have these butterflies and a nervous feeling going into that building. It’s very cool to be performing there now. I got to see Koerner Hall while it was under construction, and it’s just beautiful,” she explained. Performing at such a venue confirms the following Martinez has built since releasing her first album, Sola, in 2006. An acclaimed and highly accomplished work, it went on to sell 7,000 copies, a very impressive figure for a jazz-accented release in Canada. It helped earn Martinez multiple nominations at the National Jazz Awards and a Best World Music Artist trophy at Toronto’s Independent Music Awards, while touring with Jesse Cook helped expand her audience beyond Toronto. With Amor, she’ll have a realistic chance at success outside Canada too, and a November performance at New York City’s famed jazz club, The Blue Note, will test the waters there.
Reflecting on the success of Sola, the singer admits she had no specific expectations. “You’d think that as a business graduate, I’d have had sales targets and a big plan,” she says. “I really just went on blind faith. I had the fire in me that I had to get this music out there. I just felt I was bringing some good energy to the universe and was hoping people would respond. In that sense, I guess it did exceed any expectation I must have had somewhere.”
As the daughter of a Mexican-born father and South African Jewish mother, she was exposed to a wide range of music and culture. “I had my first taste of the stage when I was nine-years-old and quite shy,” she says. “I got a part in a camp play and being onstage, I felt the electricity you feel from the audience. That is what I live for; it’s my favourite thing. I love the chemistry that happens in the moment between the musicians and with the audience as well. That’s something I genuinely live for.”
Assisting the chemistry in her band of ace Toronto players is the fact that Martinez is married to her bass player, Drew Birston. Also featured in her group are longtime guitarist Kevin Laliberte, and her Cuban bandmates, Rosendo Leon, Alexander Brown, and Osvaldo Rodriguez. “The Cubanos in the group have so much energy and passion for the music. It always feels like a big party when we get together. I usually cook for the rehearsals, and it is just fun!”
Her group’s prowess and versatility is showcased on Amor, a record that also demonstrates Martinez’s growth as a songwriter (the majority of the tunes are originals) and as a fluent and expressive vocalist. The album stretches beyond the confines of Latin jazz, incorporating world music, cabaret and pop elements. Outside material on Amor includes Mexican favourite “Cucurrucucu Paloma” and “Alcoba Azul,” featured in the film Frida. When it comes to choosing covers, Martinez explains “a song just has to move me. It’s as simple as that. A song that gets me and makes me feel something.”

Amanda Martinez: vocals
Drew Bristow: bass
Kevin Laliberté: guitar
Pablosky Rosales: tres, vocals
Osvaldo Rodriguez: violin, vocals
Alexander Brown: trumpet, vocals
Rosendo “Chendy” Leon: percussion, vocals
Javier Limón: vocals (2, 8), solo guitar (10)
Carlos Augusto Cardozo Filho: cavaquinho

"She captures the raw emotion and passion of Latin music in a way well beyond her years."
- CBC Radio
"... brilliantly and authentically produced ... a tasty banquet of original, Mexican and Tejano-inspired compositions, served up with healthy doses of a tropically infused blend of the tart and the sweet ... imbued with contemporary and traditional motifs as well as stylish arrangements and superb musicianship and vocals from her fine ensemble."
- The WholeNote
Toronto-based singer/songwriter Amanda Martinez exultingly blends her unique Mexican and South African roots with flamenco soul on her third album, the highly-acclaimed Mañana, gorgeously produced by Grammy winner Javier Limón. Mañana and Martinez's previous solo releases have earned her three Latin Jazz Artist of the Year nominations at Canada’s National Jazz Awards.
"... one of the greatest voices in the world."
- Javier Limón, producer
Amanda Martinez has been concentrating on her own music for some time since she made way for Laura Fernandez to take her Saturday afternoon spot on Toronto’s Jazz FM 91. And she has been doing a rather good job of it. Her album Mañana is her third since she went solo in 2006. Ms. Martinez has made dramatic progress since that year. She has exhibited supreme control over her voice which is a sensuous, husky contralto. And this she commands to be at her bidding as she swoops and sometimes soars like the proverbial bird on the wing of a welcome thermal. On Mañana Ms. Martinez puts her voice through its paces as she moves from deeply emotional charts that suggest she could “bleed” very easily. This is not to suggest any brittleness of sentiment, either personally or professionally, but rather that she comes at the listener from a well-spring of emotion. And when this happens, Ms. Martinez is ready to capture it all in what she writes and what she sings. She writes with great distinction, paying attention to minute shifts in tone and manner. She sings with attention to phrasing and nuanced expression; both of which she is very good at. Being of Latin extract, her enunciation of the language is impeccable and being Canadian, she sounds excellent as she sings in English and French as well.
Ms. Martinez has done better than she has ever done before. She has brought in the Grammy-winning producer Javier Limón on board to shape the sound design of this album. This is a master stroke and while it makes a departure, somewhat, from earlier work, which was informed by a Latin Jazz metaphor as well as—at times—an Afro Caribbean metaphor. There is a tendency here for the music to have a more Spanish flavour. This is dramatic and enriches the music; the horn of Alexander Brown adding the fiery, bronzed zest that is found in the music of Granada. And because of that the Mediterranean feel of the album simmers beneath the surface. “Mañana” is one of the charts that brings out this flavour in the grand manner. “Tenemos De Todo” is another one of those charts on which Mr. Limón puts his personal touch and the song is exquisite—handclaps and all. Ms. Martinez does return to Afro-Cuban fare even if it is in the English: “Let’s Dance” features some swaggering music especially in the outro sequence, where Pablosky Rosales lets loose on the tres as well as in his improvised vocals. Another superb touch by Javier Limón is the colour and timbre that he has added by employing dramatic voicings in songs such as “Días Invisibles”.
Just as important to the project is the renowned Canadian guitarist, Kevin Laliberté, whose virtuosity is absolutely sublime. In fact there are moments when Mr. Laliberté reaches such highs that his tricky guitar phrases are reminiscent of some of the great Flamenco virtuosos. Although Mr. Laliberté has always sounded wonderful every time he plays, he is especially outstanding on Ms. Martinez’s project. In the end, however, it is all of the above, but especially Amanda Martinez’s outstanding compositions and voice that carry the album to another level.