REVIEW of Kavisha's recent performance at JOANNA’S CANDLELIT SOIRÉES 2020
SOME AWARDS
1990 Best Female Vocalist West Australia Music Awards
1991 Best Song "Wedding Sheets" West Australia Music Awards
1998 ARIA AWARD 1998 Best World Music Album "Fisherman's Daughter"
2000 ITALIA NEL MONDO award Italian Government for promotoin of Italian Culture in Australia
2008 MULTICULTURAL COMMISSION AWARD for EXCELLENCE
2011 National Sound and Film Archive Award for best CD " Love and Sorrow"
2011 ORDER Of AUSTRALIA Kavisha was made a Member - A.M
2023 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD from Folk ALLIANCE AUSTRALIA for promotion of Diversity
2024 LIFETIME MEMBER award from the BOITE WORLD MUSIC CAFE
An extract from a recent REVIEW of Joannas Candlit Soirees at Kidogo.18th June 2020 from the famous Fremantle Shipping News
Words by Bill Lawrie @photo by Clare Moody
"Kavisha takes the stage with John Reed, with whom she first played in 1981 and with whom she has performed many times, notably in the band ‘Rich and Famous’ in the late 1980s-early 90s. John plays cittern, a bouzouki type instrument, as well as ukulele. He also provides some back up harmony and irreverent humour. Kavisha has her nylon string guitar and her amazing voice. There is an easy rapport and fine musical understanding between two first-class musicians.
From the first song, the haunting ‘Invisible/Indivisible’, Kavisha has, not just a voice but an approach to the performance that is all conviction, as if she is out to join heaven and earth. Some moments have the immediacy of a nearby lighting strike. She tells a story about folk music legend Liam Clancy telling her to banish the internal critic and “see the song inside”, then moves into ‘The Fearless Note’ a song about authenticity in life and song. There are more songs about people and places by the sea from Fremantle and around the world. One song about street life and generosity in St Kilda sounds like it would have been a great duet with L Cohen, another servant of the song. Folk music at its best."
WHAT THE PRESS SAY
"Mazzella's voice has a wonderful purity of tone and can lift over a melodic line with bell-like, weightless grace." Jessica Nichols -The Age
"She sings with militancy of a Joan baez or the voice of a heartbroken angel "Victoria Laurie -The Australian
"Her songs have a great sense of melody and lyrical depth.." Jim Lee, Dirty Linen Magazine. UK
"Irrestistable,heartfelt collection of beautifully produced songs" Robyn Johnston , ABC Radio National on " Love and Sorrow"
"Fabulous album, sophisticated, aromatic, beautiful, soulful, moody." Matthew Donlevy ,Peermusic on " Love and Sorrow"
"Kavisha herself is in as fine a form as ever, delivering her superb mixture of homespun stories and traditional gems. Her voice is shimmering and effortless - she has the remarkable ability to throw her voice at a microphone from a metre away, almost like a ventriloquist, then move right in for the kill." Mike Moroney, Edinborugh Folk Club, Dunedin NZ
"Her voice flows like tears of joy and sorrow.There’s a saltiness and warmth of sensuality here that sings the great bitter sweet song of life. Kavisha Mazzella may have the first and last letters of the alphabet in her name but in truth, there’s a power and presence in her stage performance which is simply beyond words." Colum Sands - "Rootin'About" for RTE Radio in Dublin. Folkclub BBC Radio Ulster
"Clear and beautiful vocals" Bruce Elder - Sydney Morning Herald
"Kavisha ha collaborato e collabora con numerosi artisti australiani e internazionali. La sua musica originale contiene echi di folclore italiano, influenze celtiche e gitane, la sua voce calda e appassionata trasmette emozioni che toccano il cuore. La sua energia e amore per la musica sono contagiosi" (Gabriella Gomersall Hubbard- Il GLOBO)
"Kavisha has collaborated and collaborates with numerous australian and international artists.Her original music contains echoes of italian ,celtic and gypsy folklore, her warm voice and passion transmits emotions that touch the heart.Her energy and love for music is contagious."Gabriella Gomersall Hubbard- Il GLOBO
VULUMBRELLA – VILLANELLA NAPOLETANA DEL ’400 – Due versioni a confronto
Di Ciro A. R. Abilitato
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VULUMBRELLA
Villanella ischitana del ’400
Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare
