Stunning." Chris Philips, Jazz FM

Submitted by Jazzahead co-exhibitor: Two Rivers Records, stand US2016 British Isles Jazz

SHORT BIO:

Alya Marquardt is a British-Iraqi singer, composer and pianist.

Originally from Iraq and brought up in Tottenham, London, her music is infused with influences from Iraqi folk song to jazz and urban music.

Her musical development began at a young age when she took up the piano and began singing in choirs before becoming a soloist.

Alya trained as a mezzo-soprano with the former lead soprano at the Bolshoi opera in Moscow but in the last few years, she has been exploring her heritage and love of contemporary jazz and improvisation, bringing them together in her album Chai Party, recorded in New York and released on Two Rivers Records in April 2015 to critical acclaim.

Her current projects focus on her original compositions and folk arrangements, incorporating Arabic mawal / improvisation styles into contemporary jazz arrangements and compositions and finding commonality in rhythm and supremacy of improvisation between Arabic music and contemporary jazz.

CURRENT PROJECTS:

She is bandleader of three distinct projects - either of the first two would be available for Jazzahead 2016:

ALULA - a septet featuring leading jazz and improvising musicians including Asaf Sirkis, Jasper Hoiby/Olie Brice, George Crowley, Sam Leak, Shirley Smart and Nikos Ziarkis. ALULA will record its debut album in 2016.

SAWA - a trio with Bremer Jazzpreis winner (2012) Clemens Christian Poetzsch and cellist Shirley Smart. SAWA has recorded an EP on unique microtonal instrument, the Fluid Piano, the first recording of its kind, and will complete its album for a double release in 2016 on Two Rivers Records.

SHAMASH ENSEMBLE - a 10-piece ensemble featuring world and jazz musicians in New York including pianist Amina Figarova. Alya is planning a US tour with Shamash in late 2016.

PRESS:

A recent review of her album in Songlines Magazine (October 2015) gave her four stars and she has been featured on BBC Middle Eastern Beats (2015). Her composition, Dr M, has been a featured single on Jazz FM for several months and she has appeared on the Jazz FM shows Jazz Travels and Chris Philips' The Blueprint. Her contemporary jazz works have received extensive radio play on Jazz FM, BBC3's Late Junction, BBC World Service, Soul and Jazz Radio, Resonance FM and Ruth Fisher's Notes & Tones.

OTHER PROJECTS:

Alya has been a guest singer on several high profile jazz projects including the JAZZLINES fellowship, performing trumpeter Yazz Ahmed's Songs for Siduri in English and Arabic on the CBSO stage in Birmingham.

Notes:

Alya is represented by Wildkat PR, retained in October 2015.