Various reviews

REVIEW of  Kavisha's recent performance at JOANNA’S CANDLELIT SOIRÉES 2020

An extract from a recent REVIEW of Joannas Candlit Soirees at Kidogo.18th June 2020 from the famous Fremantle Shipping News 

Words by Bill Lawrie

"Kavisha takes the stage with John Reed, with whom she first played in 1981 and with whom she has performed many times, notably in the band ‘Rich and Famous’ in the late 1980s-early 90s. John plays cittern, a bouzouki type instrument, as well as ukulele. He also provides some back up harmony and irreverent humour. Kavisha has her nylon string guitar and her amazing voice. There is an easy rapport and fine musical understanding between two first-class musicians.

From the first song, the haunting ‘Invisible/Indivisible’, Kavisha has, not just a voice but an approach to the performance that is all conviction, as if she is out to join heaven and earth. Some moments have the immediacy of a nearby lighting strike.  She tells a story about folk music legend Liam Clancy telling her to banish the internal critic and “see the song inside”, then moves into ‘The Fearless Note’ a song about authenticity in life and song. There are more songs about people and places by the sea from Fremantle and around the world. One song about street life and generosity in St Kilda sounds like it would have been a great duet with L Cohen, another servant of the song. Folk music at its best."

 

WHAT THE PRESS SAY

"Mazzella's voice has a wonderful purity of tone and can lift over a melodic line with bell-like, weightless grace." Jessica Nichols -The Age

"She sings with militancy of a Joan baez or the voice of a heartbroken angel "Victoria Laurie -The Australian

"Her songs have a great sense of melody and lyrical depth.." Jim Lee, Dirty Linen Magazine. UK

"Irrestistable,heartfelt collection of beautifully produced songs" Robyn Johnston , ABC Radio National on " Love and Sorrow"

"Fabulous album, sophisticated, aromatic, beautiful, soulful, moody." Matthew Donlevy ,Peermusic  on " Love and Sorrow"

"Kavisha herself is in as fine a form as ever, delivering her superb mixture of homespun stories and traditional gems. Her voice is shimmering and effortless - she has the remarkable ability to throw her voice at a microphone from a metre away, almost like a ventriloquist, then move right in for the kill." Mike Moroney, Edinborugh Folk Club, Dunedin NZ

"Her voice flows like tears of joy and sorrow.There’s a saltiness and warmth of sensuality here that sings the great bitter sweet song of life. Kavisha Mazzella may have the first and last letters of the alphabet in her name but in truth, there’s a power and presence in her stage performance which is simply beyond words."  Colum Sands - "Rootin'About" for RTE Radio in Dublin. Folkclub BBC Radio Ulster

"Clear and beautiful vocals" Bruce Elder - Sydney Morning Herald

"Kavisha ha collaborato  e collabora con numerosi artisti australiani e internazionali. La sua musica originale contiene echi di folclore italiano, influenze celtiche e gitane, la sua voce calda e appassionata trasmette emozioni che toccano il cuore. La sua energia e amore per la musica sono contagiosi" (Gabriella Gomersall Hubbard- Il GLOBO)

"Kavisha has collaborated and collaborates with numerous australian and international artists.Her  original music contains echoes of italian ,celtic and gypsy folklore, her warm voice and passion transmits emotions that touch the heart.Her energy and love for music is contagious."Gabriella Gomersall Hubbard- Il GLOBO


Kavisha's Music is now on

YOUTUBE

Soundcloud

 Reverbnation 

 My Space 

 Facebook

 

A MESSAGE FROM KAVISHA    

  H there friend ! Thankyou for coming to my site. Through you buying an actual cd rather then burning one,I can keep composing and creating new music .That means alot to me .Thankyou!  All songs © Mazzella Music  For all enquiries please email kavisha(at)kavisha.com


 

 

 

 

