News & Gigs

Special 2-day Weekend Workshop in Complete Vocal Technique (CVT).

 

Campus Muristalden in BERN (just outside the old city centre - www.muristalden.ch)

Time: 14h-19h.

Special 2-day Weekend Workshop in Complete Vocal Technique (CVT).

 

Campus Muristalden in BERN (just outside the old city centre - www.muristalden.ch)

Time: 14h-19h.

More info to follow shortly...

Mo with BLAZZ for the annual Geneva Music Festival, at the entree of the Bastions Parc!

Lineup:

Vocals: Mo Millar
Guitar: Marc Polliand
Bass: Julien Gahwiler

Percussions: Julio D'Santiago
Drums: Luca Solari

Setting: Kiosk des Bastions
Time: 19h.

Special event: jam at Jaydo's with the 3 amazing ladies of 'Mother Tongue' (www.mothertonguemusic.net), exceptional soul/gospel from New Orleans (US), currently touring Switzerland to promote "Shake The Devil Off" documentary (http://www.shakethedeviloff.com) about the era following hurricane Katrina and what really happened there (or rather, what didn't happen)

 

Other participating artists: Gabriel Zufferey, Ernie Odoom, Luca Solari and others...

Mo with BLAZZ to ensure good afternoon vibes at the annual Eaux-Vives Festival!

Mo with BLAZZ to close the Saturday night programme at the annual Eaux-Vives Festival!

BERN:
Introduction & Master Class Complete Vocal Technique (CVT).

Host: Campus Muristalden (www.muristalden.ch)

Time: 17h-22h.

GENEVE:
Introduction & Master Class Complete Vocal Technique (CVT).

Host: Catalyse (www.catalyse.ch)

Time: 17h-22h.

Mo is to perform as guest vocalist at the closing concert of 2007 at the Vocal Academy a.k.a. CVI headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

Final concert to mark Mo's official certification in Complete Vocal Technique (CVT), the groundbreaking vocal technique developed by voice researcher & vocal coach Cathrine Sadolin.

Place to be: Utrecht, the Netherlands
Date: Sunday 2 December 2007
Time: 20.30h.

Concert at Cully (VD) to mark the status of neighbouring Lavaux (VD) as one of Unesco's world cultural heritage areas.

Mo is to perform on a cruise in the midst of Lake Neuchâtel...

Mo in concert - open air - with "DiG It" at the lake side of Pully (VD)

Mo and DiG It take along their frenzy kind of groove to make everybody move at the Geneva Parc des Bastions. Join stage no. 5 "Bastions-Crypte" at 17.45h with also great drinks and food!  

Mo performs with DiG It on the big stage on the occasion of the Lausanne annual Music Festival at the "Flon".

Mo and DiG It take along their frenzy kind of groove to make everybody move at the Fête des Eaux-Vives (La Rue est à Vous), rue Montchoisy (big stage). Kick off at 18.15h. 

Mo is to perform with "DiG It" in the Concert Hall of this mountain resort.

Mo in concert with "DiG It" at the Montricher exhibit (open air) at 21h.

Flyin' Dutchman Guy Nikkels (born in Bogota and raised in the Netherlands) will fly in for some Geneva gigs in May with Mo and Afro-American percussion expert Julio D'Santiago. Nikkels plays mean guitar riffs, improvises smoothly and performed, among others, with the late Michael Brecker. Get ready for some genuine virtuosity! 

Mo in concert with "DiG It" at the Montricher Expo (open air exhibit) at 21h.

Mo has become Swiss Agent for the Complete Vocal Institute (CVI), the largest European institute for singers and vocalists based in Copenhagen, Denmark. CVI, founded by the renowned vocal pioneer Cathrine Sadolin, adresses itself to artists active in the field of singing and theatre as well as teachers, speech therapists or any kind of vocal professionals. Coming up soon: Masterclasses in Zürich, Bern and Geneva.

