Edward F. Nesta wrote about Cyntia M and her Bistro Blue release on BEPOP Records in the Music Scene section of the magazine. On July 30, 2005, Edward F. Nesta, Nicole A. Moskal and I went to hear her perform live with Jon Dryden on piano and musette, Judy Handler on guitar, Mark Levesque on guitar and mandolin, and Sean Smith on bass, at Music Mountain in Falls Village, Connecticut, and she really shined with this excellent ensemble.
I had the opportunity to interview her before her show to learn why she sings in French. She said that she has always loved France from the time she was a child. After spending years studying jazz she decided to combine her two loves – French and jazz. She said that Charles Trenet, the “Cole Porter of France”, Yves Montand, and Edith Piaf inspire her. She now sings jazz standards with a French sound, and yes, she has lived in France a couple of times. Her impressive credentials include singing with the legendary Dave Brubeck and his son, Chris Brubeck, as well as Jay Leonhardt, and Linc Chamberland, among many others.
Cyntia M. evoked images of being in a Paris café, with her interpretive styling when she opened her performance with a Charles Trenet song,”Que reste-t-il de nos amours”, followed by an Edith Piaf song, “Padam Padam” which is about how life goes on and on, and that saucy jazz standard, “All of Me”, which she sung in English. She also entertained the audience with humorous stories about Edith Piaf.
While she changed for her second set, Judy Handler and Mark Levesque did the most remarkable thing that I have ever seen, playing 4-hand guitar. While Judy sat and played her guitar, Mark stood behind her to play along with Judy on her guitar, which was fast paced, and exciting. They said that they saw a couple doing this in Europe many years ago, and wanted to try it.
Cyntia came back out and showed her versatility singing “Bésame Mucho” in Spanish, switching to French for “La Mer”, and then to Portuguese and English for “Manha de Carnival.” In any language, Cyntia M. is worth watching, as she is on the rise. Coming next? Bistro Blue, Volume II is in the planning stages.
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