BIOGRAPHY
Born in Rome, Chiara Civello discovered music thanks to her grandmother Bianca’s out of tune piano. She grew up in front of a piano and plays instinctfully. It’s then that Chiara started “a personnel relationship” with the instrument. She then taught herself to play the guitar.
At 16, without telling her parents, she passed an audition seeking admission to Berklee College of Music, one of the most lauded American music schools. She succeeded hands down and won a scholarship as well.
As soon as she turned 18, she left for the USA to attend The Berklee College of Music in Boston and her incredible destiny led her to share a dorm room with Antonia Bennet, daughter of Tony. And the master singer was very impressed by her talent.
At Berklee, as well as learning the art of composition and arrangeing, she learned “how to walk in music” but also open mindness, metissage and identifying what moved her musically.
Became the first Italian artist to record for Verve Records, the legendary jazz label with her debut album Last Quarter Moon produced by Russ Titelman, who discovered her in NYC. A great result of the Boston-NY days are the 10 original songs of the album including the great ballad Trouble, co-written with Burt Bacharach, a true legend in music history.
Billboard Magazine noted that, “the beauty, charm and allure of singer/pianist/songwriter Chiara Civello’s debut…makes for an auspicious beginning and marks the first revelation of the New Year.” The International Herald Tribune declared “her combination of personality, soulfulness and sophistication…striking.”
The second album “The Space Between”, produced by Steve Addabbo and Pete Rende (Universal Jazz and Classics), showed us another aspect of Chiara’s music. In a journey of 13 songs including as "Un passo dopo l'altro" and "Night". Chiara takes us to a place where silence is as evocative as the music, where space is essential to better perceive reality.
After a short visit to Daniel Jobim in Rio De Janeiro in 2008, great collaborations with other artists made Chiara explore closely the beauty and the generosity of the Brazilian music community. This led to the creation of her third album, 7752
The number is the line of sight in kilometers that connects the two key cities of the record: New York, the city where Chiara has lived for years, and Rio, the one that changes her life: this is where her collaboration begins in 2008. with Ana Carolina, one of Brazil’s most beautiful voices and her main collaborator in the writing of this album.
Success immediately followed the collaboration when their first composition together, RESTA, became the soundtrack of a very well known soap-opera “Passione”, produced by the GLOBO TV. Produced by latin pop producer Andres Levin, 7752 featured a great cast of musicians like Jaques Morelenbaum on the cello and strings arrangement (Tom Jobim, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Ruichi Sakamoto), Mark Ribot on guitar, Mauro Refosco as a percussionist (Thom Yorke, David Byrne, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Anat Cohen on sax and clarinet . This album definitely showed a new phase of Chiara’s voice: more pop, more accessible and ironic in happy alchemy between 60s rock, Italian melody, Brazilian harmony and R&B.
In 2012 Chiara took part in the Sanremo Festival, with a song written with Italian/Spanish songwriter Diana Tejera which gave the title to her fourth studio album: Al posto del mondo.
The song received great critical acclaim and that same year the song “Problemi/Problemas” interpreted by Ana Carolina, already chosen for the soundtrack of the Soap Opera FINA ESTAMPA, won the Multishow prize for best song of 2012 in Brazil.
With Canzoni, the fifth studio album, Chiara Civello, for the first time stands out in the unedited role of “torch singer” and immersed herself in the beautiful ocean of Italian songs: an album of love songs carefully picked from the 60’s to now, elegantly blending influences of Northern Soul, Bossa Nova, Blue Eyed Soul, Jazz with international Pop and vibrant and velvety vocals like that of Julie London and Dusty Springfield, Shirley Horn and Nina Simone, who have all inspired Chiara’s artistic journey.
Many extraordinary guests: the monumental Gilberto Gil, the poetic Chico Buarque, the pop diva Ana Carolina and the jazz star Esperanza Spalding all lend their artistry to this project. The lush, almost hypnotic orchestral arrangements were conceived by the legendary Eumir Deodato. DJ/Producer Nicola Conte provided an alluring blend of contemporary sensibility and old school analog sound. The result is an album which looks out from Italy to the entire world. A revelation.
Elegant pop, Brazilian influeneces, a few surprising excerpts from Italian cinema, and subliminal electronics. All this and a lot more is Eclipse, the sixth studio album where the fundamental elements of Chiara’s music acquired a new flavor thanks to the enlightened production of Marc Collin (aka Nouvelle Vague) who found the perfect balance between classic atmospheres and modern sound.
