Deanna Witkowski, photo by Janis Wilkins

Bridging two continents and multiple cultures, São Paulo-based guitarist/composer/vocalist Filó Machado and New York-based pianist/composer/vocalist Deanna Witkowski begin their duo tour (October 10-21) with appearances in New York City, Syracuse, Rochester, Cleveland, and Boston. Their tour melds Machado’s MPB (Brazilian popular music) compositions and Witkowski’s own cross cultural blend of Latin, Brazilian, jazz, and sacred music in a rare stateside series of performances in intimate settings.

An accomplished bandleader, composer and liturgist, pianist Deanna Witkowski has been described as “consistently thrilling” with a “boundless” imagination (Rick Anderson, All Music Guide) and “a clear musical vision” (Jazz Times). Winner of the 2002 Great American Jazz Piano Competition and a past guest on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, Witkowski started piano at age nine on an “organaire.” Trained in both classical piano and flute, she first encountered jazz while attending Wheaton (IL) College. After starting graduate studies at DePaul University, she left to devote full time to music performance. Deanna’s musical palette soon extended beyond classical and jazz, teaching piano in Kenya and studying Cuban music with Chucho Valdes and Hilario Duran. She also found time to earn her MA in jazz piano at City College of New York. Her first recording, Having to Ask (Jazzline, 2000), was acclaimed as the debut of a “major talent” by Jazz Improv. The accolade was confirmed when Witkowski won the 2002 Great American Piano Competition.

Deanna Witkowski’s career continues in many directions. Her quartet release, Wide Open Window (Khaeon, 2003), prompted Harvey Siders (Jazz Times) to write, “Witkowski is not far from jazz stardom with her keyboard techniques, her imaginative composing and arranging, and her wordless vocalizing. Remember her name.” Her third release on Artists Share, Length of Days, followed in 2005. Noted John Kelman (All About Jazz), “The depth of Witkowski’s approach is almost concealed by her elegant delivery, but she’s another contemporary jazz artist who successfully masks complexity in an undeniably accessible sound.” While still based in Chicago, Witkowski embarked on a journey of merging jazz music and sacred texts, following in the giant footsteps of Duke Ellington and Mary Lou Williams, leading to an educational project with Mary Lou Williams’ historian Dr. Tammy Kernodle, “Moving with the Spirit: The Sacred Jazz of Mary Lou Williams.” The project has been presented at various venues including at the 2009 Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival in Washington, DC. During her three years as music director for All Angels Church in New York City, Deanna composed a body of new liturgical music and two jazz masses, some of which became the nucleus for her fourth CD, From This Place (Tilapia Records, 2009). In addition to her own ensembles, Deanna has been the pianist in the BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra since 2005, and also appears on recent releases with the Schumacher/Sanford Sound Assembly and Joseph C. Phillips’ large ensemble, Numinous.

Filó Machado

Vocalist/composer/guitarist/arranger/producer Filó Machado is internationally acclaimed for his blend of virtuosity, soulfulness, and groove. Over a career spanning 40 years, Machado has worked with such notables as Michel Legrand, Leny Andrade and  Ivan Lins. In his Carnegie Hall debut in 2001, “40 Years of Bossa Nova,” he performed with Gal Costa, Dori Caymmi, Toots Thielemans, Jane Monheit, and others. His 2009 release, Ubida, produced by Nilson Matta, includes appearances by Kenny Barron, César Camargo Mariano, Romero Lubambo, and Paulo Braga. Machado composed and recorded the MPB (Brazilian pop) hit “Jogral” with Djavan.

Fluent in Portuguese, Deanna Witowski has toured Brazil three times, performing at Espaço Bis in Rio de Janeiro and at the Recife Jazz Festival. It was during her first tour in 2006, on her first night in Sao Paula, that she first Machado, whose work she had long admired. Their mutual love of dense harmonies, unrelenting rhythmic grooves, and the use of the voice as an instrument led to their duo project. Both musicians have performed with each other’s respective bands: in March 2010, Machado performed in New York in Witkowski’s quartet; in June, Witkowski performed in São Paulo in Machado’s quartet.

The Deanna Witowski/Fllo Machado duo tour dates include:

• Oct 10: New York, NY: All Nite Soul at Saint Peter’s Church
• Oct 14: Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University (daytime clinic)
• Oct 14: Syracuse, NY: First Presbyterian Church United (evening concert)
• Oct 15: Rochester, NY: Tapas 177 Lounge
• Oct 17: Cleveland, OH: Nighttown
• Oct 19: Boston, MA: Boston Arts Academy (daytime clinic)
• Oct 20: Boston, MA: Berklee School of Music (daytime clinic)
• Oct 20: Boston, MA: Ryles Jazz Club (w/guests Felipe Salles and Oscar Stagnaro)
• Oct 21: New York, NY: The Bar Next Door

Additional dates for Deanna Witowski, solo:

• Oct 15: Rochester, NY: Roberts Wesleyan College (improvisations on Chopin)
• Oct 17: Cleveland, OH: Forest Hill Presbyterian Church (sacred jazz in worship service)
• Oct 19: Boston, MA: Boston College (solo sacred jazz concert)

For more information, visit http://deannajazz.com/calendar.php

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