una voce ancestrale...un suono antico...lontano....

ludovica manzo - vocals, live sampler
alessandra bossa - prepared piano, electronics

www.o-jana.com

Saknar du något (by o-Janà)

if the stars align...

I : Shooting Stars
II : La Terra
III : Sirian Highlife
Cadenza for Viola : Blue Companion Star
IV : Digitaria

Performed by the illustrious Brentano String Quartet at Princeton University in Taplin Fine Hall, Feb 2013. This four movement piece with a cadenza, illuminates the viola as a soloist in contrast and in conjunction with the quartet. It encompasses spectral and microtonal elements (i.e. crazy tunings are intentional), as well as polyrhythms inspired by the date 12/12/12 and Ghanaian highlife. 

(Program Note Excerpt) I came to see the Brentano String Quartet play in New Zealand on the invitation of Euan Murdoch, head of Chamber Music NZ. I was delighted to be able to meet the performers after the show, who kindly told me how I was going to love my upcoming time in Princeton for my composition PhD. Misha Amory, the viola player, said to me:
"If the stars align, you will write for us."

if the stars align...


Italian vocalist and composer, she is active in a wide range of music. Her work includes songwriting, contemporary jazz and free improvisation and her singing is influenced by many sources,  including the ethnic and the contemporary vocal expressions.

She leads the quintet named Scraps, for which she composes original music and lyrics. The origins of their music come from a variety of places, from jazz to alternative pop, from free/noisy improvisation to electronical ambient. Their first album was recorded in winter 2013.

Together with pianist Alessandra Bossa she founded the band o-Janà, a vocals, live sampling, prepared piano and electronics duo. The main characteristic of the duo is to expand boundaries in exploring and experimenting in the field of song composition and free improvisation, working on their own original material or sometimes on pre-existing songs as well. Compositions are characterized by smooth and liquid soundscapes with melodies lying on a mix of prepared piano and electronic sounds while their lyrics are, by turns, funny or poignant or thought- provoking. Their first album o'-Janà was released in may 2012 and later also used as the soundtrack for the shortfilm Tram Mob, by Maude (2012). In the 2013 they started a collaboration with one of Italy’s most creative musician, the percussionist Michele Rabbia.

Over the years she collaborated with several contemporary jazz musicians, including the cello player Paolo Damiani (Head of the Jazz Department of Rome's Conservatorio di Musica «Santa Cecilia»). Together with Damiani and the large ensamble Radar Band she recorded the album “Pane e Tempesta” (Egea, 2010).

Together with saxophone quartet “I virtuosi di piazza Vittorio” she sings and recites in the music/theatre project Bocca Baciata Non Perde Ventura, a neapolitan adaptation of a Boccaccio's Decameron novel. The original music is composed by Eugenio Colombo who made also an adaptation of Guillaume de Machault's “Notre Dame Mass” while singer Maria Pia De Vito translated in neapolitan language the original novel. 

Ludovica has been a member of the sectet Slivovitz from 2007 to 2009, during which time they released the album “Hubris” (Moonjune, 2009). Slivovitz is a musical collective born in September 2001 that plays instrumental music related to ethnically tuned jazz rock. Here the voice was used like an instrument playing in section with saxophone, armonica and violin.

She perfomed at the following Festivals among the others: Europa Jazz of Le Mans, Roccella Jazz Festival, Autumn in Jazz Festival at Rome's Auditorium Parco della Musica, GAS Festival of Goteborg, Italian Top Jazz Festival 2011, Jazz at Fnac of Barcelona, Les Rendez-vous de l'Erdre' of Nantes, Peperoncino Jazz Festival, Mumyuha Festival of Hochneukirchen, XXIV Salone Internazionale del Libro di Torino, Villa Celimontana Jazz Festival of Rome. 

She played with: Michele Rabbia, Paolo Damiani, Paul McCandless, Ulrich Gumpert, Francesco Bearzatti, Silke Eberhard, Cristiano Arcelli, Fulvio Sigurtà, Eugenio Colombo, Luca Aquino, Antonio Jasevoli, Francesco Loccisano, etc.

She graduated with honours in Jazz Music at Conservatorio di Musica «Santa Cecilia» of Rome with Maria Pia De Vito and also in Music and Arts at Università «Tor Vergata» of Rome.

She is artist director of music festival “Iceberg. Suoni sommersi per piccoli ensemble” on 2012 and 2013.


Saknar du något (by o-Janà)

ludovica manzo

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