Mo and "DiG It" received 1200 public votes in the "Caprices Festival New Talent Tour", resulting into rank 2 of 143 participating western Swiss bands, all aiming at playing the playoff's at Lausanne concert hall "The Docks" in order to be selected for the 2007-edition of the Crans Montana-based Caprices Festival (http://www.orangemusic.ch/caprices/discover.php?sort=loc1). In the voting for the entire Swiss territory Mo and "DiG It" obtained rank 6: the contest bodied a total of 247 bands. Despite this result, Mo and "Dig It" won't be playing "The Docks" Jan. 27th for the "New Talent Tour" playoff's; a 4 member jury decided to select the no. 1, to ignore the no. 2 and to select two artists that ended up no. 53 and no. 75 in the contest..... let's just say: "music bizz is peculiar bizz!" Mo and "DiG It" are simply happy with the votes and take them as a great indicator from the audience.

Mo's CD "Goin' Basic" has officially been put on sale as of today by Mo's digital distributor CDBaby, best of independent music, at http://cdbaby.com/cd/momillar

Mo will perform a crossover jazz set at the Fontys Journalism & Communications Faculty's 25th anniversary in the southern Dutch city of Tilburg on 16 December 2005 with the kind collaboration of the Brabant Music Conservatory http://www.fontys.nl/conservatorium. On this occasion she'll present a line up of great musicians: Ludo van der Winkel on upright bass http://www.ludovanderwinkel.nl  (picture) and session musician Mark Vermeeren on guitar.

The Socks, a.k.a. les Socquettes Mauves, the party band that was put on the Swiss map with Mo as frontlady in between 2000-2003, have ressurrected from death (despite a convincing burrial ceremony in 2003: never say never!) It's line up can be described as unquestionable promising: on bass Marc Favez (T.A.F.K.A.M.F), on drums Marc-Olivier Savoy (riddim man Moonraisers - Switzerland's top reggae band - Trio Marc Perrenoud e.a.), on guitars 'old-timers' Chablues and Cyril Mrazek (Hot Dogs) and...Mo back as Janis Joplin's alter ego on lead vocals. Official Socks web site: http://www.bille.ch/socquettes-mauves/

The renowned Danish vocal research pioneer, coach and instructor Cathrine Sadolin accepted Mo onto a 1-year programme for advanced and professional vocalists at the Complete Vocal Institute, the largest European institute specialized in everything that concerns the human voice and singing. Mo got completely convinced of the revolutionary concept of Sadolin's Complete Vocal Technique (CVT) and, moreover, of its results - "a riot against old myths" - when coached by Sadolin during a CVT weekend workshop in 2006. CVT is a fundamental system for vocal use that, until now, has been unknown and that was developed by Sadolin during 20 years of intense research. Info: http://www.sadolin.net

Considerate public voting on Dutch web radio NCRV (http://www.ongekendtalent.nl) in the Netherlands for Mo's interpretation of "In My Life" resulted into its entering onto the top 40 of most popular MP3's of new artists. The song entered the MP3 list five days ago at position 205 to climb to position 35 three days later. "Voodoo Music" also received significant support; it entered the station's listing at position 330 to reach position 41 within' the same time frame. The MP3 list of new talented artists bodies a total of 950 songs. Mo wishes to express all her gratitude to everybody voting for her.

Mo 's first solo CD "Goin' Basic" will soon be put on sale via http://www.cdbaby.com offering easy payment, fast delivery and reliability. Direct orders via this website will remain possible but postal delivery may take a little longer as your bank payment has to be received prior to shipment. In case you prefer ordering through this website, thank you for sending an e-mail to info@momillar.com with your specific query. You also may want to check out the section "Music" for this.

A special live television marathon programme, initially on the agenda for December 16th, has been called off due to a stand-off in the collaboration between Dutch radio & television station "Omroep Brabant" (http://www.omroepbrabant.nl and the Fontys Journalism & Communications institute. Unfortunately, Mo was programmed to perform live on this show with Juan Sanchez on guitar and Dennis Orsel on guitar, bass and backing vocals.

