Maria Volonté

About María Volonté:
María Volonté is an Argentine singer and songwriter who is a Carlos Gardel Prize winner (Argentina’s Grammy), a Latin Grammy nominee and member of the Tango Hall of Fame.

María Volonté is a powerful creative force whose “entrancing creative expression” (International Review of Music) has fascinated critics and audiences around the world. Called “the best-kept secret of Argentinian Tango” (Songlines Magazine), Volonté has gathered a fervent international following which keeps her touring constantly.

Dubbed “Tango’s shimmering star!” (Global Rhythm), Volonté conquered the world of tango with numerous award-winning CDs. Her current projects explore the fusion of Argentine music with other Latin American rhythms, jazz and the blues.

A singer who combines the “earthiness of Edith Piaf with the sassiness of Eartha Kitt” (Jazz Perspectives), Volonté is also a restless musical innovator who “plays impressive acoustic guitar and is willing to experiment” (The Guardian).

She has shared the stage with Astor Piazzolla’s legendary last quintet, recorded duets with trumpter Arturo Sandoval and counts among her many fans Paquito D’Rivera (“her music is a parade of good taste”) and Derek Sivers (founder of CD Baby) who included María in the list of artists he was proudest to have released while founding the seminal online music distributor. National Public Radio (NPR) called Volonté’s art a “potent brew” – and advised listeners to “consume responsibly.”

About Blue Tango:
“Blue Tango, ” the new CD from Argentine Latin Grammy nominee María Volonté, is a collaboration with California harmonica player Kevin Carrel Footer. The CD is a ground-breaking musical project exploring the emotional and musical crossroads where tango and the blues embrace.

This globe-trotting duo celebrates the deep spiritual bond that joins tango and the blues, as two musical genres born in desire and marginality, many times censored yet always resurgent and speaking directly to our hungry souls. When they play together, Maria’s voice and guitar fill the stage with echoes of tango’s forbidden pleasures while Kevin’s harmonica whines with the lament of the solitary blues soul.

The project began at the San Francisco Jazz Festival in May 2008, when María and Kevin debuted new material and a new sound that they had been developing in Buenos Aires. Based on the success of that first show, the Blue Tango Tour was born and years of intense touring in North America, Latin America and Europe have followed.

The duo’s adventures in places as diverse as Vancouver, Kosovo or Caracas have marked and nourished their music deeply. Their original songs reflect their embrace of the road as a way of life and their commitment to global music making as a spiritual experience.

“Blue Tango” was produced by Laura Ros and Federico Gil Solá. During 2014, the duo will be presenting “Blue Tango” in concerts around the world.

About Kevin Carrel Footer:
Kevin Carrel Footer (KCF) is a writer, photographer and harmonica player deeply inspired by the intense passions of tango and Buenos Aires. Kevin learned to play harmonica while hitchhiking across the United States during his own pilgrimage to the delta of the Mississippi, birthplace of the blues. Later, following the perfume of tango to Argentina, he lost himself in the milongas and cafes of Buenos Aires. He is the author of the book “A Tango Before I Die” and tours the world with the celebrated Argentine singer-songwriter María Volonté.