GromKo.

Artist Information

Biography

As a kid, Sarah Gromko learned that the only common thread between her many homes was music. (Her family moved every two or three years but always were surrounded by community rich in musical resources.) She began her career in professional performance at age thirteen as a singing telegram and, by age fifteen, was professionally cantoring for churches. Her early voice was honed under the instruction of opera stars Carol Wilcox-Jones, Judith Gray, and Mary Burgess, but she eventually dropped that scene and ran away to study at Berklee College of Music.

There, her jazz repertoire and compositional chops increased dramatically, and Gromko sang her way through school in professional a cappella groups and doing television jingles. She graduated with a film scoring degree, immediately moved to New York City, and developed her career as a sound and music editor for television and film. She also was able to hone her musical ideas with her commissioned arrangements and orchestrations, but singing ever again was the farthest from her mind.

Then she met a pianist who encouraged her to dust off the old larynx in order to resume arranging standards and perform with a combo. She formed GromKo. and was received well enough to consider breaking out the original tunes she had hidden under a bushel since her salad years. This newfound courage, combined with a life-changing spiritual decision, spawned "Convert Augustine."

Over her multi-focused career, Sarah has worked and played with such names as Wycliff Gordon, Marcus Printup, Eric Reed, Bob Stoloff, Maggie Stone, James Oliverio, Mike Mainieri, and Wynton Marsalis.

Instrumentation

GromKo. consists of a rotating band including keys, bass, and drums. Sarah Gromko writes the compositions, leads the band, and sings.

This Album's Line-up:
Art Hirahara, Rhodes and piano
Jon Price, electric bass
Danny Sanchez, drums and percussion
Javier Arau, flute, clarinet, and sax

SPECIAL GUESTS:
Miguel Bollar, banjo and guitar
Jay Lifton, melodica
Chris Marolf, upright bass
Mark Johnson and Tracy Shields, background vocals

Discography

LP: Convert Augustine, 2007

Audio

• What Is This Thing Called Love
  Listen  
• Scapegoat
  Listen  
• Say No
  Listen  
• Larva
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• Are We There Yet
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• Season the Host
  Listen  
• Merton's Prayer / One With You
  Listen  
• Nature Boy
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Scapegoat
• Say No
• Larva
• Are We There Yet
• Season the Host

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Confessions of a Jazz Singer [+ Show ]
  

  Jazz is kind of like a lint roller. You could slide your roller along a nice pair of khakis and coll...Jazz is kind of like a lint roller. You could slide your roller along a nice pair of khakis and collect a healthy patch of fuzzy gray matter, which you then could unroll from said lint roller, spending anywhere from two minutes to two hours trying to get the hateful thing off your fingers before it finally floats, ever so gracefully, into the trash can, mocking you with every gentle sashay until it finally disappears into the waste basket.
  
  Or you could slide your lint roller along a patch of leafy earth, against a palette of wet paints, or just stick it out the window as you drive along the freeway.
  
  Two ways to coat a lint roller.
  
  Two ways, also, to play jazz — and they’re both perfectly acceptable, depending upon what you believe jazz is supposed to accomplish.
  
  That being said, I confidently can state that GromKo is like a lint roller that seems to have been stuck (respectfully), into the middle of a Big Band bistro, a neo-soul soup, a funk music gumbo and a cantoring church choir casserole.
  
  GromKo’s “Convert Augustine” is jazz, but it’s a step away from the more utilitarian aspects of the style, embracing more of the personal, expressive side of the genre. More specifically, that means Sarah Gromko’s faith, and somewhat more discreetly, her background in television jingles.
  
  Nearly each track is like a flip of the channels. The opening number is a cover of Cole Porter’s “What Is This Thing Called Love” with a heavy bass
  beat that could very well back Erykah Badu. “Scapegoat” is pure neo-jazz that features cameos from a hip-hop oriented beat at the beginning and a sudden reggae beat halfway through
  the song for about 30 seconds. Both songs sound the opening and the closing credits of a made-for-TV movie.
  
  If not for Gromko’s smoky voice, “Say No” might be destined for K-Mart soundtracks across America, but her sultry bellow lends flesh to a slow and
  standard beat that, otherwise, would be a nice, soporific ballad.
  
  “Larva” follows the same beat as “Say No,” but there’s a much more retro sound. Maybe it’s the clarinet at the beginning that just whistles sweetly, “Benny Goodman ... Benny Goodman…” It’s nice nonetheless, and it’s a good song to play if you’re ever
  going for a walk downtown and want to feel like you’re in a Mac commercial.
  