Mo is to go funky as guest vocalist - revisiting her roots - with the excellent Patatas Chipas Club (http://www.patatas.ch) in a special programme with a wide variety of other guests at the Usine a Gaz concert hall in Nyon, Saturday 16 September 2006, marking the end of the Patatas 2006 gigs season. Come along and get potatoed too! More info: http://www.usineagaz.ch

New concert pictures of Mo, Guy Nikkels (guitar) and Julio D'Santiago (percussion) at the fully-packed "Cour du Onze" of Geneva's annual Music festival 2006 are to be found in the Pics segment on this site (Live 2006). A preliminary (low sound quality) live-recording of Mo's "The Blazz"-project with Nicolas Wetzell on guitar, Julio D'Santiago and Luca Solari both on percussion can be temporarely found on the Music page of this website. Concert pic's of Mo's tour in The Netherlands with Guy Nikkels on guitar, Joost Kesselaar on drums and Ludo van der Winkel on acoustic bass are to follow shortly.

TAzik.org, the independent website of the French APAGA (Association for the Promotion of Independent Artists), is currently highlighting "Goin' Basic" on its main page as "CD Of The Month" with a link to a more than flattering CD review for the series "ChroniKs" (http://www.tazik.org/) TAzik writes (in French): "Millar Mo'town revisits the 60's-70's, unplugged and mellow, in blues-soul mood combined with full sense mezzo-vibrato unfaltering vocal quality. We've got spicy feelings for "Voodoo Music"; the Montreux Jazz Festival isn't far away. Very good stuff. When will her own work be out there?...." (direct link: http://www.tazik.org/cds/?Action=View&CdID=91) "Goin' Basic" is also on its way to recognition in The Netherlands where it positioned itself on the playlist of radio station Omroep Brabant.

Mo, guitarman Nicolas Wetzell Jr. and percussionnist Julio D'Santiago have been requested to perform with "Blazz" at La Chapelle St. Claude in Talloires, Lake Annecy (France) on Thursday 27 July 2006; kick off at around 20 hrs.

 

Mo has been requested to come over and perform live on Dutch radio & television station "Omroep Brabant" for a special live television marathon programme in December 2005. She will be accompanied by Juan Sanchez (guitar) and Dennis Orsel (guitar, bass & backing vocals). Mo's CD "Goin' Basic" already positioned itself on the station's weekly playlist. More specific info with links to follow once available.

The stage of the upcoming Fêtes de Genève will be set on fire by Mo, friend singer & dancer Smack a.k.a. Fabiana Rodrigues, guitar hero Joe Frank as well as six dancers and an excellent group of musicians ensuring a boiling mix of dance, R 'n B and Brazilian rhythms. The Kiosk at the Jardin d'Anglais in Geneva will be the place to be on Wednesday night 27 July 2005 at 20h. Free entrance. Link: http://www.fetesdegeneve.ch/?rubrique=0000000018

The latest blooper of the Dutch 'government' a.k.a. the "Balkenbende"? The plan to abolish the only independent public radio & TV station NPS where jazz and other independent music still has its place! Sign the petition in order to avoid this from happening; click on the logo below!

Venezuelan drummer and Afro-American percussionist Julio d'Santiago will accompany Mo Millar and Guy Nikkels on several gigs to come. D'Santiago initiated the first-ever fusion experiment of classic and contemporary percussion in Venezuela and spent more than a decade studying Venezuelan, Colombian, Puerto Rican and Cuban percussion with percussion greats, such as Miguel "Miguito" Urbina, Jhonny Rudas, Orlando Poleo, Jose Yancen "Pachin", Nestor Gutierrez "El Chivo" as well as drums & classic percussion experts Benjamin Carriel and Jose "Cheo" Cardenas (all Venezuelan).Besides teaching, producing and running workshops, he currently collaborates with the Caracas-based "Fundacion Afroamerica" and its godfather Jesus "Chucho" Garcia in order to analyse existing cultural features in Afro-American countries.