“Vulumbrella” è una deliziosissima villanella napoletana del XV secolo, riscoperta dal musicologo, regista teatrale e compoitore Roberto De Simone e fatta conoscere negli anni Settanta dal famoso gruppo folk partenopeo “La Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare”, di cui, nel 1967, De Simone fu fondatore insieme a Giovanni Mauriello, Eugenio Bennato e Carlo d’Angiò. In particolare, questa villanella o canzone villanesca napoletana, originaria dell’isola d’Ischia, è una serenata che può essere cantata anche a cappella (cioè senza accompagnamento strumentale), nella quale vengono ricordate le esortazioni che ogni madre premurosa fa a una figlia che si avvicini all’età da marito. La “fica vulumbrella” è il frutto già sodo e ben formato, ma ancora acerbo, che maturerà nella tarda estate all’ombra delle larghe foglie lobate dell’albero di fico. L’aggettivo “vulumbrella”, riferito al sicònio edùle del fico domestico, originario della Caria − regione dell’Asia Minore da cui in età remota la pianta venne diffusa in tutto il bacino del Mediterraneo – assume perciò anche i significati di “soda, formosa, appetitosa, di bell’aspetto, integra, intatta”. La canzone, con l’arpeggio lento e sensuale della chitarra e il contrappunto nostalgico dell’arpa portativa, cui si aggiunge il tintinnio dei cembali e il suono cupo e vibrante del timpano sareceno, a sottolineare l’avanzare delle ore durante le quali si compie il miracolo della maturazione, rievoca la calura estiva che invigorisce i frutti nei pigri e assolati orti sparsi nella verde campagna. Con questa serenata l’amante invita la giovane amata a non farsi altezzosa e scostante, e a non fidarsi troppo delle sua beltà. Paragonandola al frutto prossimo a maturazione del fico che, se non fecondato per tempo, cade sterile e rinsecchito nella terra polverosa, l’innamorato rammenta alla ragazza gli stessi insegnamenti da lei ricevuti dalla madre, affinché non dimentichi che il tempo della sua vita è scandito da stagioni, e che la sua stagione è ormai arrivata. La serenata si conclude con l’invito dell’innamorato alla giovane di dare un segno di adesione ai giochi amorosi, spronandola a dare ora il suo primo attacco, adesso che è florida, formosa e bella, giacchè è questo il tempo in cui ogni fico mangereccio giunge a maturazione nell’estivo rigoglio della natura, e in cui l’età si fa adatta a siffatto genere di battaglie!
.
.
VULUMBRELLA
Fatte molla e no’ cchiù dura
mo ca si’ furmosa e bella
ca ogne fica vulumbrella
a sto tiempo s’ammatura
.
Fatte roce e no’ cchiu amara
nun te fa verere acerba
e non esser tanto brava
fatt’umile e no’ superba
.
E mo ca è verde la toja erba
e lu mummo renuvella
ogni fica vulumbrella
a stu tiempo s’ammatura
.
E mo ca si mez’ammullata
e tra fionne fai la guerra
n’aspettar’ ca si seccata
e che car’ in chiana terra
.
E fa’ ca mo’ ra te se sferra
ca si tosta fredda e bella
ca ogne fica vulumbrella
a sto tiempo s’ammatura
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbbqDQC7tpo
.VULUMBRELLA
Villanella ischitana del ’400
EKavisha Mazzella
.
Kavisha Mazzella è una cantautrice italo-australiana insignita di prestigiosi premi internazionali. È nata a Londra e risiede a Melbourne, Australia. Sua madre è anglo-birmana, mentre suo padre è napoletano, originario della incantevole isola d’Ischia, la maggiore dell’arcipelago flegreo, l’antica Pithecusa. Le liriche di Kavisha ripropongono canti originali della tradizione folklorica di diverse culture del mondo. Solo di rado ho sentito cantare così bene una canzone napoletana o siciliana perfino da miei connazionali, anche per l’attenzione agli accenti e alla dizione. Le canzoni di Kavisha sono autentici capolavori lirici, offerti con la voce di un angelo in svariate lingue: italiano, napoletano, sardo, siciliano, francese, spagnolo, inglese. Si tratta di autentici capolavori melodici nei quali il celtic, il fado, il catalano, il bardico, il gotico e il gitano si mescolano vivacemente con effetti davvero originali. Le canzoni di Kavisha Mazzella sono storie intessute di grazia senza peso e gemme tradizionali che recano in sé un grande senso della poesia e della profondità lirica. Questa cantante possiede la notevole capacità di lanciare senza sforzo in un microfono, da un metro di distanza, la sua voce chiara e bella, quasi come un ventriloquo, e di spostarsi sulla scena da una parte all’altra per riempire di delicata e vibrante sonorità tutto lo spazio circostante. Qualcosa che va davvero oltre le parole. La sua voce calda e appassionata trasmette emozioni che toccano il cuore. La sua energia e il suo amore per la musica sono contagiosi.
