The Music Nights at Cafe Rozella continue with some outstanding performers. Performances start at 7 p.m. on Fridays.
Alma Villegas brings her sultry voice to an exquisite and passionate selection of Latin favorites. Friday August 15th at 7 p.m.
From the bouncy feel of Perfidia to the passionate tango version of Besame Mucho and the salsa sound of Mi Tierra these selections have entertained and captured audiences internationally for decades.
Alma Villegas and her band have performed for five years at various venues including Dulces Latin Bistro, Serafina, Bouchée Café in Fremont, St. Clouds, Misto Café, Mamey’s Cuban Café, Madrid, The Tractor Tavern, El Sombrero, The Sitting Room, Julia’s, the Musicquarium at the Triple Door and Jazz Alley. And, of course, Alma is a regular at Cafe Rozella.
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Children of the Revolution's Acoustic Trio Friday, August 22nd at 7 p.m.
"When you go to a Children of the Revolution show, you might as well leave your preconceptions about world music at the door" wrote Tina Potterf of the Seattle Times. Fans will usually say something like, "That was the best live show I've ever been to; I don't quite know how to describe it." From Bozeman Montana to the caves of Granada, Spain, from Istanbul to Taiwan, COTR make life-long fans wherever they go.
They can loosely be compared to such breakaway and high-energy world music artists such as Ozomatli, Gipsy Kings, Santana, Manu Chau and the Afro Celt Sound System, but all similarities stop there. Made up of virtuoso musicians, singers and dancers from around the world, COTR blend their Flamenco, Greek, and Rock roots creating, a lush and melodic sound driven by infectious Latin and Middle-Eastern grooves.
The group is fronted by lead singer Vassili, who grew up on the Greek Islands, and former metal head turned flamenco guitarist Eric Jaeger. Sharing the spotlight is Barcelona-born flamenco dancer Encarnación. Their electrifying and sexy concerts showcase outstanding musicianship and songwriting with world-class dance performances. Both world music aficionados and those new to the genre agree - COTR puts on one of the most unifying and entertaining shows in the world.
Guest artists both live and recorded have included legendary rock singer, Ann Wilson of
In less than two years, COTR went from playing small clubs to filling some of the Northwests most prestigious theaters such as Meany Hall, Benaroya Hall and the 3,000-seat Paramount Theater.
COTR is a consistent audience favorite of major festivals in the region such as Folklife, Vancouver Folk Festival, Bumbershoot and Montanas Sweetpea Festival, 3-6,000 people can be seen dancing and singing at these shows. Eleftheria (the Greek word for freedom) is their anthem that ends the show and ALWAYS gets the crowd jumping in unison!
COTR have the achievements, experience and systems in place to create a totally new movement in popular music. They have toured extensively through the Northwest and Canada and have been invited to perform at very special historical events such as; the first Western band invited to play for the Buddhas Birthday in Taiwan for over 30,000 people, the Government Leaders conference (organized by Bill Gates and Paul G. Allen) in Seattle at Experience Music Project, opening for former President Bill Clinton at his "We the People" speech in Seattle in 2006, and KROCKs 2005 Tsunami Relief benefit concert headlined by surviving members of Alice in Chains and Heart. COTRs concert DVD has aired on numerous PBS stations across the country and select tracks from their album, Liberation appear on Putumayo Records compilations.
After spending five months in Europe where they performed and studied with Flamenco masters in Spain, Rye singers in Morocco and Turkish musicians in Istanbul, COTR returned to record their latest CD, Life, Love and Guantanamo Bay. The album is an artistic breakthrough for Children of the Revolution and promises to bring them into the international spotlight.
Eduardo Mendonca’s exuberant energy always gets the house on its feet to his Brazilian beat!
Friday August 29th at 7 p.m.
