Imani Uzuri
Her Holy Water: a Black Girl's Rock Opera
Eclectic, emotionally provocative and dynamic, featuring lush vocals, strings and sultry orchestration. "A sound between weeping and wailing, soul crying, rhapsodizing, retuning fire. Put your hand where it hurts and this sound may heal you" Greg Tate
[Alicia]Keys and her sisters [...from Lil' Kim to Lauryn Hill, Beyoncé to MeShell Ndegeocello... Jill Scott to Cassandra Wilson, Keyshia Cole to Marsha Ambrosius, IMANI UZURI to Tamar-Kali, Erykah Badu to Alice Smith, Ciara...] remind us that while yes, there will always be blood...our world must must must be aswim in black-and-blue praisesongs, worksongs, torchsongs, naked and gospel truths, romance, reflection, redemption, sunshine, rain, and maybe, Family, a bit more nguzo saba umoja ujima, kuumba kujichagulia.-THE VILLAGE VOICE
"THE SONGS IN [IMANI UZURI's] DEBUT ALBUM 'HER HOLY WATER: A BLACK GIRL'S ROCK OPERA' ARE SOULFUL, PROVOCATIVE AND EMOTIONALLY CHARGED"
- THE NEW YORK POST
"BLACK. GIRL. ROCK. OPERA. THIS DEBUT IS A COMMANDING REPRESENTATION AND REFUTATION OF ALL THOSE CATEGORIES. CHANNELING ELLA FITZGERALD AND EVERYONE'S FAVORITE FILICIDAL MAMA, MEDEA (in the same song, no less), UZURI CREATES A DRAMATIC MUSICAL NARRATIVE WORTHY OF ITS LOFTY TITLE...MR. [FREDDIE]MERCURY WOULD BE PROUD."-OKAYPLAYER-received 4 AFRO HEADS OUT OF 5!!!
"BEAUTIFUL"- JOHN LEGEND
"...STATUESQUE IMANI UZURI...MESMERIZED WITH AN ETHERAL SOULFUL ROCK." -THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
"THE UNINHIBITED SOUL OF IMANI UZURI IS AN ENDLESS FOUNTAIN OF CREATIVITY."
-FLAVOR PILL
"SOUNDS MAGICAL"- MARC MAC (4Hero)
"There is a SOUND between WEEPING and WAILING, SINGING and screaming, SOUL CRYING and caterwauling, RHASODIZING and RETUNING FIRE. PUT YOUR HAND WHERE IT HURTS and THIS SOUND MAY HEAL YOU...THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN HEAR SUCH MUSIC AND NOT BE TRANSFORMED." GREG TATE (excerpt from his liner notes for the album HER HOLY WATER: A BLACK GIRL'S ROCK OPERA)
Recently featured as TRACE Magazine's 'Beautiful', ecletic, dynamic IMANI UZURI is often compared to artists like Grace Jones and Nina Simone, as one who defies category, as well as being similiarly inspired by artists like Bjork, Sufi Qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Rock icon Betty Davis. She has performed at numerous international venues/festivals including LINCOLN CENTER, CENTRAL PARK SUMMER STAGE, PERFORMA07, London's BARBICAN CENTER, THE BLUE NOTE, JOE'S PUB, Japan's WORLD FESTIVAL OF SACRED MUSIC, SOBs, THE UNITED NATIONS, BLACK LILY FILM AND MUSIC FESTIVAL, LE LIEU UNIQUE, BAM, NYC CULTUREFEST, THE APOLLO THEATER, THE WHITNEY MUSEUM, Atlanta's NATIONAL BLACK ART'S FESTIVAL, BOWERY BALLROOM, and Morocco's FESTIVAL D'ESSAOUIRA, this bohemian spirit "... never fails to mesmerize audiences with her narcotic blend..." (Time Out New York). UZURI'S stunning debut album features 18 sweeping and captivating songs. UZURI has collaborated and recorded with the likes of music legend HERBIE HANCOCK, JOHN LEGEND, English drum-n-bass pioneers 4-HERO, TALIB KWELI, KING BRITT, TONY NWACHUKWU, BILL LASWELL, LOVESLAP, CHEIK TIDIANE SECK, MARQUE GILMORE, DAVID GILMORE, VIJAY IYER, MARVIN SEWELL and dub kings SLY and ROBBIE. Television appeareances include DAVID LETTERMAN performing with PETER GABRIEL and the AFRO-CELT SOUND SYSTEM. UZURI is currently developing/performing a provocative musical theater piece of the same title as her album and based on its music, while incorporating coming-of-age memories from her youth in rural North Carolina, multi-media video montage and anecdotes from her nomadic travels around the world. It has successfully been showcased at Joe's Pub, THE CULTURE PROJECT'S WOMEN CENTER STAGE FESTIVAL, THE HIP HOP THEATER FESTIVIAL, THE KITCHEN, NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (NJPAC) and Philadelphia's PAINTED BRIDE. Upcoming work-in-progress performances of this piece at THE APOLLO spring 2008.
THANK YOU to EVERYONE for inquiring about my debut album HER HOLY WATER: A BLACK GIRL'S ROCK OPERA! You are so WONDERFUL!!! The album includes 18 sweeping songs featuring some of the "cream of contemporary musicianship" such as VIJAY IYER, MARVIN SEWELL, SWISS CHRIS, MAXIMINA JUSON, KIRK DOUGLAS, TARRAH REYNOLDS, JEANNIE OLIVER, JEREMIAH HOSEA, DANIEL MORENO, THOM LOUBET, BRAD JONES, NIOKA WORKMAN, JULIA KENT, JAMES D. COLEMAN and GRAHAM HAYNES.
A dear friend said to me "pray up! the path broadens ahead..."
I thank you all for your continued support, love and prayers!!!
Love, gratitude, and continuous blessings!!!***
xoxo!!! imani uzuri
www.imaniuzuri.com
www. myspace.com/herholywater
Rock: Rock opera