2010 Reviews of  the cd "Suitcase Serenata"

by I Viaggiatori

I VIAGGIATORI - Suitcase Serenata CD review by SETH JORDAN, ABC Limelight Magazine, May 2010
I Viaggiatori (The Voyagers) is a bit of an Aussie world/folk supergroup. Formed in 2006 by veteran Italian/Australian singer/songwriter Kavisha Mazzella to provide a score for the silent fi lm documentary Dall’ Italia All’ Australia, the quartet also features Greek bouzouki/mandolin player Irine Vela (Habibis); accordion virtuoso David De Santi (Wongawilli/ Zumpa); and clarinet/saxophonist Mark Holder-Keeping (Cantolibre/ Zumpa). With a charming combination of Italian standards, original songs by Mazzella and a touching version of ‘Waltzing Matilda’, this all-acoustic album chronicles the hopes and memories of our Italian community. An authentic, joyous and wellperformed musical travelogue. Rated 4.5 stars out 5!


I Viaggiatori – Suitcase Serenata CD review by Ian Dearden
Wow! What a beautiful album! The fi rst thing that strikes you, of course, is that soulful Italian singing from the exquisite Kavisha Mazella. I do have to confess that I have been entranced by Kavisha ever since I fi rst saw her fronting Fremantle’s “Rich and Famous”, more years ago than I and perhaps Kavisha care to remember. I have followed her career with intent interest ever since. I know that I am not the only person in the folk movement to be so entranced!! And wasn’t it great to see the “Rich and Famous” reunion gigs at Woodford 2009!

Listen further to this CD, though and you will be thrilled by the deliciously fluid clarinet playing of Mark Holder-Keeping, who also contributes impressively on bass clarinet, saxophone and cajon. Then there’s the ever present accordion of David De Santi, a man who seems busier than the proverbial one-armed paper hanger. He always has just the right note and the perfect palette for these songs and tunes, most, but not quite all, traditional Italian music from the 19th century and beyond. Check out their version of Waltzing Matilda for its haunting Italian resonances, never previously apparent in this tune, previously believed to have exclusively Scottish origins!!

Last, but by no means least in this Melbourne/Wollongong folk supergroup, is Irene Vela. Her evocative bouzouki and mandolin playing conjures the very smells, sights and sounds of Italy from the very first note. “I Viaggiatori” – The Voyagers, originally came together to play a live Italian music score for a silent documentary fi lm from 1925, “Dall’ Italia All’ Australia” and they continue to perform this film score at film screenings around Australia. As is clear from this CD though, they have much more to offer. Whether or not you have an ounce of Italian blood in you, this is music that will immediately tug at your heart strings and stir your soul. Superbly recorded at Corrimal’s Main Street Studio (isn’t it great to have acoustic music presented with such attention to technical detail), this is a “must have” for any music collection and a “must see” for those of you still attending gigs.

 

24 th SEPTEMBER 2010

Concert in Florence,Italy

at Teatro Del Sale ( Salt Theatre )

"Kavisha Mazzella ha una voce come Wow!"  says Fabbio Picchi celebratory chef of Teatro Sale and Cibreo.

 

 

2005 Concert, Dunedin, New Zealand

"Fantastic concert last night in Dunedin.... Kavisha herself is in as fine a form as ever, delivering her superb mixture of homespun stories and traditional gems. Her voice is shimmering and effortless - she has the remarkable ability to throw her voice at a microphone from a metre away, almost like a ventriloquist, then move right in for the kill. Don't miss the show even if you have to travel to another city to catch it."

Mike Moroney,

New Edinburugh Folk Club,

Dunedin ,New Zealand May 2005

Live CONCERT  in MELBOURNE  2004 review  By Jessica Nicholls

The lyrics On Kavisha Mazzella's new CD might make you think that the singer has a predelictation for depressing subjects. Silver Hook Tango offers songs about lost love,jealousy,torture,war and prejudice.(The title itself is sugestively violent describing" a silver hook that flies,sinking sweetly into your chest")

But the lilting melodies can be serene. And, as with the silver hook, there is a sweetness in Mazzella's delivery that softens the edges of even the harshest imagery. This is especially so in a live situation, her ebullient personality preventing the sometimes sad stories from becoming angst ridden or lugubrious.