Propongo qui di seguito la versione di Kavisha Mazzella di Vulumbrella, una villanesca napoletana del ’400 originaria dell’isola d’Ischia, la quale fu scoperta dall’etnomusicologo Roberto De Simone e cantata negli anni ’70 dalla Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare.
Kavisha's Music is now on
A MESSAGE FROM KAVISHA
H there friend ! Thankyou for coming to my site. Through you buying an actual cd rather then burning one,I can keep composing and creating new music .That means alot to me .Thankyou! All songs © Mazzella Music For all enquiries please email kavisha(at)kavisha.com
2010 Reviews of the cd "Suitcase Serenata"
by I Viaggiatori
I VIAGGIATORI - Suitcase Serenata CD review by SETH JORDAN, ABC Limelight Magazine, May 2010
I Viaggiatori (The Voyagers) is a bit of an Aussie world/folk supergroup. Formed in 2006 by veteran Italian/Australian singer/songwriter Kavisha Mazzella to provide a score for the silent fi lm documentary Dall’ Italia All’ Australia, the quartet also features Greek bouzouki/mandolin player Irine Vela (Habibis); accordion virtuoso David De Santi (Wongawilli/ Zumpa); and clarinet/saxophonist Mark Holder-Keeping (Cantolibre/ Zumpa). With a charming combination of Italian standards, original songs by Mazzella and a touching version of ‘Waltzing Matilda’, this all-acoustic album chronicles the hopes and memories of our Italian community. An authentic, joyous and wellperformed musical travelogue. Rated 4.5 stars out 5!
I Viaggiatori – Suitcase Serenata CD review by Ian Dearden
Wow! What a beautiful album! The fi rst thing that strikes you, of course, is that soulful Italian singing from the exquisite Kavisha Mazella. I do have to confess that I have been entranced by Kavisha ever since I fi rst saw her fronting Fremantle’s “Rich and Famous”, more years ago than I and perhaps Kavisha care to remember. I have followed her career with intent interest ever since. I know that I am not the only person in the folk movement to be so entranced!! And wasn’t it great to see the “Rich and Famous” reunion gigs at Woodford 2009!
Listen further to this CD, though and you will be thrilled by the deliciously fluid clarinet playing of Mark Holder-Keeping, who also contributes impressively on bass clarinet, saxophone and cajon. Then there’s the ever present accordion of David De Santi, a man who seems busier than the proverbial one-armed paper hanger. He always has just the right note and the perfect palette for these songs and tunes, most, but not quite all, traditional Italian music from the 19th century and beyond. Check out their version of Waltzing Matilda for its haunting Italian resonances, never previously apparent in this tune, previously believed to have exclusively Scottish origins!!
Last, but by no means least in this Melbourne/Wollongong folk supergroup, is Irene Vela. Her evocative bouzouki and mandolin playing conjures the very smells, sights and sounds of Italy from the very first note. “I Viaggiatori” – The Voyagers, originally came together to play a live Italian music score for a silent documentary fi lm from 1925, “Dall’ Italia All’ Australia” and they continue to perform this film score at film screenings around Australia. As is clear from this CD though, they have much more to offer. Whether or not you have an ounce of Italian blood in you, this is music that will immediately tug at your heart strings and stir your soul. Superbly recorded at Corrimal’s Main Street Studio (isn’t it great to have acoustic music presented with such attention to technical detail), this is a “must have” for any music collection and a “must see” for those of you still attending gigs.
24 th SEPTEMBER 2010
Concert in Florence,Italy
at Teatro Del Sale ( Salt Theatre )
"Kavisha Mazzella ha una voce come Wow!" says Fabbio Picchi celebratory chef of Teatro Sale and Cibreo.
2005 Concert, Dunedin, New Zealand
"Fantastic concert last night in Dunedin.... Kavisha herself is in as fine a form as ever, delivering her superb mixture of homespun stories and traditional gems. Her voice is shimmering and effortless - she has the remarkable ability to throw her voice at a microphone from a metre away, almost like a ventriloquist, then move right in for the kill. Don't miss the show even if you have to travel to another city to catch it."