"In each album I look for a "first time" , a new dream and a new challenge.
In Eclipse I was able to realise my dream of creating a ” visual” album, with pictorial, cinematic songs, songs on film, in a subjective angle that allows the listener to experience, to perceive its light, the shadows, the chiaroscuro and silhouette. That explains my choice of the songs form the Italian cinema. So the new cycle ends, my emptiness found a color, that the cover by Matteo Basile portrayed perfectly”.
Recorded between Paris, Rio, NY and Bari the album contains an array of tremendous musicians: Mauro Refosco on percussions (David Byrne, Red Hot Chili peppers) Gael Rakotondrabe on piano and Wurlitzer (Anthony and the Johnsons) Cyrus Horde on Keys, Kevin Seddiki on guitars, Regis Ceccarelli on drums, Laurent Vernerey on bass, Thibaut Barbillon on guitar, Domenico Lancellotti on drums, Pedro Sá on guitar, Alberto Continentino on bass and Moog, Alfonso Deidda on saxophone, piano, organ and flutes.
After Eclipse Chiara and the French producer Marc Collin are back together for the second time and present «Chansons: Chiara Civello Sings International French Standards».
A tracklisting of 12 classic songs dating from 1945 to 1975 all by French song writers.
From Michel Legrand to Charles Aznavour, Charles Trénet, Édith Piaf, Jacques Brel or Gilbert Bécaud and Francis Lai. Household names for French music lovers, but not necessarily so for international audiences. And that’s the big surprise of this album. These songs have crossed borders for over 70 years without reference to their French heritage. With this collection, they go from the shadows to the light.
Her voice is intimist, often baring her soul. The production is pure with the Marc Collin touch: a little retro with a variety of styles that cover piano bar, in the noble sense of the term (I Will Wait For You, My Way, The Good Life), swing (Petite Fleur), Cuban rythms (Feelings), drum and beat with vocal and piano improvisations (La Vie en Rose), soul (What Now My Love) and even blaxploitation (Hier Encore).
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Rome, Chiara Civello discovered music thanks to her grandmother Bianca’s out of tune piano. She grew up in front of a piano and plays instinctfully. It’s then that Chiara started “a personnel relationship” with the instrument. She then taught herself to play the guitar.
At 16, without telling her parents, she passed an audition seeking admission to Berklee College of Music, one of the most lauded American music schools. She succeeded hands down and won a scholarship as well.
As soon as she turned 18, she left for the USA to attend The Berklee College of Music in Boston and her incredible destiny led her to share a dorm room with Antonia Bennet, daughter of Tony. And the master singer was very impressed by her talent.
At Berklee, as well as learning the art of composition and arrangeing, she learned “how to walk in music” but also open mindness, metissage and identifying what moved her musically.
Became the first Italian artist to record for Verve Records, the legendary jazz label with her debut album Last Quarter Moon produced by Russ Titelman, who discovered her in NYC. A great result of the Boston-NY days are the 10 original songs of the album including the great ballad Trouble, co-written with Burt Bacharach, a true legend in music history.
Billboard Magazine noted that, “the beauty, charm and allure of singer/pianist/songwriter Chiara Civello’s debut…makes for an auspicious beginning and marks the first revelation of the New Year.” The International Herald Tribune declared “her combination of personality, soulfulness and sophistication…striking.”
The second album “The Space Between”, produced by Steve Addabbo and Pete Rende (Universal Jazz and Classics), showed us another aspect of Chiara’s music. In a journey of 13 songs including as "Un passo dopo l'altro" and "Night". Chiara takes us to a place where silence is as evocative as the music, where space is essential to better perceive reality.
After a short visit to Daniel Jobim in Rio De Janeiro in 2008, great collaborations with other artists made Chiara explore closely the beauty and the generosity of the Brazilian music community. This led to the creation of her third album, 7752
The number is the line of sight in kilometers that connects the two key cities of the record: New York, the city where Chiara has lived for years, and Rio, the one that changes her life: this is where her collaboration begins in 2008. with Ana Carolina, one of Brazil’s most beautiful voices and her main collaborator in the writing of this album.
