Homepage: www.btinternet.com/~Brigitte.Escobar

REVIEWS

Just a few reviews:

Brigitte Escobar/Richard Wetherall - Blue Note/Chorlton

BORN in Spain of Peruvian and Danish parents, it is not surprising that vocalist Brigitte Escobar - who now teaches singing in Manchester - presented an exotic program last night.
With sympathetic support from pianist Richard Wetherall, a regular colleague, 30 year old Brigitte ranged widely, from standard fare like Cheek To Cheek, to Nana, a haunting Spanish lullaby with a Moorish tinge by the classical composer Manuel de Falla.
And, when she got the jazz bit between her teeth, the result could be likened to a mixture of Chris Connor and Astrud Gilberto.
Brigitte completed her formal musical training in Denmark before moving to Britain three years ago. Her appeal is strengthened considerably by the scope of her repertoire.
Exuberant, mercurial, wordless singing in an eastern-flavoured Turkish number came close to scat, and she soared to Cleo Laine-like heights.
And in a Peruvian piece that had all the hallmarks of a love song, replete with a heart-tugging melancholic strain, she accompanied her Spanish vocal on guitar. Wetherall added an extra atmospheric dimension with Latin-spiced accordion playing.

(Chris Lee/City Life)

ESCOBAR: SMILE

(Somethang Big - out December 15th)
Short, sweet 'n' shuffly in a Joyce-meets-Tania Maria sort of way but about six months too late to cool out hot summer dance floors it was made to be played for. Buy it and bung it away for six months.

(BLUES&SOUL, ISSUE 755)

ESCOBAR: Somethang Big Records: SMILE

Escobar conjures up images. Heck, the Mancunian songstress's album tells us so, in no uncertain terms, by titling itself as such. Then the lady with the South American/Latino/Hispanic name proceeds to deliver a single which, with every mix, takes places one into the realms of a whole 'nother world than the one before. Sounds good eh?

(BLUES&SOUL, ISSUE 756)

ESCOBAR

"Brigitte Escobar's dark, sexy voice has the cool but fascinating sensuality you can find with Brazilian jazz singers. It is the same feel as you can hear with some pop singers such as for example "Sade". Escobar's compositions are also strongly melodic and dangerously addictive even for a critic that is not usually interested in Latin music. Brigitte Escobar has the ability to connect a catchy chorus with a more complicated verse structure and the ballad "Blue Angel", that gains more and more the more you listen to it, is a good example of this. …" "It is good to hear a band that play tight and relaxed, the music swings and is energetic and extroverted. …"

(Rough translation of out takes from a Danish review, Gaffa, November 1994)

SALSA PA GOZAR

At University of Sheffield Medical Society Charity Appeal Event, United Kingdom.

I'd heard a lot about Salsa Pa'Gozar, so I was extremely excited about finally hearing them play at the charity event Nathan and I were DJing at. When they arrived I was surprised how small the band was, consisting of congas, keyboards, vocalist, violinist, bass with Ric their bandleader on timbales. They turned out an impassioned performance and an incredible sound for just six people.

Most of the students from the medical school are young to Latin music so the band tried their best to draw them in, playing well-known songs like "Bamboleo" and
"La Bamba" during their first set. The response wasn't overwhelming and I thought we were in for a slog of a night. All that changed over the course of the
interval between sets: as the night drew in, numbers picked up, and the drink started to ease inhibitions.
By the time the band took the stage for the second stint the place was rocking. Salsa Pa'Gozar responded with a series of well selected and exquisitely performed numbers; pacy up-tempo rhythms are their great strengths, but they proved easily capable of slower numbers too like their "Smooth operator" cover where their lead vocalist really gave soul to the song.

As a singular injustice in this world, Salsa Pa'Gozar aren't as well known as they should be. If any of you reading this want to hire a band, book them now.

Loo Yeo
Saturday 29th July 2000