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- country:Madagascar
- style(s):Jazz
- label:AÏDO
- type:Band, Composer/Songwriter
- gender:male, female
- instrumentation:instrumental, vocal
- artist posted by:Aïdo Sarl
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Paris. Is there any place that can compare with the City of Light when it comes to romance, art, history, cuisine, fashion and the sum total of pleasurable experience known as "joie de vivre?" It's little wonder then that Paris boasts more jazz clubs than virtually any other city in the world where some of the best jazz in the Eastern Hemisphere is combined in grand tradition with Grande-Cuisine. Well past midnight , waiters still hustle between bustling kitchens and packed dining rooms serving up some of the best that Paris has to offer, while maitre d'hotel seat a steady stream of night owls arriving in hopes of catching a few solid jazz sets in the ever-young Parisian evenings.
When it comes to the Parisian jazz scene, none can compare with Nivo and the Serge Rahoerson Group. This versatile ensemble, which hails from rhythm-infused Madagascar, brings a uniquely international sound to straight-ahead finger-snappin' American jazz. Led by the husband and wife team of Serge and Nivo (pronounced Neef) Rahoerson, the group performs extensively throughout France and at Europe's hottest jazz festivals. They have honed their talents playing with such jazz greats as Jaco Pastorius, Jimmy Smith, Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D'Rivera, Buddy Tate, John Lewis, Phil Upchurch, Charlie Haden, Duffy Jackson, Warren Vache, Kenny Davern, Tommy Campbell, Kenwood Dennard, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Joe Newman, Eddie Davis, Frank Foster, Ray Bryant, Jimmy Witherspoon, Curtis Fuller, Eddie "Cleanhead" Binson, Harry Edison, Arnett Cobb, Billy Mitchell...The list goes on and on. They've also sweetened their jazz pedigree by opening for Chick Corea, Count Basie, and other legends.
The multi-talented Serge Rahoerson is equally brilliant at the keyboards, saxophone, drums, and arrangements. Lead vocalist and drummer Nivo has that killer "made-for-jazz" voice that can swing from scat to ballads without missing a beat. Bassists Max Hery and Gerard Rakoto and guest artists including Francois Reau, Eddie Rabeson, and Patrick Rabeson add to the group's dynamic and versatile arrangements with their masterful individual styles. The result creates not only a new spin on standards like Satin Doll, but also originals such as Lainga (with lyrics in their native Malgache tongue) that will reverberate in your memory long after the music has stopped.
Nivo and Serge have earned enthusiastic praise from critics, and headline at one of Paris'
premier jazz clubs, L'Arbuci, in the famed Left Bank section in the heart of St. Germain des Pres.
It's easy to see - and hear - why Nivo and the Serge Rahoerson Group is a Paris favorite with some of the best jazz you'll ever snap your fingers to...
Press Clips:
"Magic from Madagascar... the revelation was Nivo Rahoerson, a little woman with an enormous voice. At times she evoked Ella or Sarah or Aretha (but) with it's unusual range and depth, the voice, in the end, was pure Nivo." Washington Post, March 29, 2000
"Some very tasty music going on here... there is clearly a lot of talent between the two multi-instrumentalists... Nivo has a very sultry delivery and deserves to be heard (with) the ability to make a classic her own." - Taxi, November, 1999
"This ensemble... plays an exuberant brand of R&B-flavored jazz. Serge is equally adept and bluesy on both tenor and keyboards; his wife Nivo sounds a little like Aretha Franklin, crying and caterwauling gloriously and sounding smoky and seductive on the ballads. Serge plays drums too, along with keyboards and sax. On piano, he sounds a bit like Monk, but ultimately settles for a higher gloss behind Nivo's vocals. On "Sassy Little Girl" and "Faly", he sounds like Vince Guaraldi, but even more bubbly... This is extremely high energy Western R&B jazz/ funk... it's superbly done. - Robert Spencer, Cadence, February, 1999, Vol. 25, No. 2
"Jazz is my first love, therefore my expectations are very high when given a jazz record to listen to, and this is one of the best of all time... Nivo is sooooo good she reminds me of Sarah without the self-indulgence she also has the range and hipness of Annie Ross, who was my all-time favorite. I am blown away by this group Wow" - Sue Few, IUMA Sound Check
"Nivo is the new voice of jazz Her voice gives you goosebumps...Dazzling" - Le Nouvel
Observateur
"The discovery of the year" - Lional Hampton Jazz Club
"Jazz that seduces you with a dazzling Madagascan group: the Rahoersons...One forgets to sip one's drink, mesmerized by the voice of the singer, and by the piano, sax, and bass solos." - Telerama
"...A voice without equal..." - Salut L'Artiste
"...A Madagascan singer who has literally exploded onto the scene...One of the grand ladies of jazz...Striking...Dazzling..." - L'Evenement du Jeudi
"...Already one of the greatest..." - L'Express