"[Sara Holtzschue] explores a dark, minor/modal world that extends the tradition of modal jazz with elegance and a sophisticated ear for harmony."

About Sara Holtzschue

A New York native, Sara Holtzschue began her career in music as a classically trained flutist. She graduated with a degree in music with honors from Barnard College at Columbia University where she studied with David Rakowski, Mario Davidovsky, Jeff Nichols and Harold Jones. Sara's interest in jazz led her to a master's degree with honors in Jazz Composition from New England Conservatory of Music where she studied with Dominique Eade, John McNeil, Bevan Manson, George Garzone and Jimmy Guiffre. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor at the City University of New York. Sara's eclectic shows include both original compositions as well as musical settings of poetry by such writers as Derek Walcott and William Butler Yeats. She is the recipient of awards and scholarships from the City University of New York Research Foundation, New England Conservatory, The Brooklyn Conservatory, Reed College, Columbia University, Barnard College and the AscaPlus Award for Performance and Composition. September, 2005 saw Sara as a featured artist on Skyjazz Internet Radio. She has performed with and/or had compositions recorded by the Kingsborough Community College Orchestra, Bruce Barth, George Colligan, Michael Kanen, David Berkman, Nate Radley, Dave Ambrosio, Rez Abbasi, Roberta Piket, George Garzone, Andrew Rathbun, Peter Retzlaff, Christian Howes and Taylor Haskins, among others.

Review

Sara Holtzschue's new recording Beneath has been hailed by her listeners and fellow artists. They write of her “beautiful, haunting, and complex voice - not to mention being absolutely stunned and riveted by the compositions (Quin Murphy, Portland, OR);" as well as the “...dreamy, mesmerizing (Scott Sandvik, Guitarist and Composer, Boston, MA)" quality of her work. “The voice is pure and direct with not a pretentious moment, which makes it very powerful. That clarity and definition is what we all strive for. The moods, the chords, and the sincerity all shine through in these beautiful recordings. There is coherence and warmth in all of it (Eleanor Cory, Composer, New York, NY)." “Ms. Holtzschue's compositions show a high degree of creativity which successfully synthesize the variety of influences she acknowledges. The haunting quality of her lyrics is greatly enhanced by melodies which often alternate between chromaticism and unexpected intervallic leaps. Her harmonic language successfully incorporates modality, ostinato patterns, and colorful non-functional chord progressions. The use of odd and/or changing meters helps keep the phrasing from sounding routine. Her excellent band deserves a lot of credit for bringing her music to life with great empathy and for meeting the improvisational demands. This talented artist is certainly worthy of encouragement and support." --The City University of New York

Beneath is available at iTunes and CDBaby