FEATURED REVIEWS ON ANGELICA MATVEEVA
Music Magazine Lira (03.06.2011) on debut album Swedish poetry goes jazz
"Matveeva's clear, genuine, pretence-free voice coupled with the groovy and emotional music and the serious and long text chunks form an exciting whole. My obvious favourite is Gunnar Ekelöf's "Tag och skriv" [...] .
Dagens Nyheter (05.06.2011), Sweden's largest daily, on live performance at Jazz Club Glenn Miller Café with programme from debut album Swedish poetry goes jazz
"Swedish jazz flourishes anew", "Impressive compositions" (Dagens Nyheter, 5th of June 2011)
Johannes Cornell
Uppsala Nya Tidning (20.07.2011) on debut album Swedish poetry goes jazz
"Matveeva has an exciting voice and her melodies expand freely, and extra spice to the arrangements is added by the beautiful wind tones of Tane Kannisto on the saxophone and Peter Asplund on the trumpet".
Hallandsposten (27.04.2011) on debut album Swedish poetry goes jazz
"Give Matveeva a lyricist, because she seems to be capable of turning anything into music!"
Martin Erlandsson
Jazzrytmit.com (21.10.2011), Finland's largest jazz online journal, on debut album Swedish poetry goes jazz
“Turning such irregular poems into music is a complex task, but Matveeva, together with fine musicians, has succeeded in creating a tasteful groove”.
Jouko Kirstilä
Jazzrytmit.com (18.12.2011), Finland's largest jazz online journal, on second album Cabaret français: cinq portraits
"She has in a way returned to her roots. In chanson, melody, rhythm and harmony merge marvelously into one whole, and Angelica skillfully balances these elements in her own interpretations. The result is an enjoyable combination of music, which reminds of hazy evenings on the streets of Paris with its dramatic and attractive cabaret performers. Angelica and her trio present the best-known songs of French chanson. […] the atmosphere Angelica creates by her singing is absolutely gorgeous, and one can easily identify with Piaf’s most dramatic performances filled with passionate love and longing. We remain eagerly waiting for the next CD of Angelica, for which plans are already in place."
Jouko Kirstilä
BBC Radio Scotland, Jazz House Programme (04.03.2015) on third album Vocalese
"...a smashing Russian-born vocalist (...) who is great with a lyric, as well as with tongue-twisting hard bop. She's a dab hand at the art of vocalese. Now, that's a very tricky art, a skill of taking a pre-existing jazz solo, putting lyrics to it and then singing it. As exemplified by the likes of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. (...) Be amazed."
Stephen Duffy
Jornal do Brasil (07.03.2015) on third album Vocalese
"The New Star of Vocalese"
Luiz Orlando Carneiro
All About Jazz (08.03.2015) on third album Vocalese
"Matveeva's offering provides a definitive look at the art of vocalese in the 21st Century"
"Deft vocal gymnastics that would make Betty Carter proud"
"Sextet is seamless and refined"
Michael Bailey
Jazz Journal (UK) (04. 2015) on third album Vocalese
"...Matveeva has articulation and phrasing that are ideal and her lyrics show that her vocal technical expertise also extends to her writing. When done well, in both writing and performing, vocalese can be exhilarating and this certainly applies here."
Bruce Crowther
Music Magazine Lira (06. 2015) on third album Vocalese
"The talented Angelica Matveeva's third (concept) album is a collection of eight jazz tunes with more or less classic status. Vocalese here refers to the genre where a singer puts words to instrumental music or, for example, a saxsolo. Best known is perhaps Eddie Jefferson's recording of Body and Soul in Coleman Hawkins' version.
A difficult and risky genre, no doubt. But the Moscow-born Matveeva (living in Norway) is a singer with full control over her voice and phrasing and nicely accomplishes this task. The music is a blend of bebop and hard bop with a modern spin, some pieces with existing lyrics, others with lyrics of her own writing.
She is accompanied by a piano trio led by Italian pianist Fabio Gianchino and the excellent wind players Jukka Eskola, trumpet, and Manuel Dunkel, tenor sax. Drummer Ruben Bellavia follows Matveeva with impressive precision and torque. The first track - "Wonderyear" - is Peter Asplund's composition, which Matveeva has lyricized together with Asplund's trumpet solo. It is a happiness inducing piece of jazz."
Ulf Johansson