Michelle Pollace Latin Jazz Quartet at Cafe Pink House

Whether performing her own compositions or her arrangements of standards, Bay Area native Michelle Pollace [poh-LAH-chi] honors the roots of jazz, Brazilian, and Afro-Cuban music while adding a new voice. Her performance highlights creative arrangements of jazz melodies set to alluring Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms, as well as original compositions from Michelle’s critically acclaimed CD “New Beginning.” Michelle’s love of melody and affinity for well-structured compositions creates a classic sound, of which critic Mark Tucker of Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange writes, “I’m highly reminded of Ahmad Jamal’s ... and others’ old canons of work.” This melodic sensibility makes her music accessible to a wide audience....

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Whether performing her own compositions or her arrangements of standards, Bay Area native Michelle Pollace [poh-LAH-chi] honors the roots of jazz, Brazilian, and Afro-Cuban music while adding a new voice. Her performance highlights creative arrangements of jazz melodies set to alluring Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms, as well as original compositions from Michelle’s critically acclaimed CD “New Beginning.” Michelle’s love of melody and affinity for well-structured compositions creates a classic sound, of which critic Mark Tucker of Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange writes, “I’m highly reminded of Ahmad Jamal’s ... and others’ old canons of work.” This melodic sensibility makes her music accessible to a wide audience.

Michelle is pleased to feature percussionist Jimmy Biala for this evening's performance; a world-renown percussionist and educator, Jimmy adds wonderful energy to the core trio of Michelle (piano), Sam Sotelo (drums), and Ron Sotelo (bass). The quartet is sure to serve up some joyous and spontaneous moments for this evening's special performance!

“Pollace has a strong commanding presence on New Beginning. Like a baker, she has a way of gently whipping rhythms until they are cohesive and taut. Pollace is a daring player whose music is dramatic and alive.” —Marc Myers, JazzWax

“There’s a defined sense of structure in Pollace’s work ... that makes her music both accessible and exciting. Pollace’s music overflows with a strong artistic command, an authentic connection to the source material, and an infectious sense of cool. From every angle, there’s a feeling of support and commitment to a product that shines with quality and integrity.” —Chip Boaz, Latin Jazz Corner, Album of the Week

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