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Desert Island Jazz
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Kat Parra (2011)
Visit Website (Photo by Michelle Longosz)	It's well known that Kat Parra is a singer, but not that she's also a multi-instrumentalist: flute, piano and guitar. She's been part of the lively Latin Jazz community in the Bay Area for many years now. Kat trained on classical flute at UCLA, but has always been singing, and she finally started formal training at San Jose State. She has Patti Cathcact of Tuck and Patti to thank for guiding her down the right path to find her true voice. Kat has spent time in Chile and Cuba, and has a true facility with languages: she sings in Spanish, Portuguese and French as well as English. But it's the music of the Spanish-speaking countries that seems to pull her in, especially the Sephardic music of the Spanish Jews. Kat honed her skills as a salsa singer with the group Charanga Nueve, and for the last few years, has devoted herself exclusively to music after raising two sons as a single parent. (On meeting Kat, it's hard to believe that those sons are now in their 20s: she smiles and tells you she was married at age 18.) Kat's album "Azucar de Amor" was the first production of Patois Records not to feature label owner Wayne Wallace (who continues to provide her great support), and it was on many "Best of Latin Jazz" lists of 2008, as were her other two recordings in their years. At the time of her being cast away on the desert island, Kat's most recent recording is "Dos Amantes", but it won't be the most recent for long: the call of the studio will be answered in a week or two.

Kat Parra (2011)

Visit Website

(Photo by Michelle Longosz)

It's well known that Kat Parra is a singer, but not that she's also a multi-instrumentalist: flute, piano and guitar. She's been part of the lively Latin Jazz community in the Bay Area for many years now.

Kat trained on classical flute at UCLA, but has always been singing, and she finally started formal training at San Jose State. She has Patti Cathcact of Tuck and Patti to thank for guiding her down the right path to find her true voice.

Kat has spent time in Chile and Cuba, and has a true facility with languages: she sings in Spanish, Portuguese and French as well as English. But it's the music of the Spanish-speaking countries that seems to pull her in, especially the Sephardic music of the Spanish Jews.

Kat honed her skills as a salsa singer with the group Charanga Nueve, and for the last few years, has devoted herself exclusively to music after raising two sons as a single parent. (On meeting Kat, it's hard to believe that those sons are now in their 20s: she smiles and tells you she was married at age 18.)

Kat's album "Azucar de Amor" was the first production of Patois Records not to feature label owner Wayne Wallace (who continues to provide her great support), and it was on many "Best of Latin Jazz" lists of 2008, as were her other two recordings in their years.

At the time of her being cast away on the desert island, Kat's most recent recording is "Dos Amantes", but it won't be the most recent for long: the call of the studio will be answered in a week or two.

Pick	Artist	Album	Song	Label
# 1	Bari	Ojos de Brujo	Tanguillio de Maria	Harmonia Mundi
# 2	Virginia Rodrigues	Nós	Male Debalet	Natasha
# 3	Miles Davis	Cookin'	My Funny Valentine	Prestige
# 4	Cassandra Wilson	Blue Light 'til Dawn	You Don't Know What Love Is	Blue Note
# 5	Hubert Laws	The Rite of Spring	Syrinx	CTI
# 6	Susana Baca	Espíritu Vivu	Se Me Ban los Mios	Luaka Bop
# 7	Kat Parra	Dos Amantes	A la Nana	JazzMa Records
# 8	Ray Barretto	Salsa Caliente de Nu York!	Indestructible	Nascente

Book	Pema Chödrön, "When Things Fall Apart"

Luxury Item	A solar-powered massage chair

Castaways by date

Tim Garland
26 Apr
Ben Goldberg
01 Mar
Lua Hadar
08 Mar

Molly Holm
19 Apr
Remy Le Boeuf
15 Mar
Stephanie Nakasian
18 Jan

Marlena Shaw
29 Mar
Ben Sidran
12 Apr

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