MALIKA ZARRA  / LEONARDO MONTANA DUO JAZZ

With her mezzo-soprano voice, velvety and sinuous, Malika Zarra reserves for the public her most beautiful improvisations tinged with chaâbi, Berber and gnawa influences. With her acute understanding of melodies, Malika Zarra has established herself as an agile creator who glides between rhythms and juggles the specificities of Persian, English and French. A unique universe of sound, nourished by exquisite improvisations and uninhibited musical freedom. Malika Zarra, who was born in Morocco and spent time in France before settling in New York, has drawn the “essence” of her multicolored music from all over the world, and jazz is omnipresent. But soul sneaks in, as do the youyous and rhythms of a borderless Africa. Without succumbing to the easy way out, the Berber diva surprises and seduces with her melodic ease and the richness of the surrounding soundscape.

Malika will be accompanied by Leonardo Montana on piano, who sails with brio in musical universes as diverse as they are rich, and performs alongside many major artists on the jazz scene. She has performed alongside Felipe Cabrera, Arnaud Dolmen, Raul de Souza , Samy Thiébault, Anne Paceo, Céline Bonacina, Bill Mchenry, Romain Pilon,Géraldine Laurent, Michael Pipoquinha, Pedro Martins, Plume, Claude Tchamitchian, Irving Acao etc., at festivals and clubs around the world. His experience as a sideman led him to record two solo piano albums, the first, “A Flor da Pele” (Paradis Improvisé label), released in 2022, and another, “Joruri”, released in 2023 (Emouvance label).