Jazz with Alexa MacLaine

Alexa MacLaine, with her combined love of Bossa Nova and Lounge-music, will be celebrating the release of her duet e.p. (with producer Sascha Panknin) ‘Bossa/Nova’.

Their EP emerges from their joint love of Brazilian Bossa Nova - Portuguese for "new wave" - which acquired a large following in the 1960s. Along with Phillip Bent on flute, they have created their own take on the famous Antônio Carlos Jobim compositions Aguas de Março, Desafinado and Agua de Beber. The last track is the classic Samba-Bossa fusion Mas,que Nada! by Jorge Ben. Singer/Songwriter Alex MacLaine grew up in London in a musical and multi-lingual family.

Her Argentinian dad was a Bossa Nova guitarist and singer in the 1960s, playing in London's famous SOHO area. He played the music endlessly to her as a little girl and she fell in love with it, dreaming of Rio and the beaches and the softly spoken songs. Many years later, Alex accepted an invitation from a family friend to stay in Rio. She was offered work and decided to stay for a year. The daily battle to learn Portuguese began. It sounded so different from her father's native Spanish, but rising to the challenge and loving the sound of the language, she persevered! Back in London,

Alex started working on songwriting projects and playing jazz/Bossanova gigs. A chance meeting with producer Sascha Panknin proved to be a musical match, with their combined love of Bossa Nova and Lounge-music, a collaboration soon began.