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BIOS

PW

DL

Pat Wictor and Deborah Latz first met at an improvisational singing workshop led by Bobby McFerrin, and their musical collaboration is all about spontaneity and surprise.  Based in Brooklyn but coming from two different musical realms - he from the acoustic singer-songwriter world, she from the jazz and performance art scenes - they meet over their shared love of melody, poetry, and possibility. Together they have created a neo-folk, jazz fusion vocal duo that showcases tight harmonies and playful improvisation. Their first CD release, Counterpoise, captures the energy and interplay of a live performance.

 

Wictor first became known for his slide guitar playing and innovative re-imagining of traditional and contemporary songs.  He spent most of the last seven years touring all over North America as one third of the acclaimed harmony-driven trio Brother Sun. Jazz singer, songwriter, and performance artist Deborah Latz has worked in a wide range of musical and theatrical settings. She can move from a deep and soulful ballad, to scatting on a bebop tune, to trading fours with a hip hop artist, all the while delighting audiences with her personal warmth and musical skill.

 

This new collaboration promises to evolve in exciting ways as they explore new facets of their artistry. 

PW

Pat Wictor first burst on the folk and acoustic scene as an innovative slide guitarist known for fresh and memorable interpretations of traditional and contemporary songs.  Since then he has made his mark as a singer-songwriter penning lean and poetic songs that honor - and subvert - rural blues and gospel traditions. For seven years he toured as one third of Brother Sun, the powerful harmonizing trio with Joe Jencks and Greg Greenway, garnering critical acclaim, two #1 CDs on the Folk DJ charts, and a continent-spanning tour schedule. His most recent solo release, This is Absolutely Real:  Visions and Versions of Phil Ochs, reached #2 on the Folk-DJ charts and was nominated for Best Tribute Album by the Independent Music Awards.  

 

An American by birth, Pat's early years were spent in Venezuela, the Netherlands, Norway, England, and East Texas. His time abroad gave him an outsider’s wide perspective and set him on a journey to understanding America - and his own American-ness - through music.  His early experiences made him accustomed to charting his own course and being ready for the unexpected.

 

Pat took a convoluted path to folk music, winding his way through rock, heavy metal, jazz, and free improvisation. He started with guitar, shifted to bass, moved to saxophone, and then quit music entirely before returning to guitar, and teaching himself lap slide guitar.  He organized and ran a songwriters circle in New York City for 13 years, mentoring and influencing dozens of songwriters.  An adept improviser and accompanist, he is sought after as a collaborator, sideman and session musician, with over 60 recording credits to date.  His monthly e-mail column, "A Few Choice Words," is read by thousands of subscribers. He is a music educator of note, teaching workshops on writing and rearranging songs, slide guitar and other guitar techniques, vocal and instrumental improvisation, and various topics of music history.

 

Recognition and honors have followed Pat for years: he won the Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist Showcase, was nominated for Emerging Artist of the Year by the Folk Alliance, was nominated for Gospel Song of the Year by the Independent Music Awards, and was a finalist in the Kerrville New Folk songwriting contest. His CDs “This Is Absolutely Real” and ”Sunset Waltz" both reached #2 on the Folk-DJ charts, and "Heaven is so High" and "Waiting for the Water" both reached #4. 

 

For more information visit Pat's website:  www.patwictor.com

 

HONORS AND CREDITS

 

Finalist, New Folk competition, Kerrville Folk Festival 

Most Wanted, Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist Showcase

Nominee, Emerging Artist of the Year, International Folk Alliance

Nominee, Best Gospel Song, "Love Is the Water," Independent Music Awards

Nominee, Best Tribute Album, “This is Absolutely Real,” Independent Music Awards

 

Quotes and Testimonials for Pat Wictor

 

"He manages to infuse an almost playful, yet tasteful, improvisation while maintaining a beautiful sense of melody........While he can fingerpick like the best of them, he is an absolute madman on the lapsteel. Unquestionably, anyone who has ever heard a Wictor show will permanently place him in the company of the best in the genre- Harry Manx, Kelly Joe Phelps and Ed Gerhard."

— Frank Matheis, TheCountryBlues.com

 

"...the clarity of his voice is an interesting juxtaposition to the glorious grit of his musicianship.....He manages to creatively absorb the work of others, leaving their musical intentions beautifully intact, while adding his own sonic signature to the mix."   

— Ellen Geisel, Dirty Linen

 

"Pat’s Zen-like quality instantly puts the audience at ease, and I’m afraid it underestimates his skills. Like Joe Dimaggio could make a spectacular catch look rudimentary, Pat Wictor delights in sharing original and traditional songs in his unique style. His original songs are gaining a lot of attention and a number of artists are beginning to record him."    

