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New CD: Lua Hadar with TWIST
release date: May 10, 2008
Iridium Jazz Club, New York City

Lua Hadar, a unique and original vocalist with a soaring range, interprets lyrics in several languages with a charming, swinging delivery. Her band, TWIST, plays its own brand of jazz without borders, spiced with elements of Latin, pop, funk, and international cabaret.

TOP 10 Radio Ratings in 2009 to date:
KZSM in Santa Cruz, KAFM in Colorado, WEFT in Illinois, WMTU in Michigan, on lists with Charlie Parker, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, Joshua Redman, Jacqui Naylor, Jane Monheit and Elaine Elias.

2009 airplay in France:
Radiojazz 34, Sussargues, France
– DJ Gerard Viols

Vocals: Lua Hadar
Piano & Udu: Jason Martineau
Acoustic & Electric Bass: Andrew Higgins
Drums & Percussion: Jim Zimmerman
Latin Percussion: Patricio Angulo
Reeds: Tony Malfatti
Accordion: Dave Miotke

Musical Direction & Arranging:
Jason Martineau
Producer: Candace Forest
Graphic Design: Paige Smith
Photos: Kingmond Young
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Ari Rios
at Laughing Tiger Studios, San Rafael, CA
Bellalua Records 2008; All Rights Reserved

TRACK LISTING:

1. Floating Where I Have Never Been (Je Vôle)
(Jason Martineau, French: Matthew Haslip)
2. Twilight World/Dancing in the Dark
(Marian McPartland, Johnny Mercer/Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz)
3. Sous Le Ciel de Paris (Under Paris Skies)
(Hubert Yves Giraud, Jean Drejac)
4. All I Want (Joni Mitchell)
5. No Borders (Lua Hadar, Candace Forest & Jason Martineau)
6. Longer (Dan Fogelberg)
7. Siboney  (Ernesto Lecuona)
8. Hi Lilli Hi Lo/Les Chemins de l’Amour
(Bronislaw Kaper, Helen Deutsch/Francis Poulenc, Jean Anouilh)
9. Vorrei (Nini Giacomelli, Franco Bertoldi)

ARTIST’S STATEMENT:
TWIST came into being during 2007, but the seeds were planted long ago. I can still see my father standing up to take a big band sax solo, still feel the thrill of mambos and cha-chas from the Latin band that followed, before I was whisked off to bed, with Dancing in the Dark as my lullaby. My fascination for language and travel blossomed in high school. Later, I sang on tour for five years with an Italian theatre company. The song Vorrei was written by Nini Giacomelli, who has been my colleague since that time.Musical theatre work and classical voice studies have produced fusions like Hi Lilli Hi Lo with Poulenc’s Les Chemins de L’Amour. I’ve always been awed by jazz, and hardly dared to approach it until I met my musical director, jazz pianist and composer Jason Martineau. “Dr. J” embraces all styles and helps put the twist in TWIST, adding tunes such as his Floating Where I Have Never Been to the mix. The shades of love presented here range from the personal to the love for humanity, embodied in our original,
No Borders, written with composer-producer-“midwife,” Candace Forest.

Crossover artist Lua Hadar finds her way around both jazz standards and show tunes with power and grace, taking her listeners on a terrific ride. Her voice has been described as earthy, soulful, pure and rich, while her fine comic timing and sense of humor shine through on a generous handful of tunes.

Candace Forest, Producer:
-See Bio