Mike Moroney,
Dunedin ,New Zealand May 2005
Live CONCERT in MELBOURNE 2004 review By Jessica Nicholls
The lyrics On Kavisha Mazzella's new CD might make you think that the singer has a predelictation for depressing subjects. Silver Hook Tango offers songs about lost love,jealousy,torture,war and prejudice.(The title itself is sugestively violent describing" a silver hook that flies,sinking sweetly into your chest")
But the lilting melodies can be serene. And, as with the silver hook, there is a sweetness in Mazzella's delivery that softens the edges of even the harshest imagery. This is especially so in a live situation, her ebullient personality preventing the sometimes sad stories from becoming angst ridden or lugubrious.
At the Melbourne Museum on Saturday, Mazzella performed tunes from the new CD in a duo with acoustic bassist Rosie Westbrook. The subtlety of this pairing suited the songs perfectly, Westbrook maintaining an understated but sensitive presence with unhurried plucked lines or soft, sustained bowing
Mazzella's voice has a wonderful purity of tone and can lift over a melodic line with bell-like, weightless grace. But she can also stride through a rousing folk anthem, or - with some vibrant, percussive guitar - make the audience sing along, as on her spirited encore, Gypsy Song.
Jessica Niccholls The Age 2004
Silverhook Tango, CD review
What Paul Barr of Readings books and music monthly (Feb 2003) says about Kavisha's latest album "Silver Hook Tango" " Kavisha Mazzella, one of the brightest stars on the Australian folk scene, has produced a beauty with her fourth and latest enstallment Silver Hook Tango. Taking the masterstroke perfect musical settings to accompany her dreamy poetic word pictures. Mazzella's beautiful singing works so well with Gerry O'Bierne 's ravishing impressionistic array of guitar sounds (6 &12 string,nylon and slide and ukelele). Kavisha's passionate musings on love, loss,travel, refugees and spirituality have never sounded this good and some of the more freeform tracks like "Rose in the Bones" and "Eagle Flying "show her heading in an exciting new direction...." Paul Barr
Fisherman's Daughter Cd Review 1998
"Kavisha has a gorgeous voice which in the past has been compared unfairly i think with Tracy Chapman . If I were asked i would say Linda Ronstadt as far as timbre and range go . Check out " All I Want is You " , with it's Ennio Morricone like backing and twangy guitar where her singing , reminds me in fact of a basque friend of mine who once sang me his impression of an eagle flying over the Pyrenees" Mike Cooper , Froots Magazine, U.K.
Tony Caniffe of RTE Radio ,Cork, Ireland says:
" Kavisha has a fantastic dynamic range with great colour and sweetness and she is not afraid to use it . I particularly love the vocalising she does throughout the singing of her songs . It brings a wild earthiness to the music which roots it firmly in the tradition . And tradition she has in plenty . She is obviously proud of her australian immigrant heritage and uses the italian and irish of this to great effect in her powerful songwriting... Her haunting unique version of " she moves through the fair ", is enough to make your hair stand on the back of your head..." Tony Caniffe , presenter of "The Raw Bar " R.T.E. Cork Radio.Ireland
Dirty Linen Magazine says:
Mazzella has a very distinctive and beautiful voice and her songs have a great sense of melody and lyrical depth ... A recording that puts mazzella among the rising stars of the songwriting field ." Jim Lee, Dirty Linen Magazine, U.S.A.(review of "Fisherman's Daughter,1998)
Country Music International Magazine says:
"Kavisha Mazzella, a compelling storyteller , blends strands of appalachia , rockabilly and modern rock , along with traditional gypsy , spanish and celtic rhythms into her own unique folk-rock style on this second solo album . The true story of her grandmother , depicted in the title song is just one of the many highlights.the storytelling verses are pointed and affecting building into a contagious sing -a -long chorus that manages to be both melancholy and encouraging
Kavisha Mazzella is one of the most original talents to have turned up in ages.Throughout,the elaborate melodies are quite suprising and the music is an isolated case of magnificence utilising mandolin , guitars , bazouki, violin , accordian , harmonium and various percussive instruments . Not mainstream country by any stretch of the imagination , but the traditional mountain ballad "Polly" and "Storm About To Happen"are just two tracks that lean that way." Adrian Cooke, Country Music International 1998