R&B singer-songwriter Amel Larrieux, a native of New York's Greenwich Village, will return to her roots in May for two special performances at the Blue Note Jazz Club. Larrieux made a name for herself as a founding member of Groove Theory, a duo with Bryce Wilson that achieved success in the mid-90s. Since then, she has been involved in numerous high-profile collaborations, including a version of "Where Is The Love" with Glen Lewis on Stanley Clarke's 1, 2, to the Bass that resulted in a Grammy nomination in ‘03. Larrieux has released four albums as a leader since ‘00, the most recent of which is Lovely Standards (Blisslife, ‘07). The collection of songs, ranging from Rogers & Hammerstein to Ellington, exhibits her versatility and devotion to her craft, once again proving her musical abilities have no boundaries. For her Blue Note performances, Larrieux will be testing out new material she is preparing for an album to be released later this year.
WHEN: Tuesday, May 18 - Wednesday, May 19, 2010; Sets at 8:00pm & 10:30pm
WITH: Amel Larrieux, vocals; Other musicians, TBA
COST: $35 @ table / $20 @ bar
WHERE: The Blue Note; 131 W 3rd. St, New York, NY 10012
MORE: Doors open at 6pm. Set times are 8pm and 10:30pm
BIO: An urban chanteuse by birth, the bi-coastal Amel Larrieux grew up in a West Village "artists building" in New York, her parents exposing her early to bohemian characters and experiences that would mold her eclectic sensibilities. By 18, sure that she wanted to express herself musically, she wrote a song and created a demo tape, which led to her pairing with Bryce Wilson to form the duo Groove Theory. As lead siren and co-writer for the group, Amel enjoyed success with "Tell Me," which broke the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top five on the R&B charts before being certified gold in October 1995.
In her solo debut in 2000, Infinite Possibilities (Epic), Amel crafted a veritable concept album that explored an endless range of promise and potential. The single "Get Up" is an ode to working people became a modern anthem and magnet for the growing legion of Amel's fans.
Amel recently released her third solo album, Morning (Blisslife Records) on April 25, 2006. Amel fuses a range of genres - R&B, soul, hip-hop, jazz and folk, with flashes of Middle Eastern, West African, and Indian styles. Inspired by a friend who felt "tired of having to be strong," Amel wrote the first single "Weary" for hard-working single people all over.
The title track, "Morning," speaks of sleepless nights and the longing for the morning to come so the feeling of time standing still will disappear, while "Earn My Affection" is influenced by early blues recordings and "Trouble" features a playful melody and light-hearted acoustic guitar. "Mountain of When" speaks of procrastination due to self-doubt and features delayed backgrounds through delayed effect, giving the illusion of the vocals piling upon each other.
Flying high with a Grammy nomination for her work on
Stanley Clarke's "Where is The Love," Amel Larrieux stretched her wings in Bravebird (Blisslife Records), her second solo effort that was released in 2004, rising courageously into atmosphere untouched by her contemporaries. The ballad "For Real" pulses with the beat of early Prince, offering a classic, unabashed ode to the human heart. In "Bravebird," Amel mourns female circumcision by describing a fearless victim who fled her native Somalia for the U.S.
Equal to Amel's vocal and writing talent is her alluring beauty and eclectic style. She has been spotlighted as a style maven in Essence, Honey, Harper's Bazaar, Trace, The Fader and other magazines and was also featured in the Coach anniversary print campaign. More recently her vocal talent and beauty have been central to Coca-Cola's "Keep It Real" campaign in television, radio and print ads. She is also a trained dancer.
She is happily married to manager, producer and musical collaborator Laru Larrieux and is the proud mother of two girls, Sanji-Rei (7) and Sky (11), whose singing on Morning proves that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
