Quotes

“…a beautifully articulated intimacy….”
Graham Reid, www.elsewhere.co.nz

“…one dynamite singer from the City of Sails…who was simply fantastic at the Jazz Festival when she sang at the Mount” Winston Watusi,
The Weekend Sun

“scholarly in a completely relaxed way …. powerfully expressive.”
John Clare,
Sydney Morning Herald

“…a remarkable singer who is breaking new ground”
Daily Telegraph

"...a consummate vocalist who must rank as one of the best in Australasia" — Angela Crawford, Wanganui Jazz Club

"Carolina ... enthralled the near capacity audience"
Bay Chronicle

"If women jazz singers are your thing then there’s a myriad of great names to choose from — Diana Krall, Sara Lazarus, Madeleine Peyroux.... Add Carolina Moon to that list." — The Wellingtonian

“Carolina.. has a flawless vocal range and brings to each a song a freshness of approach so different from most singers. Her interpretations are spacious, musically interesting and totally absorbing as she uses her voice like a musical instrument to weave in and out of the music with beautiful improvisations.

“ the duo work of voice and sax in unison was brilliant, very reminiscent of Cleo Laine and John Dankworth.”

“This concert was jazz at its collective best: a wonderful vocalist who gave us her all, and a band that got in behind this awesome talent with some pretty impressive talent of their own.” — Angela Crawford, Wanganui Jazz Club

“ I have to say you are incredible “ — Tony Hatch

“ Excellent scat!”
Mike Manieri

" Those faithful to original jazz versions are in for a surprise. Carolina Moon is gathering international acclaim for her fresh ability to rearrange the old favourites in the true postmodern sense"

" Moon’s intonation of the lyrics and great range of expression through her body creates a striking centrepiece"
Nelson Mail, Woollaston
Nelson JazzFest

Exquisite songs from ancient sources which resonate with a jazz tinged freedom

Lying slightly to the left of a convenient tag, Carolina Moon's aural spectrum is a captivating canvas of world music with deeply ancient roots, deep song, and world class improvisations, at the heart of which lie the beautiful Ladino melodies of Judeo Spain.

Carolina Moon heads this world music project which began in a collaborative performance with Mark Isaacs at the Great Synagogue, Sydney 2002.

The NZ ensemble was formed in 2008 to explore medieval world song (and original / contemporary world music) within the context of a modern improvising group and assembles some of NZ's finest improvising artists with representatives from Sephardic, Western and New Zealand cultures.

Their interpretations remain true to the spirit of this beautiful music whilst bringing it into the present day.

The ensemble performs in various sized line-ups to a backdrop of visual imagery by sound artist Maree Quinn. Their extensive performance experience collectively spans NZ, Australia and the Pacific, the UK, India, China, USA, New York, Canada.

ARTISTS

Carolina Moon ~ vocals, bells, arrangements
Nigel Gavin - guitar, glissantar, banjo
Roger Manins - soprano/sopranino saxophones, clarinets, flute
Jessica Hindin - violin
Kevin Field - piano / fender rhodes
Matthias Erdrich - double bass
Ron Samsom / Chris O'Connor - drum set / percussion

BIOS in Brief

CAROLINA MOON (UK/AUS/NZ) ~ vocals, bells, arrangements
Ms Moon is a multi lingual, improvising vocalist with a passion for medieval and traditional world musics. Having misspent her formative years on the London jazz and world music scene, she moved to Sydney in 1995 to finish the job. Here she performed and collaborated with many leading artists including Mark Isaacs with whom she first performed the Sephardic repertoire. In 2002, she travelled to the Jazz India Vocal Institute, Mumba studying voice and raga. Now based in Auckland New Zealand, Carolina completed her Masters of Music in Performance in 2009. Her performance experience spans the UK, Australia, India, China, Aotearoa and the Greater Pacific.

NIGEL GAVIN (US/NZ) ~ electric oud (glissantar), guitar, banjo, mandolin
Nigel has contributed scene-stealing solos to an astonishing variety of musical groups and settings, bringing with him the dedication to the guitar that earned his place in Robert Fripp’s legendary League of Crafty Guitarists. His solo albums are ‘Music for Flem 2’, ‘Thrum’, and ‘Visitation’ (2007). Gavin is a guitarist with remarkable versatility, respected by other players around the world. He continues to work both in New Zealand, Europe, Australia and the United States. Projects include The Jews Brothers, Nairobi Trio, Bravura, Richard Adams, Whirimako Black, Lorina Harding, Carolina Moon, support to KD Lang, 3 penny Opera, Pacific Curls.

ROGER MANINS ~ soprano/sopranino saxophones, clarinets and flute
Roger Manins is one of New Zealand’s leading international saxophonists. Based in Sydney for most of his musical career, he thrived and came to prominence performing with the vanguard of Australian jazz. He left for New York in 1996 before returning to emerge as a powerhouse in the Australian scene, scooping the Award for saxophone at the Wangaratta International Festival of Jazz 2002. Manins is recorded on over 20 jazz albums with many of the leading lights of Australasian jazz and has four solo album to his name. He has performed with an array of international artists

JESSICA HINDIN ~ violin
Jess, after completing her performance degree at Auckland University, travelled to Ireland as part of a traditional Irish stage show in Galway. She toured with the international world music show “Barrage” based in AlbertA, Canada. After almost 5 years of extensive touring encompassing 5 continents, and features on many national TV stations, she returned home to continue her career as a full time freelance musician concentrating on writing, arranging, touring and recording for various jazz, country, and celtic artists.

KEVIN FIELD~ piano, fender rhodes
Kevin is one of New Zealand’s finest contemporary jazz pianists. He performs with Whirimako Black, Nathan Haines, Peter Urlich, the APO, Caitlin Smith.

MATTHIAS ERDRICH (GERMANY/NZ) ~ acoustic bass
Born in southern Germany, Matthias studied double-bass with Prof. Wolfgang Stert at Hochschule fuer Musik, Freiburg. He has worked with the Radio Symphonie Orchester, Opera Orchestra, Freiburg, Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt, solo-recordings with Sueddeutsche Rundfunk, played and recorded with “Amusette”-trio french and gypsy music in Germany, France and Switzerland. He is a full time member of the Auckland Philharmonia .

RON SAMSON (CAN/NZ) / CHRIS O'CONNOR (NZ) ~ drumset/percussion
Ron Samsom’s musical career has seen him work with international jazz artists such as Nathan Haines, Jim Brenan and Florian Ross, Stephon Harris, Karin Allyson, Randy Brecker, Marlena Shaw, Slide Hampton and Bob Wilber in countless recordings,
concerts and workshops. Ron’s drumming skill and unique accompaniment style are a sought after commodity that can be heard on many highly regarded jazz recordings and has seen him featured in many of the major jazz festivals throughout Canada and New Zealand. New Zealand artists he has worked with include Whirimako Black, Roger Manins, Dixon Nacey, Caitlin Smith, NZSO, Carolina Moon, Karen Hunter to name a few.

MAREE QUINN ~ visual projections