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Born in Buenos Aires. Nurtured on the road.
The Blue Tango Tour — a collaboration between the celebrated Argentine tango singer María Volonté and California harmonica player Kevin Carrel Footer — is a ground-breaking musical project exploring the emotional and musical crossroads where tango and the blues embrace.
This globe-trotting duo celebrates the deep spiritual bond that joins tango and the blues, as two musical genres born in desire and marginality, many times censored yet always resurgent and speaking directly to our hungry souls. When they play together, Maria’s voice and guitar fill the stage with echoes of tango’s forbidden pleasures while Kevin’s harmonica whines with the lament of the solitary blues soul.
The project began at the San Francisco Jazz Festival in May 2008 when María and Kevin debuted new material and a new sound that they had been developing in Buenos Aires. Based on the success of that first show, the Blue Tango Tour was born and years of intense touring in North America, Latin America and Europe have followed.
[box type=”shadow”]The Blue Tango Tour — a collaboration between the celebrated Argentine tango singer María Volonté and California harmonica player Kevin Carrel Footer — is a ground-breaking musical project exploring the emotional and musical crossroads where tango and the blues embrace.[/box]
The duo’s adventures in places as diverse as Vancouver, Kosovo or Caracas have marked and nourished their music deeply. Their original songs reflect their embrace of the road as a way of life and their commitment to global music making as a spiritual mission.
Their first CD “9 Vidas” (2010: Intrepid Patrol Records) was recorded live in Buenos Aires together with the 9 Vidas Band. Currently, the duo is recording their much-awaited second CD in Buenos Aires under the artistic direction of Laura Ros and Federico Gil Solá.
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Blue Tango Tour Highlights
- Nominated, Estrella de Mar Prize
- Performed SXSW Festival, Austin, Texas
- Performed on the National Public Radio (NPR) Tiny Desk Concert Series
- Headlined at that San Francisco Jazz Festival (2008, 2009, 2011)
- Selected by CD Baby founder Derek Sivers as one of the Top 100 CDs issued by CD Baby
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About María Volonté:
Celebrated Argentine singer and songwriter María Volonté is a powerful creative force whose “entrancing creative expression” (International Review of Music) has fascinated critics and audiences around the world. Called “the best-kept secret of Argentinian Tango” (Songlines Magazine), Volonté has gathered a fervent international following which keeps her touring constantly.
A Latin Grammy nominee, Gardel Prize Winner (Argentina’s Grammy) and member of the Tango Hall of Fame, Volonté has emerged as one of the most admired and passionate voices in Argentine music. A singer who combines the “earthiness of Edith Piaf with the sassiness of Eartha Kitt” (Jazz Perspectives), Volonté is also a restless musical innovator who “plays impressive acoustic guitar and is willing to experiment” (The Guardian).
Dubbed “Tango’s shimmering star!” (Global Rhythm), Volonté conquered the world of tango with numerous award-winning CDs. Her current projects explore the fusion of Argentine music with other Latin American rhythms, jazz and the blues.
She has shared the stage with Astor Piazzolla’s legendary last quintet, recorded duets with trumpter Arturo Sandoval and counts among her many fans Paquito D’Rivera (“her music is a parade of good taste”) and Derek Sivers (founder of CD Baby) who included María in the list of artists he was proudest to have released while founding the seminal online music distributor. NPR Music called Volonté’s art a “potent brew” – and advised listeners to “consume responsibly.”
Download high-res photo of Maria Volonte:
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About Kevin Carrel Footer:
Kevin Carrel Footer learned to play harmonica while hitchhiking across the United States during his own pilgrimage to the delta of the Mississippi, birthplace of the blues. Later, following the perfume of tango to Argentina, he lost himself in the milongas and cafes of Buenos Aires. Together with Argentine singer-songwriter María Volonté he created the Blue Tango Tour project to explore the fusion of tango and the blues through original compositions and unique versions of classic tango songs.
Download high-res photo of Kevin Carrel Footer:
Photo by Laura V. Mingo Photography
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Download Blue Tango Tour Poster
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Video: Beso Azul video clip
Maria Volonte: Beso Azul Video Clip from Intrepid Patrol on Vimeo.
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