Like whispers from another universe...like a deep, throaty call from the center of the earth...the voice of this dynamic songstress will capture your heart and soul.
A formally trained flautist from the age of 8, I grew up tagging along with my dad, a trombonist and music teacher, to jazz and concert band rehearsals and gigs around the Pittsburgh, PA area. Although my dad tried his best to persuade me to follow more financially-stable pursuits, I became a jazz studies major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (continuing to study flute, but being drawn to bari sax for jazz and concert bands), and continued my studies as a flute performance major at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
After college, I spent 3 1/2 years in the Canary Islands, Spain, where I was intensely exposed to the rich world of "Latin" music. Although the Canary Islands are small and relatively unknown, culture is very important to most of the islands' residents. The Canary Islands are home to artists and musicians from many different Latin countries - Spain, Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico - as well as to Europeans looking for a warmer climate! Although my formal education had ended by the time I moved there, I continued to learn volumes just by playing with these phenomenal musicians. I found it especially enlightening to be introduced to a new perspective on where the "downbeat" is, by jamming with Cuban musicians. "Can anyone tell me where the '1' is," I had to ask. They thought it amusing, to say the least. (For those of you who don't understand what this means, I'll just say that Afro-Cuban music puts emphasis on a part of the musical measure that other European-based music does not - even as a jazz-head I had to really feel into the music to get this.)
I toured Spain and the Canary Islands with the popular Canary Island folklore ensemble, "Mestisay," and performed in several cities in Scotland with drummer/fiddler John Rae (Scotland's funniest drummer), and guitarist Julio Pacheco ("el venezolano.") (We had a killer Celtic and country music-inspired band called "Sex & Violence," which continues to perform [sans yours truly] in the Canaries & Scotland.) I appeared on a number of national Spanish television shows, performed at the World Fair in Seville and was a special guest soloist at the Glasgow International Jazz Festival. From Madrid and Barcelona to Edinburgh and Glasgow, to remote villages on all 7 Canary Islands - every experience was an invaluable opportunity to go deeper into different forms of music and culture.
I was so impressed with the natural musical abilities and inclinations that people had in both countries. Spanish farmers had voices as large as the greatest opera singers - they might not have sung every note with technical perfection, but their passion and heart made up for it ten-fold. In one recording session, I was brought to tears by the emotional intensity of a "folia" (traditional song in 3/4 meter) sung by an elderly farmer from the island of Tenerife. In Seville, a young Gitano living on the streets serenaded a group of us sitting outside a café - he had 3 strings on his guitar, and probably just as many teeth. The way this kid sang & played, you would have thought he was Camarón de la Isla. (A famous Flamenco singer.) In Edinburgh, the most amazingly talented musicians would gather around a large wooden table in the basement of a pub, playing reels & jigs, drinking pints, until the sun came up.
After moving back to the States, I took an unintended hiatus from flute-playing and started singing and playing hand drums. I also started writing music - something that has enhanced my musical and spiritual life more than I have words to express.
I had a really groovy band with pianist Ron Pedley (Barry Manilow), called Luxo Lounge. It was a mix of eclectic acoustic and electronic Brazilian/Latin jazz. I sang songs in English, Spanish & Portuguese - quite a fun mix - which allowed me to exercise my affinity for other languages. We'd call the best drummers & bass players in the area & put on a great concert of "chill jazz."
In recent years, I've immersed myself in the world of kirtan/chant music. Kirtan is devotional music of Indian origin, and is traditionally sung in Sanskrit. In Shakti Tribe (Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe), we mix it up with pop/rock Western rhythms, and a mixture of Eastern/Western instruments, creating a really unique vibe for transformation.
I've also studied sound & vibrational healing with Fabien Maman, creator of Tama-Do Academy of Sound, Color and [chi] Movement, and with sound healer Jonathan Goldman. I'm a Reiki (energy healing) practitioner and have practiced hatha and kundalini yoga.