Mo, guitarman Guy Nikkels and Afro-American percussionist Julio D'Santiago will perform an open air concert on Saturday 17 June 2006 at Geneva's annual summer Music Festival. Setting is the jazz stage at the "Cour du Onze", which is situated in Geneva's historic "Old Town". Show starts at 23.30h. More info on the festival's site (french): http://w3public.ville-ge.ch/dac/fdm2006.nsf

Mo will perform her acoustic jazzy blues collection, including original tunes of her new repertoire, at one of the key jazz scenes in The Netherlands, "The Regentenkamer" in the Dutch political capital The Hague on 27 May 2006. She'll be accompanied by Guy Nikkels on guitar, Ludo van der Winkel on acoustic bass and Joost Kesselaar on drums. More info: http://www.regentenkamer.nl

Some last minute-changes in Mo's lineup for the The Haque concert at the Regentenkamer have been made, due to drummer Joost Kesselaar's engagements in Germany. Mo will be performing with a combo of excellent musicians, including Guy Nikkels on guitar, David Barker on drums, Rein Godefroy on piano and Hendrik Vanattenhoven on bass. Kick off at 18hrs.

Mo will perform her acoustic collection, including some tunes of her newly written material, at the "Gooisch Podium" jazz stage in Dutch broadcast city Hilversum (NL) 20 May 2006. She'll be accompanied by Guy Nikkels on guitar, Ludo van der Winkel on acoustic bass and Joost Kesselaar on drums with possibly some surprise guests popping up as well. More info on http://www.gooischpodium.nl

Mo and guitarman Guy Nikkels will perform in duo lineup ("Millar & Nikkels") at Bodega "Chez Antoinette" in the eastern Dutch city of Deventer on Friday 28 April. This special concert kicks off at 22.30h. on the occasion of the Deventer Music Total Festival that is held all over the town's music settings on 27 and 28 April 2006. More info: http://www.muziektotaal.iklog.nl/

Mo and composer-guitarman Nicolas Wetzell will play an acoustic show with possibly the first songs of their newly composed crossover repertoire at La Scene du Moulin a Poivre in Geneva (CH). For more info and how to get there: http://www.original.ch/calvy

One of most sollicited Dutch drummers Joost Kesselaar will complete the Mo Millar rhythm section for concerts in May 2006 (see further on in this segment). Kesselaar plays with many different artists, such as Toon Roos, Clark Terry, Benny Bailey, Jesse van Ruller, Michiel Borstlap and Fleurine. He's currently internationally active in several projects of fellow Dutchman Gerard Kleijn (trumpet and flugelhorn) with pianoman Franck Amsallem (France), bassman Paul Berner (US), Orjan Graafmans (Swe, piano) and guitarman David Golek (Isr). Mo is enchanted to have Kesselaar joining in. http://www.jazzmasters.nl/kesselaar.htm

The Dutch line up for the Mo Millar Quartet is getting its form with Guy Nikkels on guitar and Ludo van der Winkel on acoustic bass. Nikkels is an energetic and talented jazz guitarist with latin origins from The Hague open to many different music styles; from intense, hard swinging mainstream-bob oriented jazz to more electric funk-fusion. He has played and worked with a.o. Michael Brecker, John Ruocco, Kenny Wherner, Eef Albers, Henk Meutgeert and holds a bachelors- and masters degree from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague www.guynikkels.com). Upright bass man Ludo Van der Winkel kicked off his young career in the Dutch Youth Orchestra. He meets with coming piano man Harmen Fraanje at the Brabant Conservatory, becomes session leader of the Paradox jazz house in Tilburg and engages in a variety of other projects throughout the south of the Netherlands. He has played with a.o. Ferhan Otay, Hans van Oosterhout, Harmen Fraanje, Jorge Rossy, Pascal Vermeer, Denise Jannah and is to graduate from the Brabant Conservatory (http://www.ludovanderwinkel.nl). On picture: Guy Nikkels (© Rob Deurenberg)

The concert at the Harambée Café at the Swiss Alpine area of Villars sur Ollon is cancelled due to unforeseen events. Mo and Nick still hope to be able to perform there later on the year 2006.