Artista da Semana - Elin
http://www.elinmusic.com/
Brand new rising star, Elin (pronounced EE-a-leen), has reached astonishing
heights on the music scene by now twice selling out Jazz at Lincoln Center -
Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, and regularly performing at other prestigious venues
such as the Blue Note, Smoke, Sweet Rhythm, The Bar Next Door, and Zinc Bar.
Her star is also on the rise in other major cities such as San Francisco, Boston,
and Miami where she shared the stage with Chaka Khan, George Benson, and
Nancy Wilson at the 2008 Jazz in the Gardens festival. This year alone Elin has
performed in New York, Japan, El Salvador, Guam, Washington DC, Florida,
California, and Boston.
Born and raised in Sweden by Peruvian and Irish parents-and fluent in five
languages-Elin is the embodiment of multiculturalism. Her debut
album, Lazy Afternoon, released in the U.S. to rave reviews by jazz
radio and critics alike, is a genre-bending mix of American &
Brazilian standards combined with fresh new originals. On the US
JazzWeek charts, where it spent 22+ weeks, it debuted as the #1 most
added album on the World Music Chart then peaked at #6. On the
Traditional Jazz Chart, it debuted as the 6th Most Added CD, and on the
College Jazz Chart it peaked at #4. Performing in seven languages,
she's a polished jazz vocalist with a pop sensibility who showcases an
ardent vocal style and an uncanny ear for melody.
Elin grew up in three distinct cultures and continents - Europe, North and
South America. She's the oldest of six children, fluent in
five languages, an eight-year resident of New York City,
instrumentalist and student of music since the age of seven, and
utterly obsessed with Brazilian music! This should give you a start at
understanding the colorful complexities and remarkable adventures from
which Elin draws her inspirations and expressions.
It all began one lazy summer afternoon in Sweden when Elin was 15,
in a moment she says altered the course of her life forever. School was
out for summer break and I'd entertain myself, among other things, by
going through my parents' huge record collection. One day, she randomly
picked one out and played it, not really knowing why, only to become
mesmerized by a sound she had never heard before. It was Joao Gilberto
and Antonio Carlos Jobim. She assumed that this was jazz. Right then
and there, she knew she was meant to sing this music. I'm going to be a
jazz singer! she proclaimed. Someday, I'm going to go to Brazil, learn
to speak Portuguese, learn to play the guitar like that, and learn to
sing this music!
Although Elin had been studying music and playing instruments since
she was seven, she never liked jazz nor considered being a singer. But
after this, she started buying jazz albums of all the great female
vocalists including Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughan,
and got heavily into American jazz, without realizing it wasn't exactly
the same as the music that had originally put her on this path. It
would be another seven years before Elin finally got back to her first
passion for Brazilian jazz. When my parents moved to the U.S., I was
able to attend the University of Florida. It was during this time that
I won a scholarship to attend a language course in Brazil where I could
finally learn Portuguese and delve into the music of all the great
Brazilian singers, such as Elis Regina, Leny Andrade, and Gal Costa.
But the major turning point in Elin's career as a singer came when she
met Miriam Jaskierowicz Arman, Ph. D., voice teacher extraordinaire, and
author of The Voice: A Spiritual Approach to Singing, Speaking and
Communicating (3 editions) and the CD "The First Lesson". The day
they met, Ms. Arman immediately asked one of her students to give up
her lesson just so she could teach Elin on the spot. From the very first
moment, she was convinced of Elin's talent, and it was then or never,
since Elin was scheduled to catch a flight back to NYC in just a few hours.
From then on, they worked long distance between NYC and South Florida
for several years before Dr. Arman finally moved to New York. Now, seven
years later, I can honestly say that I wouldn't have a career, or even a voice,
if it wasn't for Miriam. I owe her so much! She's the only voice teacher I ever had that taught me how to use my voice in the right way. And the learning is ongoing.
Elin continues to maintain a close connection to Brazil, the country whose
music she is so addicted to. Most recently, she spent a month in
Rio de Janeiro where she performed with world-renowned Brazilian
artists, including Durval Ferreira and Guinga. Based in New York City,
she continues to perform both in the U.S. and overseas. Her debut
album, Lazy Afternoon, showcasing a sublime mix of Brazilian and
American classics combined with original songs, was released on
September 5th, 2006 to rave reviews from critics and radio stations
across the country.