  “Are We There Yet” is supposed to be reminiscent of a car rumbling down the highway, but it sounds more like the sound-track to a Muppets music video, with the two voices whining at
  the beginning, “Are we there yet?” and the monotone scat section that follows. There’s parts where I wonder if GromKo was channeling Jim Henson (or maybe Henson was channeling
  Gromko the entire time … the
  charlatan …)
  
  “Season the Host” is one of the best songs on the album. It combines a lot of GromKo’s influences into a track that is very balanced with jazz, R&B
  along with soul and a bit of angelic humming. Methinks that Mary J. Blige would include this fine ditty on her iPod.
  
  “One With You” is GromKo’s church cantor track that sounds similar to the a capella part on Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It’s a wonderful track and it makes me wish Queen had done
  the entire song a capella.
  
  GromKo’s cover of Eden Ahbez’s “Nature Boy” is a wave of sound, rising from a low, steady percussion beat at the beginning with nothing but
  GromKo’s voice to a blast of jazz power with the undulating presence of hoo-ha funk guitar. (What is hoo-ha funk, you ask? Why, it’s funk that makes you go “HOO HA” when you hear it.)
  
  Peppered throughout are GromKo’s musical interpretations of a prayer by Thomas Merton, which range from eerie to a capella and seem to tie the
  record together. They are something like a confession of faith and a confession of God’s power all made in God’s presence. When contrasted with the rest of the record, that really seems to be what she’s trying to convey, sort of like a church choir and a jazz band.
  
  In conclusion, this record might be a little too jazzy for those not accustomed to the genre, but for jazzheads who like their lint rollers with a little bit of earth, color and wind, it's worth a buy.

• Season the Host [+ Show ]
  

  With listed influences ranging from Brahms to Dream Theatre, you expect something pretty quirky, and...With listed influences ranging from Brahms to Dream Theatre, you expect something pretty quirky, and GromKo. delivers, with a mix of jazz and folk pop. I loved the vocals, and the great accompaniment...Certainly eclectic and will probably win over some new converts in this tasty Christian pop jazz...undeniably a killer song, done by a pretty amazing talent.
  

• Convert Augustine [+ Show ]
  

  "Convert Augustine" Artist: GromKo Label: Independent Tracks: 11 "Convert Augustine" is the de..."Convert Augustine"
  Artist: GromKo
  Label: Independent
  Tracks: 11
  
  "Convert Augustine" is the debut album from Brooklyn, NY based jazz singer Sarah Gromko. Yet it is far from a solo project, for although Sarah is the primary songwriter and vocalist, this is a band effort. GromKo. consists of some extremely fine jazz musicians including but not limited to: Art Hirahara on Rhodes piano, Jon Price on bass and Danny Sanchez on drums and percussion. The resulting sound makes for a soothing Latin based jazz project that is pleasing both to the heart and the ears.
  
  The album, except for the opening and closing numbers is all original material. Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love" opens the album and "Nature Boy" by Eden Ahbez closes it out. What lies in between are some brilliant jazz numbers which in time are bound to become not only standards but also classics. There is also a three part piece called "Merton's Prayer" which is based on the writings of Thomas Merton.
  
  Although not a concept album in the traditional sense of the term, the songs on this album have been arranged and constructed to tell an ever evolving story. A love story, yet much more than just an ordinary love story, a story with far reaching implications. Overall for a debut project this album shows a deep sense of artistic maturity not often found the first time out. Let's hope for a long and successful career for this young lady and her musical ensemble. Check out their web site at www.gromkomusic.com.
  
  Chris MacIntosh aka Grandfather Rock

Setlist

We have an expanding base of originals that include:
Scapegoat
Merton's Prayer
Say No
Larva
Are We There Yet
Why Shouldn't They Be Loved?
Season the Host
Fren

As jazz musicians, we also have a repertoire of hundreds of jazz standards, many with new arrangements. Some of our favorite arrangements include:
All of You
Alice in Wonderland
Angel Eyes
Avalon
Baia
But Beautiful
Centerpiece
Chega de Saudade
Corcovado
Darn That Dream
Do Nothin' Til You Hear From Me
Easy to Love
How Insensitive
Here's That Rainy Day
I'm Beginning to See the Light
In a Mellow Tone
In a Sentimental Mood
I Remember You
I Love You
I Thought About You
It Might as Well Be Spring
Lullabye of Birdland
My One and Only Love
Nature Boy
Night and Day
On a Clear Day
Orange Colored Sky
Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
Sugar
They All Laughed
Watch What Happens
We'll Be Together Again
What Is This Thing Called Love
What's New
You Don't Know What Love Is

Basic Requirements

Calendar