Our 2019 music season starts with the first US performance of acclaimed vocalist Ada Montellanico, the most sweet and gripping voice of the Italian jazz scene.
Accompanied by her quartet, Ada Montellanico will present to DC Jazz enthusiasts Tencology, a journey through the repertoire of Italian songwriter Luigi Tenco and other classic cantautori revisited with a unique jazz & swing twist.
The intimate and elegant dimension of Ada’s performance, together with her original jazz arrangements, will bring a fresh light on some of the most intense and famous compositions that have accompanied Italy’s changes and transformations since the 1960s.
President of the Italian Jazz Musicians Association for many years, Ada Montellanico enjoyed successful collaborations with internationally renowned artists such as Jimmy Cobb, Lee Konitz, Paul McCandless, Enrico Peranunzi and Enrico Rava. For her concert in Washington DC she will be joined by Enrico Zanisi (piano), Jacopo Ferrazza (double bass) and Alessandro Paternesi (drums).
This concert will be broadcast live by WPFW 89.3 FM
LOCATION
Embassy of Italy
3000 Whitehaven Street NW
Washington, DC 20008
REGISTRATION & PHOTO ID REQUIRED
DOORS OPEN 30 MINUTES PRIOR EVENT START-TIME
Due to new safety regulations, we are not allowed to add extra seats to the auditorium or let anyone stand. A registration is not a guarantee of a seat as these are assigned on a first-come first-served basis. Doors close at event start-time.
RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH EVENTBRITE. NO PHONE OR EMAIL RSVP AVAILABLE
PREVIEW (via Youtube)
Ada Montellanico has long been considered by critics and public one of the most important and innovative singers of the Italian jazz scene.
An extraordinary interpreter with a warm and sandy voice, a great researcher of unusual and original repertoires, she has collaborated with internationally acclaimed artists such as Jimmy Cobb, Lee Konitz, Paul McCandless, Enrico Peranunzi and Enrico Rava.
She rose to success in 1996 when Ada released “L’altro Tenco”, recorded with Enrico Rava. Her research to blend the Italian songwriters’ tradition with the jazz musical tradition, led to even more successful recordings like “Ma l’amore no” (1997) and “Danza di una ninfa”, distributed by Egea Lebel in 2005 and recorded with Enrico Pieranunzi.
In 2008 Ada released “Il sole di un attimo”, in which her talent stands out both as an extraordinary performer and as an original and refined composer. In the same year, she was featured in “Jazz Italian 2008”, a selection curated by Italian weekly magazine L’Espresso, which included Ada’s “Tribute to Billie Holiday”.
In 2012 “Suono di donna” was released under Incipit/ Egea label, a cross project dedicated to women composers.
In January 2017, Ada Montellanico recorded a passionate tribute to the legendary Abbey Lincoln, in which Ada reinterprets the most acclaimed compositions by Lincoln related to the fight for civil rights.
Ada Montellanico also teaches Jazz Singing at the L. Perosi Conservatory of Campobasso. For four years she held the role of President of the National Association of Jazz Musicians in Italy and is now their representative with the National Federation of the Italian Jazz Musicians.