Sandy Cressman and Homenagem Brasileira
Sandy Cressman, vocals; Harvey Wainapel, saxophones; Marcos Silva, keyboards; Dave Belove, bass; Celso Alberti, drums

Monday, July 21 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $20 general | $10 students

Online:
By phone: 650.725.ARTS (2787); In Person: Stanford Ticket Office
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Program Notes

“A singer’s singer who has graced the work of artists like Ray Obiedo, Pete Escovedo, and Rebeca Mauleon, Sandy has carved a name for herself in the ‘80s with jazz vocal group Pastiche. ‘Homenagem Brasileira’ is a cool shower of interpretive works that showcases the warmly superb and crystalline voice of this emerging diva.” – Latin Beat Magazine

Vocalist Sandy Cressman exudes a deep passion for Brazilian music. With her quintet Homenagem Brasiliera, she explores the richness and diversity of that country’s musical tradition. While many jazz performers endlessly recycle the same few Brazilian tunes, Homenagem Brasiliera has a large and actively growing repertoire, from popular classics to seldom-heard gems by composers like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gilberto Gil, Hermeto Pascoal, and Baden Powell. Cressman was born in New York, but felt a special kinship to the music of Brazil after hearing Ivan Lins while at U.C. Berkeley. She immersed herself in the music, learning to speak Portuguese fluently, and began to collaborate with Brazilian pianist Marcos Silva, from which relationship Homenagem Brasiliera emerged. These master musicians honor the classic sounds of Brazilian music in all its many varieties, while adding their own creative spark. They have performed extensively for more than nine years and have recorded two CDs.

Homenagem Brasileira web site

Q&A with Sandy Cressman

What is the first recording you remember hearing as a child?
I don’t remember the first recording but one of the first live performances that had a big effect on me that I never forgot is a brazilian girl at the talent show at my Junior High School singing “Mais que Nada”. That music electrified me even then.

Who is your favorite jazz musician under the age of 30?
Bassist and singer Esperanza Spaulding – a great singer, great player, fresh, exciting music.

What job would you have if you weren’t a jazz musician?
A dancer.

What’s your favorite food?
Good French cuisine with red wine.

What’s the most exotic place you’ve traveled to as a musician?
Brazil, of course.

What’s the last book you’ve read?
“Lush Life” by Richard Price.

If you could play with any other musician, living or dead (with whom you have not played), who would it be and why?
Dori Caymmi; so soulful.

What’s your favorite tune?
Impossible to choose...

What’s your favorite thing about being a Stanford Jazz Workshop faculty member?
Working with great students.

What’s your favorite jazz venue?
Les 7 Lézards, Paris.

Who is your greatest musical influence?
Antonio Carlos Jobim, Elis Regina, Dori Caymmi, Irene Kral.

How much do you practice each week?
Not as much as I would like to!

What hobbies do you have?
Jazz dance.

When did you become interested in music, and what circumstances or events led to your becoming a professional musician?
I always sang, but while in college at UC Berkeley I discovered the jazz choir and I was hooked.