As a native of Lisbon, Portugal, New York-based vocalist and composer Sara Serpa has lived around music all her life. While in her teens she attended the Conservatory of Music in Lisbon, studying piano and singing, setting the basis of her musical vocabulary. When facing the challenge of choosing a career, Serpa entered a Psychology College, graduating in Social Work. Her musical desires remained alive during this period and soon she encountered jazz at Hot Clube Jazz School in Lisbon. Serpa’s aspirations of seeking more knowledge and challenges eventually brought her to Boston where she attended Berklee College of Music and later the New England Conservatory, where she got her Masters in Jazz Performance in 2008. Among her teachers were a very celebrated cast of luminaries such as Danilo Perez, Ran Blake, Dominique Eade, Theo Bleckmann, Hal Crook and Jerry Bergonzi.
From the time Serpa arrived to the United States, she has kept her yearning to learn and for developing her own voice as a composer and improviser. Serpa is a singer of a new generation who seeks out challenges in order to grow. Her ability to navigate through demanding, instrumental music and improvise over complex chord progressions is amazingly natural. As a composer Serpa has a unique approach to sound and emotional depth: she creates melodies that seem to tell everyone a different story and at the same time leave her own signature. The fact that she sings mostly wordless music, going beyond the traditional scat technique, is also part of her creative style. It is no mystery that her compositions and singing have established her prematurely as a pillar among many young jazz musicians.
Ms. Serpa is currently member of Greg Osby’s band, being the first native Portuguese musician to perform at the famous Village Vanguard in New York. Her recording participations include the latest Greg Osby’s album, “9 Levels”, released by Inner Circle Music, the guitarist André Matos “Rosa Shock” released by Toap Music and Mike Pinto's "Prologue". Serpa’s first album “Praia” was released in October 2008, by Inner Circle Music as well.
For the past years, Sara Serpa has shared stages with an expanding circle of musicians including Greg Osby, John Lockwood, André Matos, Vardan Ovsepian, Leo Genovese, Esperanza Spalding, Nir Felder, Ben Monder, Ferenc Nemeth, Demian Cabaud, Matt Pavolka, Albert Sanz, Masa Kamaguchi, RJ Miller, Logan Richardson, Mike Pinto, Ted Poor, Noah Preminger, Ziv Ravitz, Kris Davis, Thomas Morgan, Tyshawn Sorey, Pete Rende, Nick Falk, Nelson Cascais, Jesse Chandler, Bruno Pedroso, André Sousa Machado, Andreia Pinto Correia, Aruan Ortiz, among others.
Sara's ethereal voice has graced such spaces as The Village Vanguard, Jazz Standard, Cornelia St Cafe (New York), Panama Jazz Festival (Panama), Hot Clube de Portugal, Centro Cultural de Belem Teatro S Luiz (Lisboa), Casa das Mudas (Madeira) Regatta Bar, Ryles Jazz Club, Berklee Performance Center, Jordan Hall (Boston),Kennedy Center , Blues Alley (Washington DC), Valladolid Jazz Festival (Spain).
Sara Serpa has been a requested presence in diverse educational jazz seminars, such as the most recent edition of Lisbon Summer Jazz School, at Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisboa, Alhaurin Jazz Seminar (Spain) or Panama Jazz Festival.
From the time Serpa arrived to the United States, she has kept her yearning to learn and for developing her own voice as a composer and improviser. Serpa is a singer of a new generation who seeks out challenges in order to grow. Her ability to navigate through demanding, instrumental music and improvise over complex chord progressions is amazingly natural. As a composer Serpa has a unique approach to sound and emotional depth: she creates melodies that seem to tell everyone a different story and at the same time leave her own signature. The fact that she sings mostly wordless music, going beyond the traditional scat technique, is also part of her creative style. It is no mystery that her compositions and singing have established her prematurely as a pillar among many young jazz musicians.
Ms. Serpa is currently member of Greg Osby’s band, being the first native Portuguese musician to perform at the famous Village Vanguard in New York. Her recording participations include the latest Greg Osby’s album, “9 Levels”, released by Inner Circle Music, the guitarist André Matos “Rosa Shock” released by Toap Music and Mike Pinto's "Prologue". Serpa’s first album “Praia” was released in October 2008, by Inner Circle Music as well.
For the past years, Sara Serpa has shared stages with an expanding circle of musicians including Greg Osby, John Lockwood, André Matos, Vardan Ovsepian, Leo Genovese, Esperanza Spalding, Nir Felder, Ben Monder, Ferenc Nemeth, Demian Cabaud, Matt Pavolka, Albert Sanz, Masa Kamaguchi, RJ Miller, Logan Richardson, Mike Pinto, Ted Poor, Noah Preminger, Ziv Ravitz, Kris Davis, Thomas Morgan, Tyshawn Sorey, Pete Rende, Nick Falk, Nelson Cascais, Jesse Chandler, Bruno Pedroso, André Sousa Machado, Andreia Pinto Correia, Aruan Ortiz, among others.
Sara's ethereal voice has graced such spaces as The Village Vanguard, Jazz Standard, Cornelia St Cafe (New York), Panama Jazz Festival (Panama), Hot Clube de Portugal, Centro Cultural de Belem Teatro S Luiz (Lisboa), Casa das Mudas (Madeira) Regatta Bar, Ryles Jazz Club, Berklee Performance Center, Jordan Hall (Boston),Kennedy Center , Blues Alley (Washington DC), Valladolid Jazz Festival (Spain).
Sara Serpa has been a requested presence in diverse educational jazz seminars, such as the most recent edition of Lisbon Summer Jazz School, at Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisboa, Alhaurin Jazz Seminar (Spain) or Panama Jazz Festival.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|||||