A native of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, Eduardo traces his lineage to a royal African family bearing the hereditary title of Mama Beka (”prophet of the royal court”), as documented by the Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Eduardo Mendonça has lived for the past ten years in the Seattle area. He began performing in Seattle, and traveling throughout the United States and Canada with the Bakra Bata steel drum band. Now, he has his own group known as Show Brazil!, which has gained much recognition in the past ten years. Show Brazil! has played throughout Western Washington and Brazil at events and locations such as the Folklife Festival, Bumbershoot, Seattle Children's International Festival, BrasilFest, Redmond Arts in the Parks, Taste of Bellevue, Hispanic/Latin Month, Fiestas Patrias, Fall Fandango, Fat Tuesday, Sundiata Festival, World Rhythm Festival, Earth Day Festival, West Seattle Street Festival, Marymoor Heritage Festival, Brazilian Carnaval, Burien Strawberry Festival, Edmonds Festival, Mercado Modêlo (Brazil), Itaigara and Piedade Malls (Brazil), and the Catholic University of Salvador (Brazil).
Eduardo was also featured at Bumbershoot in Seattle, as guest artist of the internationally well-known performing group OLODUM, opening act for Olodum at the Brazilian Carnival in 2003 (Seattle, WA); the Brazilian Carnival in Vancouver- British Columbia - Canada; the Brazilian Carnival in Calgary - Alberta - Canada; the Brazilian Carnival in Seattle - WA - US; and at a Nike-sponsored show in Portland, Oregon. The performances listed above are just a part of Eduardo’s continued success as a performing artist. He also had the honor to play for Pope John Paul II’s welcome to Brazil, former South Africa President Nelson Mandela (Seattle,WA - USA - 1999), Brazilian President João Baptista Figueiredo (Brazil 1979), and was also featured in a Paul Simon documentary video in 1991.
- Eduardo is voting member of National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences - GRAMMY.
-Eduardo Mendonça is winner of “Outstanding Brazilian Male Singer based in the U.S.” for the Brazilian International Press Award 2007 (Florida)
- Winner of “Tribute for Excellence and Achievements in Advancement of Performing Arts and Education of the Brazilian Music in 2006” - Centro Cultural Hispano Americano and University of Washington;
- Eduardo is winner of Aspasia Phoutrides Pulakis Memorial Award 2005 for his significant contributions to the Brazilian Community and the community at-large of the Northwest
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Charanga Danzón is a fluid ensemble of wonderful musicians, with a repertoire of Cuban music including traditional charanga, son/danzón, cha-cha-chá, classical, and jazz.
Friday, September 5th at 7 p.m.
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REPTET brings their award-winning and energetic jazz to Rozella.
Friday September 12th at 7 p.m.
Reptet is a sextet consisting of six multi-instrumentalists all of whom are members of the internationally acclaimed Monktail Creative Music Concern based out of Seattle, WA. They have established themselves as a group of considerable excitement, flair and vision while simultaneously debunking preconceived notions of what a jazz group ought to be. Their music has been aired on radio stations across the United States and Europe, and their members have toured internationally. The arts organization Earshot Jazz has described them as, “A hot progressive combo of Seattle's best young players. Their music is intense, taut, and fresh.” With the release of their second full length CD Do This!, Reptet has established themselves as an irrepressible force in modern jazz.
Press Quotes
“This Seattle sextet does it all: it grooves, it rocks, it squawks - occasionally, it even talks. Mostly, it sounds like a New Orleans jazz band on crystal meth.” ~Alex Gelfand’s Critics pick for the best release of 2006, Jazziz Magazine~
“Trumpeter Samantha Boshnack's open voicings, jaunty tempos and buoyant timbral mixes for two winds and two brass have a friendly monster feel that conjures a bittersweet and elegiac mood of orchestral grandeur.” ~Downbeat~
“A juggernaut jazz band, arresting, compelling, and just plain cranked-up. Do This! is one of the most convincing albums of the last several years from Seattle jazz players.” ~Earshot Jazz~
