Kat Calvosa

Artist Information

Biography

Kat Calvosa writes songs that bring a refreshing sense of true innovation to the intertwining worlds of jazz and popular music. With honesty and insight, she writes and interprets lyrics with a wisdom beyond her years, creating beautiful, haunting, and charming stories that draw the listener in and take them on a journey they are not soon to forget.

Currently finishing a new album of standards and covers with a wonderful trio of some of New York’s finest musicians, she is poised and ready to discover new ground and take the next step on what has already been a fulfilling journey. The new, as yet untitled, album is full of surprises and inventive arrangements of songs from such diverse influences as Rogers and Hammerstein and the Foo Fighters.

As a girl growing up in rural Wisconsin, her father attempted and failed to interest Kat in jazz music. Oddly enough, in college, she began listening to Miles Davis. “The first jazz record I bought was Kind of Blue,” she remembers. “I think I’m on my fourth or fifth copy of that record….” It is with an ear towards such greats that Kat writes, always striving for a balance between writing music that is complex enough for her band to stretch out on, but with a lyrical and melodic sense that make her music accessible to even the most novice of listeners. Her most recent release, Chrysalis, holds many of these gems; Rufus, about her large and sometimes not so in-charge bed, See It Rise, linking the building of a house to leaving and moving on from a difficult space, and A Rose, a striking and beautiful love song.

Kat’s career continues to move in an upward direction. Moving to NYC in the Fall of 1996 to attend the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, she began working with such noted musicians as Peter Eldridge, Jane Monheit, Chris Bergson, and Travis Sullivan and obtained a BM in Jazz/Commercial music. Kat continued to hone her craft in New York until 2005 when she moved to Miami to pursue and ultimately achieve, a MM in Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Miami, FL. While there, she had the opportunity to work with such noted artists as John Secada, Raul Midon, and Johnny Rodgers. Moving back to NYC was a joyous occasion and Kat hit the ground running, teaming up with dear friends to record and release Chrysalis.

With several tours on the horizon, new songs to be arranged and written, and a new album already in post production, Kat Calvosa is on the road to higher ground and with what lies behind her, there is no doubt that only more wonderful collaborations, music, and opportunities lie ahead.

Instrumentation

Ross Pederson - Drums
Sam Minaie - Bass
Perry Smith - Guitar

Discography

It Could Happen, 2001
Chrysalis, March 2009

Audio

• The Brooklyn Dodger
  Listen  
• A Rose
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• Rufus (The California King)
  Listen  
• Home
  Listen  
• The Sun Came Out Today
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• The World's Holiday Party
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Lyrics

• The Brooklyn Dodger
• A Rose
• Rufus (The California King)
• Home
• The Sun Came Out Today
• Cameo

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Chrysalis Review [+ Show ]
  

  …Calvosa sings in a low soprano voice with just a hint of sweetness and she can play with the rhyt...
  …Calvosa sings in a low soprano voice with just a hint of sweetness and she can play with the rhythm without ever losing the beat…an original perspective and a gift for metaphors…a wonderful introduction to her gifts as a songwriter….Calvosa creates a work of great subtlety and nuance…
  
  

• Under Darkness of Cover [+ Show ]
  

  Recital: Under Darkness of Cover January 25, 2007. Local Jazz vocalist Kat Calvosa will be givin...Recital: Under Darkness of Cover
  
  January 25, 2007. Local Jazz vocalist Kat Calvosa will be giving a recital of cover songs in Clarke Recital Hall at the University of Miami, Coral Gables campus on February 1, 2006 at 8:00 p.m. The recital is in partial fulfillment for her Masters Degree in Jazz Pedagogy.
  
  While cover songs are traditionally referred to as: “a performance or recording of songs that have been previously made famous and recorded by other people,” Kat feels that there is much to learn from such recordings and material. In all songs, there is room for the song to grow into something different than their original recordings or conception might convey. In addition, because Jazz music is strongly steeped in the use of traditional ‘standard’ repertoire, as well as having an organized body of knowledge from which to draw from, the concept of doing a recital of covers is not far from her Jazz roots.
  
  Originally from Wisconsin, Calvosa followed her dreams to New York in the mid 90’s to attend the Manhattan School of Music, where she received her BM in Jazz/Commercial Voice. After completion of her degree, she worked as a vocalist, songwriter, and teacher in New York for the following six years until relocating to Florida to attend the University of Miami in the Fall of 2005 to pursue a degree in Jazz Pedagogy, the teaching of Jazz, with a strong emphasis on vocal performance.
  
  For additional information regarding this event, related events, or Kat, please visit www.katcalvosa.com.
  

Setlist

Standards & Covers
A
A Hard Day’s Night
Almost Like Being in Love
Alone Together
And Ella Sang
Angel Eyes

B
Blame it on My Youth
Bella Luna
Black Coffee
Both Sides Now

C
California
Can’t We Be Friends
Change the World
Can’t Buy Me Love
Chega De Saudade (No More Blues)
The Coffee Song
Close Your Eyes

D
Daniel
Daydream
Desafinado
Detour Ahead
Dindi

F
Feel Like Makin’ Love
Fever

G
Gentle Rain
Girl from Ipanema
Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You
A Ghost of a Chance

H
Hallelujah, I Love Him So
Have I Told You Lately
Hey Jude
How My Heart Sings

I
I Can See Cleary Now
I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie…)
If I Were a Bell
I Like the Sunrise
I’m Through With Love
Imagination
I’m Beginning to See the Light
Imagine
I’m Old Fashioned
In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
It’s Only a Paper Moon
It Could Happen to You
It Had to Be You
I’ve Got the World on a String
I Wish You Love
I’ve Grown Accustomed to His Face


J
Joy Spring
Just Squeeze Me

K
Killing Me Softly

L
Lazy Afternoon
Let’s Fall in Love
Like Someone in Love
Longer
Love Will Come to You

M
Me and Julio Down in the Schoolyard
Moondance
Mother and Child Reunion
My Guy
My Foolish Heart
My Funny Valentine
My Heart Stood Still
My One and Only Love
My Romance



N
Nature Boy
Never Let Me Go
The Nearness of You
No Moon at All

O
One Note Samba
On the Sunny Side of the Street

P
Peri’s Scope
Pick Yourself Up
Popsicle Toes
Power of Two

R
Recipe for Love

S
Save Your Love For Me
Small Day Tomorrow
Somewhere Out There
Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
Straighten Up and Fly Right
Summertime

T
The Look of Love
The More I See You
The Song is You
Till There Was You
There is no Greater Love
This Can’t Be Love
This Masquerade

U
Under the Boardwalk
Unforgettable






W
Wave
The Way You Look Tonight
When You Wish Upon a Star
When Lights are Low
The Wood Song
Why Should I Care


Y
Yesterday
You’ve Got a Friend
You’re So Vain
You Are the Sunshine of My Life
You Don’t Know What Love Is

Original Tunes
Kiss
Moonchild
Home
NYCSTP
Rufus
Falling Up
The Right Key
Miles Away
The Brooklyn Dodger
Rufus
A Rose
The Sun Came Out Today
The Voices We Ignore
Rising Yellow, Rusty View
The Candy Store
Cameo
Curious Superman
See it Rise
A Pomegranate Man
Impossible is Nothing

Basic Requirements

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