Success immediately followed the collaboration when their first composition together, RESTA, became the soundtrack of a very well known soap-opera “Passione”, produced by the GLOBO TV. Produced by latin pop producer Andres Levin, 7752 featured a great cast of musicians like Jaques Morelenbaum on the cello and strings arrangement (Tom Jobim, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Ruichi Sakamoto), Mark Ribot on guitar, Mauro Refosco as a percussionist (Thom Yorke, David Byrne, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Anat Cohen on sax and clarinet . This album definitely showed a new phase of Chiara’s voice: more pop, more accessible and ironic in happy alchemy between 60s rock, Italian melody, Brazilian harmony and R&B.
In 2012 Chiara took part in the Sanremo Festival, with a song written with Italian/Spanish songwriter Diana Tejera which gave the title to her fourth studio album: Al posto del mondo.
The song received great critical acclaim and that same year the song “Problemi/Problemas” interpreted by Ana Carolina, already chosen for the soundtrack of the Soap Opera FINA ESTAMPA, won the Multishow prize for best song of 2012 in Brazil.
With Canzoni, the fifth studio album, Chiara Civello, for the first time stands out in the unedited role of “torch singer” and immersed herself in the beautiful ocean of Italian songs: an album of love songs carefully picked from the 60’s to now, elegantly blending influences of Northern Soul, Bossa Nova, Blue Eyed Soul, Jazz with international Pop and vibrant and velvety vocals like that of Julie London and Dusty Springfield, Shirley Horn and Nina Simone, who have all inspired Chiara’s artistic journey.
Many extraordinary guests: the monumental Gilberto Gil, the poetic Chico Buarque, the pop diva Ana Carolina and the jazz star Esperanza Spalding all lend their artistry to this project. The lush, almost hypnotic orchestral arrangements were conceived by the legendary Eumir Deodato. DJ/Producer Nicola Conte provided an alluring blend of contemporary sensibility and old school analog sound. The result is an album which looks out from Italy to the entire world. A revelation.
Elegant pop, Brazilian influeneces, a few surprising excerpts from Italian cinema, and subliminal electronics. All this and a lot more is Eclipse, the sixth studio album where the fundamental elements of Chiara’s music acquired a new flavor thanks to the enlightened production of Marc Collin (aka Nouvelle Vague) who found the perfect balance between classic atmospheres and modern sound.
"In each album I look for a "first time" , a new dream and a new challenge.
In Eclipse I was able to realise my dream of creating a ” visual” album, with pictorial, cinematic songs, songs on film, in a subjective angle that allows the listener to experience, to perceive its light, the shadows, the chiaroscuro and silhouette. That explains my choice of the songs form the Italian cinema. So the new cycle ends, my emptiness found a color, that the cover by Matteo Basile portrayed perfectly”.
Recorded between Paris, Rio, NY and Bari the album contains an array of tremendous musicians: Mauro Refosco on percussions (David Byrne, Red Hot Chili peppers) Gael Rakotondrabe on piano and Wurlitzer (Anthony and the Johnsons) Cyrus Horde on Keys, Kevin Seddiki on guitars, Regis Ceccarelli on drums, Laurent Vernerey on bass, Thibaut Barbillon on guitar, Domenico Lancellotti on drums, Pedro Sá on guitar, Alberto Continentino on bass and Moog, Alfonso Deidda on saxophone, piano, organ and flutes.
After Eclipse Chiara and the French producer Marc Collin are back together for the second time and present «Chansons: Chiara Civello Sings International French Standards».
A tracklisting of 12 classic songs dating from 1945 to 1975 all by French song writers.
From Michel Legrand to Charles Aznavour, Charles Trénet, Édith Piaf, Jacques Brel or Gilbert Bécaud and Francis Lai. Household names for French music lovers, but not necessarily so for international audiences. And that’s the big surprise of this album. These songs have crossed borders for over 70 years without reference to their French heritage. With this collection, they go from the shadows to the light.
Her voice is intimist, often baring her soul. The production is pure with the Marc Collin touch: a little retro with a variety of styles that cover piano bar, in the noble sense of the term (I Will Wait For You, My Way, The Good Life), swing (Petite Fleur), Cuban rythms (Feelings), drum and beat with vocal and piano improvisations (La Vie en Rose), soul (What Now My Love) and even blaxploitation (Hier Encore).