The singer of Vitoria Itziar Yagüe and the Donostiarra pianist Paul San Martín pay tribute to the deceased Bessie Smith with a new record recorded to voice and piano that will be available next week.
Under the title of ‘Sugar in My Bowl. A Tribute to Bessie Smith ‘, the new album of the Vitorian based in Madrid consists of eight selected themes between the 160 that Smith recorded in the twenties of the last century.
In the recording, pianist and singer have tried to recreate the style and atmosphere of the recordings of a hundred years ago. Thus, half of the songs of ‘Sugar in My Bowl’ were recorded live during a concert in Mendaro (Guipúzcoa) and the other half, in a study session in a first shot, without corrections and with minimal production.
In addition to the topic that gives name to the album, they also include standards recorded by the American artist, who died in 1937 at the age of 43, such as ‘after you gone’ or ‘Nobody Knows You When You’re Down & Out’, along with other somewhat less known topics of his repertoire.
The Madrid Tribueñe Theater, which organizes the ‘Spring Blues’ cycle next to the Blues Society of Madrid, will host the presentation concert of this new album on Saturday, March 22 at 10:00 p.m.
Yagüe and San Martín have stressed that all the American popular music of the twentieth century is “in debt” with blues, which in turn must also “very” Bessie Smith. “That is the reason for being of this work: to publicize their figure and songs,” both artists have indicated.
‘Sugar in My Bowl. A Tribute to Bessie Smith ‘, which has been published in Vinyl of 12 “, it can also be heard on digital platforms from Friday, March 14.
Artists trajectory
Itziar Yagüe, vocalist and composer of Basque origin, has two albums of original self -produced themes published on platforms and vinyl. With his first work, ‘Delicious’ (2020), he announced between the A -Audience Audience to Blues, Soul and R&B and received the prize for the best 2021 singer awarded by the magazine ‘Link Funk’.
His second album ‘Girl Like Me’ (2023), produced by Bluesman Texano Greg Izor, turned through many points of the Peninsula and acted at the Asturias Blues Festival, Hondarribian Jazz or the Jazzaldia of San Sebastián. Itziar combines his musical career with his profession as a journalist and communication consultant and collaborates in the digital magazine ‘Caravan Jazz’.
Paul San Martín, pianist, singer, composer and deep connoisseur of the tradition of the Blues piano, has collaborated with national and international artists, such as Lluís Coloma, Nico Wayne Toussaint or Billy Boy Arnold, Tia Carroll, Nick Moss, Steve Allen, Otis Grand or James Armstrong.
To date, San Martín has recorded five albums in his name, in addition to the homonymous album of the Stay Blues band (2006), which he led for almost ten years. Paul turns regularly with the Blues Rock ‘Noa & The Hell Drinkers’ band and leads the ‘Paul San Martín Trio’ and ‘The Fake Cousins’ formations while collaborating in countless projects of other artists.