— Ron Olesko, WFDU Teaneck, NJ

 

“His performances are delicate, nearly evanescent—a daring and unusual approach for a blues singer who give listeners fresh perspectives on such familiar material as Son House’s “Death Letter” and Skip James’ “Hard Time Killing Floor.”  Wictor’s compositions…are especially memorable.”

— Blues Revue

 

"If you can make it to only one concert this year, let it be a show by Brooklyn's own Pat Wictor, who plays heart-felt blues-based roots music like the only begotten son of Bonnie Raitt (same red hair!) and Chris Smither.  And unlike blues interpreters who have seen too many stormy Mondays with hellhounds on their trail, Pat is also an excellent songwriter whose new/old compositions will send you on a journey through the old Dock Boggs and Son House 78s.  But these aren't old songs, they're originals that, to paraphrase Mr. Smither, are "still flopping around on the deck."

— Jim Motavalli, WPKN, Bridgeport, CT

 

"Soft-spoken and articulate, in the 1930's he could have been a dust bowl preacher.  The sermons, accompanied by the choir of his slide guitar, would have brought comfort to many a soul."

— Richard Cuccaro, Acoustic Live

 

"He not only is a great guy and a great talent, but I believe he has, follicle for follicle, the best hair in folk music."

— Rob Carlson, Modern Man

DL

Originally from Northern California, Deborah Latz moved East to pursue her musical theater dreams and quickly found herself drawn to the jazz scene.  She spent many years honing her craft with some of New York’s best instrumentalists and session musicians.  In 2015 she received a four-star DownBeat review for her fourth jazz vocal release, sur l’instant,  an album that demonstrates her deeply felt affinity for swing and the elemental three B’s of jazz: Blues, Bebop and Ballads.  Her third CD, Fig Tree, a new take on both the Great American Songbook and contemporary jazz, was released in May 2013. “From the acid jazz interpretation of ‘Blue Skies,’ to the dead-on rendition of ‘S’Wonderful,’ to the delightful, funky rhythms of ‘Fig Tree’, Deborah Latz demonstrates an outstanding range of technique and creative musicality,” writes renowned music critic Scott Yanow.  She has toured nationally and internationally, collaborating with celebrated jazz pianists Liang Heping in Beijing, China and Alain Jean-Marie in Paris, France.  In the past year, she received a fellowship to travel to New Dehli, India to study the shehnai, a traditional double-reed wind instrument, with master teacher Sanjeev Shankar.

 

Deborah Latz’s exploration of the arts has taken her into the worlds of theatre and performance art.  She won the best actress award for her one-woman performance of Juliet at the Jerzy Grotowski Theatre Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. Deborah trained at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco; the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England; and with Anne Bogart and Richard Edelman in New York City. 

 

As a vocal teacher and workshop leader, Deborah is certified in Somatic Voicework™ The LoVetri Method in Levels I, II, and III.  She holds a Bachelor of Science in Music and Performance Art Studies and an MFA in Performance and Interactive Media Arts from Brooklyn College.

 

For more information visit Deborah's website:  www.deborahlatz.com

HONORS AND CREDITS

2018        Tow Travel Fellowship to New Delhi, India, Shehnai study with Master Shehnai player, Sanjeev Shankar

2016        New Yorker Magazine, Jazz and Standards, Review
2015        Downbeat Magazine 4 Star Review, “sur l’instant”
1999        Best Actress, Jerzy Grotowski Festival, Wroclaw, Poland

 

Quotes and Testimonials for Deborah Latz

“The directness of Latz’s delivery is a matter of wised-up, mature consolation, the honesty of shared confidence.”
— Jon Garelick, DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE, 4 STARS 

“Latz is the real deal and you ought to discover her.”
— George Fendel, JAZZ SOCIETY OF OREGON

“After hearing the opening cut, which features tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm, I wondered how she could top it. But she did. Deborah’s singing of “My Favorite Things” is in the same class as John Coltrane’s instrumental version of the same composition. I hadn’t heard this lady until I played ‘Lifeline,’ but I’m now an ardent fan.”

— Steve Emerine, of the ARIZONA DAILY STAR

“Deborah’s voice is enchanting! “sur l’instant” is my ‘go to’ album, I LOVE it!”

— Louie B. Free, Brainfood from the Heartland Radio Show

“Deborah is a beautiful singer and a great talent. Fig Tree is wonderful. Really wonderful!”

— Sheila Jordan, 2012 NEA Jazz Master

“Singing slow is one of the most challenging things for a singer to do. Latz is in there with the best of them: Horn and Rebecca Parris.”
— C. Michael Bailey, ALL ABOUT JAZZ

“You may not recognize all the singers in this intriguing festival—curated by the gifted and nurturing singer and teacher Deborah Latz—but each brings a compelling presence to the stage while reminding us that New York remains a hothouse for jazz vocal talent..”

— THE NEW YORKER, Review of VoxFest

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