Whether you call it Latin hip hop or a kind of dark soul jazz or orchestrations in electronica, there is no doubt the music of the New York City-based group Si*Sé is nothing short of rousing, provocative and ingenious.
Founded in 2000, by its singer Carol Cárdenas and DJ U.F. Low (a.k.a. Cliff Cristofaro), Si*Sé (pronounced see-seh), also features Ryan Farley on drums, Morgan Phillips on bass, Neil Ochoa on percussion and Jeannie Oliver on viola who has since been replaced by Tarrah Reynolds on violin.
“I think from the time we started the band to now, we've seen a lot of growth in Latin lounge and electronica music,” said Cárdenas “It's always evolving and it's nice that a lot of it is being heard now more than ever.”
With more than four decades of musical experience under their belts, the members of the Irish Celtic band The Chieftains have quite a few interesting stories to tell, to say the least.
The band has either collaborated or performed with numerous artists from country darling Allison Krauss, jazz princess Diana Krall and her husband, Elvis Costello, to Sting, Van Morrison and Bela Fleck. Paul McCartney even danced a little Irish jig to their music when they played a few special tunes at Krall and Costello's wedding, where they exchanged jokes with Elton John.
“We often have that,” said Chieftains founder Paddy Maloney on surprise guest appearances. “You never know who's going to pop up.”
Other famous fans include The Boss himself, guitarist Ry Cooder, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings.
