Vocal Festival right on trachea
THE BOSTON HERALD
Friday, February 18, 2005

This weekend's Vocal Festival at the Zeitgeist Gallery in Cambridge is for a good cause, but there's another reason why nearly 40 local singers are performing free.

"There are not many places like the Gallery where you can go and do your thing and nobody's going to tell you what to play,'' said Sofia Koutsovitis, one of the organizers and participants.

"It would be great if Boston had more places like that where you can perform your music and everything is going to be all right.''

Things should be more than all right for the inaugural event tomorrow and Sunday at the intimate Cambridge venue. That's because Koutsovitis and fellow Boston-based jazz singer Marianne Solivan have put together a lineup that's as eclectic, wide ranging and freewheeling as the local scene itself.

For 12 hours each day you'll hear not only jazz, r & b, folk, hip-hop, classical and electronic music, but also Brazilian, Chinese, Italian, Indian, Greek, Swedish and African.

"There's an incredible amount of different kinds of music here and we wanted to show that variety,'' said Koutsovitis, who moved to town from Argentina three-and-a-half years ago to pursue her master's degree in jazz studies at New England Conservatory.

"A lot of these singers should be more out there,'' she said. "This will be a good chance for them to do what they do and be heard.''

While a number of more familiar names will be on hand - Lisa Thorson, Dominique Eade, Patrice Williamson, Lola Danza, Manisha Shahane and Irene Aebi among them - the festival will showcase local singers who to date have had a lower profile around town.

They include Sarah Nagell and her Norwegian sounds, the traditional West African songs of Mali's Buba, Carrie Chang's Chinese music, Sunny Kim and her electronic trio and the Italian jazz of Angela Rossi.

Why aren't we hearing more of these singers? At least some of it has to do with the reality of getting gigs in the area.

"You can always try to get a gig at a restaurant or pub,'' said Koutsovitis, "but they're going to need a specific kind of music and need you to get your own crowd. Sometimes that's complicated, especially when you don't already have your own crowd.''

Koutsovitis has appeared at many of the bigger clubs in town, such as the Regattabar and Ryles, where she and her band perform a mix of jazz and South American-influenced music.

But at the Zeitgeist tomorrow at 7 p.m., she's planning to take advantage of the spirit of freedom she helped organize; for her 25-minute set she'll sing live along with a recording of herself on a pair of original, contemporary music pieces.

"I don't get too many chances to do it,'' she said.

Credit the Zeitgeist's Gill Aharon with the Vocal Festival idea. It's an outgrowth of the two-day piano festival that he started a couple of years ago and serves as a fund-raiser to pay for improving the Gallery's sound system.

But more than that, it may be the start of something big for the city's fragmented vocal community.

"Marianne (Solivan) is putting together an organization called the Boston Jazz Collective to promote jazz events in Boston, and maybe we can do something similar for the vocal scene,'' said Koutsovitis."We want people to know about the huge offerings that Boston has. We plan for this to continue.''

The first Zeitgeist Vocal Festival takes place tomorrow from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday from 1 to 11:30 p.m. $10 each day. Go to www.zeitgeist-gallery.org or call 617-876-6060.