Showcasing Bands 2021: European Jazz Meeting (Part 1)
LUSITANIAN EXPLORATIONS by Henning Bolte
21. December 2020
Live Panel #6: Spotlight on selected city scenes: COLOGNE
18. January 2021jazzahead! and International jazz Day Germany have teamed up to present you the jazzahead! 2021 showcasing artist even before the event in articles, interviews and more.
Born in Eket, Nigeria, Camilla George became interested in music at an early age. She began playing the saxophone at the age of 11. She went on to study with many jazz greats including saxophone giant, Jean Toussaint, Julian Siegal and Martin Speake at Trinity College of Music, where she earned a Masters in Jazz Performance and was awarded the Archer Scholarship for Excellence in 2011.
In 2014, Camilla formed her own project, showcasing the stars of the new British jazz scene. Her debut album "Isang", which was called "The Golden Girl of Jazz" by The Evening Standard, received great critical acclaim. The second album "The People Could Fly" has already been praised by critics with 4 stars in the Financial Times and Jazzwise.
In addition, Camilla George was nominated for an Urban Music Award for Best Jazz Artist in 2017 and 2018, and for a Jazz FM Award for Best Instrumentalist in 2019.
(c) Steve Funkyfeet
(c) Karen van Gils
Guy Salamon is a Jerusalem-born, Amsterdam-based jazz drummer, composer, arranger and bandleader. He is known for his work with his own band, the award-winning 'Guy Salamon Group' (1st prize winner, 'Keep an Eye - The Records') and as co-founder and drummer of the PULL quartet.
He is an active musician in the European jazz scene and has performed with major Dutch jazz artists such as Jesse van Ruller, Tineke Postma, Ben van Gelder, Reinier Baas, Jasper Blom and Maarten van der Grinten. He is also the drummer and band member of singer Jim van der Zee (winner of The Voice of Holland 2018), singer Fuensanta Mendez (winner of the Princess Christina Concours 2016) and guitarist Teis Semey (winner of the Princess Christina Concours 2014), among others.
His debut album "Unfollow The Leader" was recorded in 2019 with his 8-piece band and 3 guest vocalists and independently released in December 2019 at BIMHUIS.
Singer and songwriter Julia Biel is known for her enchanting performances, emotional songs and unique voice. The British newspaper "The Independent" has described her as "the best British singer in a long time".
Her warm and textured voice draws from that of gospel music, the joie de vivre of soul, the sadness of blues and the freedom of jazz, while poetic lyrics reveal a keen perspective on life and love against a magical backdrop of contemporary musical soundscapes.
Solo albums and MOBO and Urban Music Award nominations have brought the British artist worldwide recognition, while collaborations with artists such as Ben Watt, Stimming, Polar Bear and Soothsayers have given her success momentum through word of mouth.
Julia Biel has been compared to some of music's greats: from Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone and Billie Holiday to Björk, Radiohead, Amy Winehouse and Chet Baker.
(c) Reiner Ortag
(c) Balans Lab
The KAMA Kollektiv is the band around the young Finnish singer and trumpeter Kirsi-Marja "Kiki" Harju. The word KAMA is Finnish for "things" or "stuff," and it describes what the band's music is about: the little things in life that are often so easily overlooked.
Kiki tells stories - some in Finnish, some in English - about love and change, forests and animals, small everyday joys, and a mystical-romantic view of nature. The music is a captivating blend of jazz, Nordic folk and indie pop. The band is based in Amsterdam, but Kiki's songs are full of memories of the beautiful landscapes, dark forests and freezing frost of her native Finland.
In May 2020, the KAMA Kollektiv released its second album, KOTI, on Eclipse Music.