Alicia Saldenha (pronounced sal-dáy-nya), born in the Caribbean island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, has been taking Japan by storm with her unique brand of funky soul island sugar. Attempts to define and categorize her fail due to her singular background and a trajectory far from the beaten path. For those who insist on comparisons, one would have to imagine the vocal sweetness of Roberta Flack, Minnie Riperton and Linda Lewis, mixed with the raw funk and stage energy of Chaka Khan and Nicki Minaj. Her cultural heritage of calypso, soca and reggae, a love of classical music and opera, a career in drama and musical theatre while barely a teenager, her discovery of jazz and soul in Europe, fluency in several languages, have all lead to a transnational career and a vocal style that is her own.
Her debut solo album, Dance with the Sun, represents the culmination of all of these experiences, shining through in her original songs. Without the resources of a record company or sponsor, Saldenha ventured alone to New York City to record her album with some of the finest musicians and highly respected producer, Andrew Felluss of Radian Records. The songs range from funky soul to funky reggae, brought to life by a voice at once sweet and soulfully raw. Saldenha wrote all of the songs on the album except for her take on the Carpenters' classic, Close to You; she co-produced the album as well. On the first single, Ooh Boy, Saldenha takes an original approach by combining English and Japanese lyrics into a romantic reggae melody that has been a big hit with audiences at her shows in Japan and abroad.
The album brings together a group of stellar musicians in the band. Grammy Award nominated pianist and composer, Barney McAll, who tours with Fred Wesley and the JB's as well as Groove Collective, plays the keys. Talented multi-instrumentalist, writer and arranger, Gabe Cummins, plays guitar. Long-time sideman of Meshell Ndegeocello, member of the Roots and featured on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, virtuoso Mark Kelley soars on bass, while Chris Eddleton, who can be found recording and touring with Saul Williams and Lizz Wright, keeps it all together on drums. You can also hear once-member of Fela Kuti's ensemble, Kaleta, on percussion, as well as Takuya Kuroda, signed to Blue Note Records and formerly touring and recording with José James, on the trumpet. The musicians truly shine on the album as the sound is organic and immediate, recorded live in the studio without heavy production, edits or effects.
All of this comes on the heels of a successful collaboration and CD release in September 2011. Rose, featuring covers of rare 1970s soul and funk by the likes of Nina Simone and Doug Carne, recorded by the noted instrumental nu jazz group, indigo jam unit and featuring Alicia Saldenha on all of the tracks, spent several weeks in the Billboard Japan Top 50 and Top 100 Charts for Independent Albums. It also won Tokyo Jazz Notes Album of the Year, 2011. A tour of Japan included sold-out shows at Billboard Live Osaka and represented a great experience and much exposure for the singer. Before this, Saldenha also performed with legendary bassist, Paul Jackson, a founding member of Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, renowned steel pannist Othello Molineaux (of Jaco Pastorious' fame) and funk master George Clinton.
Always looking for new challengers, Saldenha released “The Lady A Project” in 2016, a series of singles and music videos featuring a cutting-edge mix of hip hop and Caribbean electronic dance music which she produced herself. Her music video for the single, “Differentology,” was selected for the Aichi Vision International Short Film Festival 2017. In addition, she is the creator and host of VibeOlogy, a new music program on Blackan Radio, Japan.
Saldenha's resumé includes a long list of experiences - as actress, dancer, scholar, PhD, activist, university lecturer, yoga enthusiast and teacher. You can follow her yoga journey at YogiAlicia.com. Many creative plans are in the works, so stay tuned…
