Kat Parra & Sephardic Music Experience: Dos Amantes

Some music defies categorization. In the case of Dos Amantes, by Kat Parra & The Seraphic Experience, it's the blending of several styles that make genre assignment a challenge; to place it in one area would be to omit others.

Parra played piano as a child and later studied flute. After marrying at 18, becoming a mother and later a divorcee, she continued her music studies, this time focusing on the voice. Under the tutelage of Patti Cathcart, Parra evolved into a multi-faceted vocalist. Her core band consists of musical director/keyboardist Murray Low, flautist Masaru Koga, violinist Stephanie Antoine, bassist Peter Barshay, percussionist Katja Cooper and drummer Paul van Wageningen. Several guest musicians and a choir also contribute.

"Los Bilbilicos," in just a few notes, captures the essence of the entire work, an eclectic blend of multiple styles of music, with Latin jazz and Middle Eastern flavors perhaps the most dominant. Koga and Low carry the instrumental element, while Parra's voice shows her versatility, as she scats during the introduction, and later singing. During a middle break, Antoine and Koga perform a duet and Wageningen contributes a brief solo, setting Koga up.

"En La Mar" is a charming flamenco piece. All the core musicians put their individual stamps on this one, while maintaining the group dynamic, with guest guitarist Jason McGuire also contributing.

The eight-voice Temple Sinai Choir of Oakland, California joins for "Fiestaremo," an elegant charmer. The group adds an ethereal element behind Parra's lead, with Barshay soloing after a Koga-Antoine duet. Parra enters subtly, offering a wordless chant before resuming the song's melody.

All the songs of Dos Amantes are traditional pieces except "Hanukia," written by Judy Frankel with lyrics by Lina Kohen Albukrek. Arrangements are by Low, Wayne Wallace and David Pinto. Parra wrote Spanish lyrics for three of the songs.