Further Reading
9th February 2024
This week we have more Brazilian guitar vibrations, celebratory big band jazz from Doncaster as well as spunky Australian grooves. Some brilliant reworkings of classic jazz repertoire arrive from Sweden, and a repatriated vocalist shines as she takes to the stage once again.
Italian London-based singer Germana Stella La Sorsa migrated from Puglia, Italy in 2017 and quickly established herself on the London jazz scene. “Nudging boundaries as she goes” (The Slow Music Movement) and exploring “the crossroads of many musical components, including story, composition, genre and style as well as instrumentation and effect” (London Jazz News), La Sorsa released her debut album ‘Vapour’ in 2021 on 33 Jazz Records.
Following the success of her first record, the singer melds her disparate influences in her second studio album, ‘Primary Colours’. La Sorsa’s new music continues to ride the contemporary/avant-garde jazz wave, further exploring the boundaries of improvisation and sound experimentation and drawing upon modern sounds and grooves, from drum’n’bass to Latin music.
Recorded in May 2023 at Fish Factory Studios (London), the album features long-time collaborators Sam Leak on Hammond Organ and Jay Davis on drums, with the addition of guitarist Tom Ollendorff and special guest Australian harpist Tara Minton.
Primary Colours contains 7 original compositions reflecting La Sorsa’s musical influences – such as Gretchen Parlato, Bobby McFerrin and Jef Buckley – and drawing upon her eclectic background and skilful voice, as well as the band’s versatility, to create something fresh, new and unexpected. The music explores drum’n’bass grooves, latin influences and free improvisation.
"With this album I wanted to share something more deep and intimate than my first release. I was galvanised to create something the listener can relate to through the association of colours and feelings – through stories. ‘Primary Colours’ is about how base human feelings and life experiences interconnect and interact with each other – ultimately leading to life changes – just like primary colours and shades combine themselves, creating new tones." – Germana Stella La Sorsa
Following this idea, each track on the album conceptually flows from the last and into the next, always keeping the listener interested and engaged.