At the Melbourne Museum on Saturday, Mazzella performed tunes from the new CD in a duo with acoustic bassist Rosie Westbrook. The subtlety of this pairing suited the songs perfectly, Westbrook maintaining an understated but sensitive presence with unhurried plucked lines or soft, sustained bowing

Mazzella's voice has a wonderful purity of tone and can lift over a melodic line with bell-like, weightless grace. But she can also stride through a rousing folk anthem, or - with some vibrant, percussive guitar - make the audience sing along, as on her spirited encore, Gypsy Song.

Jessica Niccholls The Age 2004

Silverhook Tango, CD review

What Paul Barr of Readings books and music monthly (Feb 2003) says about Kavisha's latest album "Silver Hook Tango" " Kavisha Mazzella, one of the brightest stars on the Australian folk scene, has produced a beauty with her fourth and latest enstallment Silver Hook Tango. Taking the masterstroke perfect musical settings to accompany her dreamy poetic word pictures. Mazzella's beautiful singing works so well with  Gerry O'Bierne 's ravishing impressionistic array of guitar sounds (6 &12 string,nylon and slide and ukelele). Kavisha's passionate musings on love, loss,travel, refugees and spirituality have never sounded this good and some of the more freeform tracks like "Rose in the Bones" and "Eagle Flying "show her heading in an exciting new direction...." Paul Barr

Fisherman's Daughter  Cd Review 1998

"Kavisha has a gorgeous voice which in the past has been compared unfairly i think with Tracy Chapman . If I were asked i would say Linda Ronstadt as far as timbre and range go . Check out " All I Want is You " , with it's Ennio Morricone like backing and twangy guitar where her singing , reminds me in fact of a basque friend of mine who once sang me his impression of an eagle flying over the Pyrenees" Mike Cooper , Froots Magazine, U.K.

 

 Tony Caniffe of RTE Radio ,Cork, Ireland says:

" Kavisha has a fantastic dynamic range with great colour and sweetness and she is not afraid to use it . I particularly love the vocalising she does throughout the singing of her songs . It brings a wild earthiness to the music which roots it firmly in the tradition . And tradition she has in plenty . She is obviously proud of her australian immigrant heritage and uses the italian and irish of this to great effect in her powerful songwriting... Her haunting unique version of " she moves through the fair ", is enough to make your hair stand on the back of your head..." Tony Caniffe , presenter of "The Raw Bar " R.T.E. Cork Radio.Ireland

Dirty Linen Magazine says:

Mazzella has a very distinctive and beautiful voice and her songs have a great sense of melody and lyrical depth ... A recording that puts mazzella among the rising stars of the songwriting field ." Jim Lee, Dirty Linen Magazine, U.S.A.(review of "Fisherman's Daughter,1998)

Country Music International  Magazine says:

"Kavisha Mazzella, a compelling storyteller , blends strands of appalachia , rockabilly and modern rock , along with traditional gypsy , spanish and celtic rhythms into her own unique folk-rock style on this second solo album . The true story of her grandmother , depicted in the title song is just one of the many highlights.the storytelling verses are pointed and affecting building into a contagious sing -a -long chorus that manages to be both melancholy and encouraging

Kavisha Mazzella is one of the most original talents to have turned up in ages.Throughout,the elaborate melodies are quite suprising and the music is an isolated case of magnificence utilising mandolin , guitars , bazouki, violin , accordian , harmonium and various percussive instruments . Not mainstream country by any stretch of the imagination , but the traditional mountain ballad "Polly" and "Storm About To Happen"are just two tracks that lean that way." Adrian Cooke, Country Music International 1998