Ithamara Koorax

Ithamara Koorax (born 23 May 1965) is a Brazilian jazz and pop singer. She was born to a family of Polish Jews who fled Europe during World War II.[1][2]

Ithamara Koorax
Birth nameIta Mara Jarlicht
Born (1965-05-23) May 23, 1965
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
GenresJazz, bossa nova
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active1990–present
LabelsPaddle Wheel, Milestone, Irma, Jazz Vision
Websitekoorax.com

Career

In her youth Koorax studied piano, opera, and classical music while listening to her parents' collection of Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Dave Brubeck, George Shearing, and Teddy Wilson.[2] For influences she has cited Elizete Cardoso, Elis Regina, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, and Flora Purim, particularly Purim's album Stories to Tell, which inspired her choice of careers.[2] When she was eighteen years old, she worked as a backup singer for commercials and for pop stars in Brazil.[2] She achieved some popularity in 1990 after one of her songs was played on a television soap opera.[2] Aside from singing with Brazilian musicians, she participated in a recording session for CTI that included American jazz musicians Art Farmer and Jack DeJohnette.[2]

Koorax has performed in the U.S., Japan, Korea and many European countries (England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Finland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Portugal), appearing at jazz festivals in London, Seoul, Belgrade, Funchal, Helsinki, and Indijja. She has performed classical and fusion concerts with symphony orchestras. In 2010, she performed 47 concerts in Brazil and 51 abroad, having toured Europe and Asia. On tour in August 2010, she recorded Arirang Korean pop musicians and American jazz musicians Lee Ritenour and Alan Broadbent. Her album Opus Classico (2013) contained works by Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Wagner, Debussy, Fauré, Ravel and Brazilian composers Heitor Villa-Lobos, Delza Agricola, Chiquinha Gonzaga and Machado de Assis. Her album All Around the World was recorded live in Rio, London, Paris, Sofia, Munich, Tokyo, and Seoul, with songs by Antônio Carlos Jobim, Jorge Ben, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock, and Jimi Hendrix.

Discography
  • Luiza (Victor, 1993)
  • Rio Vermelho (Imagem, 1995)
  • Red River (Paddle Wheel, 1995)
  • Ithamara Koorax Sings the Luiz Bonfa Songbook with Luiz Bonfa (Paddle Wheel, 1996)
  • Wave 2001 (Paddle Wheel, 1997)
  • Almost in Love (Imagem, 1997)
  • Bossa Nova Meets Drum and Bass (Paddle Wheel, 1998)
  • Serenade in Blue (Milestone, 2000)
  • Cry Me a River (Huks, 2001)
  • Someday (Huks, 2002)
  • Amor Sem Adeus: The Luiz Bonfa Songbook (Huks, 2002)
  • Love Dance: The Ballad Album (Milestone, 2003)
  • Autumn in New York with Jurgen Friedrich (JSR/EMI 2004)
  • Brazilian Butterfly (Irma, 2006)
  • Tributo a Stellinha Egg (CEDEM, 2007)
  • Bim Bom: The Complete Joao Gilberto Songbook with Juarez Moreira (Motema, 2009)
  • Got to Be Real (Irma, 2012)
  • Opus Classico (Arte Nova, 2013)
  • Ecstasy (Jazz Vision, 2013)
  • Ithamara Koorax Sings Getz/Gilberto (Jazz Vision, 2013)
  • All Around the World (Jazz Vision, 2014)
  • Sings the Jazz Masters (Jazz Vision, 2017)
  • 60 Years of Bossa Nova (Jazz Vision, 2018)

As guest
  • Peter Schärli, Obrigado Dom Um Romao (TCB, 2008)
  • Peter Scharli, O Grande Amor (TCB, 2010)

References
  1. Henderson, Alex. "Ithamara Koorax". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  2. Yanow, Scott (2008). The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide. Backbeat. pp. 125–126. ISBN 978-0-87930-825-4.
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