A Jazz Evening with Ithamara Koorax

Considered one of the top singers in the contemporary jazz scene, Ithamara Koorax has been voted 3rd in the Downbeat 2008 and 2009 Readers Polls for 'Best Female Vocalist' (behind only Diana Krall and Cassandra Wilson), and is featured as one the best jazz singers of all time in the book The Jazz Singers - The Ultimate Guide, recently released in the USA by journalist and historian Scott Yanow.

Her album, Bim Bom - The Complete Joao Gilberto Songbook, was released received rave reviews in the New York Times, Jazz Times, Cashbox, Billboard, Jazz Hot, Jazz 'n' More, and many other websites, magazines and newspapers. Voted one of the Best Albums of 2009 by All About Jazz-NY, Village Voice and Latin Jazz Network.

Another recent CD, O Grande Amor, recorded during a European tour in 2010, was also released worldwide with critical acclaim, receiving a 4.5 star review in the May 2011 issue of Down Beat magazine and 5 stars in Jazz 'n' More. Chris Slawecki, Senior Editor of All About Jazz, wrote: "Perhaps there's an easier way to describe it, but if Barbara Streisand ever went into a recording studio with Michel Legrand and Miles Davis, O Grande Amor is what might have come out. It is simply stunning and spectacular."

Koorax has recorded 15 solo albums, 17 soundtracks and participated in more than 200 special projects and compilations.

She has collaborated with such artists as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, Ron Carter, Larry Coryell, Elizeth Cardoso, Gonzalo Rubal Caba, John McLaughlin, Sadao Watanabe, Hermeto Pascoal, Marcos Valle, Jay Berliner, Edu Lobo, Martinho da Vila, Jurgen Friedrich, Claus Ogerman, Dave Brubeck, Joao Donato, Dom Um Romao, Thiago de Mello, Mario Castro-Neves, Raul de Souza, Lou Volpe, Laudir de Oliveira, Rodgers Grant, Gil Goldstein, Art Farmer, Eddie Gomez, the groups Azymuth, Gazzara and Os Cariocas, the big band Rio Jazz Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestras Petrobras and Jazz Sinfonica.

"I quickly became a Koorax Convert", wrote the famous jazz historian Ira Gitler. "Koorax is her own woman. She is multi-faceted and multi-lingual, comfortable in all situations and expressive in a variety of languages. Her range and technique are remarkable but you don’t necessarily take time out to marvel at her technique until later on because you are too absorbed in her musical message. Her powerful singing speaks for itself with celestial eloquence."

Tickets: €15
Tel. 7000-9304 (daily 9.30-11.30am) / www.pharostickets.org

The event is part of the Brazilian Culture Month organized by the Pharos Arts Foundation, the Honorary Consulate of Brazil, and the Embassy of Brazil in Cyprus