New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Monika Borzym Official Website) Respected jazz critic
Christopher Loudon, in his recent JAZZTIMES 'Hearing Voices' column, praised 21-year old vocalist Monika Borzym as "one of the freshest, most enticing arrivals in some time." See his expansive write-up, below. Other key journalists have weighed in as well, describing Borzym's debut CD 'Girl Talk' as "the album that big-voiced throwback singers like
Amy Winehouse and
Adele should have been making all along."
The digital CD is available now in the U.S. via Sony Poland, and reflects Borzym's take on an eclectic range of songs by controversial, legendary and/or esteemed female artists, including Amy Winehouse, Fiona Apple, Rachael Yamagata, Estelle,
Regina Spektor, Erykah Badu, Abbey Lincoln, Feist, Joni Mitchell, Marisa Monte, Björk and Dido. As Produced by Matt Pierson and arranged by Gil Goldstein, 'Girl Talk' introduces Polish-born Borzym to American audiences as a new voice in modern jazz, as she delivers song selections for the next generation. Listen to audio samples, and watch Borzym's music video for her version of Erykah Badu's 'Appletree', here: https://www.monikaborzym.com
JAZZTIMES PRAISES MONIKA BORZYM: "One of the freshest, most enticing arrivals in some time" "Borzym has the potential to become a major jazz voice"
Acclaimed Debut CD by 21-Year Old Singer Monika Borzym Gets
Digital Release in the U.S. via Sony Poland
"This is the album that big-voiced throwback singers like
Amy Winehouse and
Adele should have been making all along"
11/28/11, By
Christopher Loudon
https://jazztimes.com/articles/29011-monika-borzym
11/16/2011, By Nick DeRiso
https://somethingelsereviews.com/2011/11/16/monika-borzym-girl-talk-2011/
11/7/2011, By Jim Pasinski
https://jpsmusicblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/cd-review-monika-borzym-debuts-with.html
Other recent coverage includes:
BLOGCRITICS - CD REVIEW By Jack Goodstein 10/25/11
https://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-monika-borzym-girl-talk/
Also ran via Seattle Post-Intelligencer: https://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Music-Review-Monika-Borzym-Girl-Talk-2235398.php
WILDYSWORLD - 4-star CD review
By Wildy Haskell October 30, 2011
https://wildysworld.blogspot.com/2011/10/monika-borzym-girl-talk.html
More about Monika Borzym:
Monika Borzym discovered jazz at an early age, and is a natural musician, but her upbringing could have sent her in many different directions, thankfully she took a more studied path. "My dad listens to new romantic stuff,
Tears For Fears, Toto, there was never Miles Davis playing in my house. My mum listened to
Celine Dion, and Whitney
Houston mostly, I sang along at elementary school, luckily they never pushed me to do Idol like stuff."
Monika's influences, once she moved on from Whitney, include the obvious greats, and some lesser-known artists. "It all started with Ella Fitzgerald, she was my first mistress and my greatest one. Then I got fascinated with Carmen McRae, who was more obscure, and far more intense when it comes to the lyrics. I also find great inspiration in Anita O'Day, and absolutely in Miles Davis; I generally love the trumpeters, Chet Baker, Terence Blanchard, I worship the ground they walk upon. I adore Bill Evans. Also, I've been in love with
Radiohead since my lower secondary school."
In 2008, following an intense Eastern European schooling in all aspects of classical and jazz theory, composition and performance, Monika started spending time in the states, and eventually received a scholarship from the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. While there she studied under numerous world-renowned jazz musicians, including Lisanne Lyons, Larry Lapin,
Dante Luciani, Greg Gisbert, Chuck Bergeron, Ira Sullivan, and Shelly Berg.
Borzym's experiences in the sunshine state also resulted in a chance meeting with the man who would play an enormous role in the development of her musical career. Monika explains, "I met Matt Pierson for the first time when I was studying in Miami; he came to us to deliver a series of lectures about the music business. Matt is a person who I find important to me personally, and a giant in the world of jazz. He has discovered many talents and released plenty of records with Joshua Redman, Brad Meldhau, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny. A very close friend of mine
Dante Luciani told me there would be a jam session in the evening, and that Pierson was planning to come. So I went there to sing and to get to know Matt. He liked my performance very much, we started to chat, made friends, and later, once I had returned to Poland, we kept in touch on Facebook. At that time we had already started considering recording together."
Borzym is currently enrolled at the LA
Music Academy where she studies under the cream of the crop of U.S. music instructors including Tierney Sutton, Dorian Holley, Nikhil Korula and Tony Inzalaco. LA
Music Academy College of
Music is regarded as one of the premiere music schools in the world and its faculty is comprised of award winning professional musicians who impart practical real-world teachings along side traditional theoretical studies. She looks forward to taking a break from her studies to perform in support of Girl Talk.
MONIKA BORZYM - GIRL TALK - Credits:
You Know I'm No Good / (Amy Winehouse)
Extraordinary Machine / (Fiona Apple)
Even So / (Rachael Yamagata)
American Boy / (Estelle)
Field Below / (Regina Spektor)
Appletree / (Erykah Badu)
Down Here Below / (Abbey Lincoln)
Gatekeeper / (Feist)
Dry Cleaner from Des Moines / (Mingus/Joni Mitchell)
Abololo / (Marisa Monte)
Possibly Maybe / (Björk)
Thank You / (Dido)
Credits
Monika Borzym - vocals
Gil Goldstein - piano, arranger
Aaron Parks - piano, Fender Rhodes, harmonium, arranger
Steve Cardenas - guitar
Larry Grenadier - bass
Eric Harland - drums
Bashiri Johnson, Rogerio Boccato - percussion
Greg Gisbert - trumpet
Mike Davis - trombone
Seamus
Blake - tenor saxophone
Charles Pillow - bass clarinet
Aaron Heick - alto flute, bass flute
Lois
Martin - viola
Jody Redhage - cello
Produced by Matt Pierson
Visit: https://www.monikaborzym.com
