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Cynthia Rafaella
With a warm full voice and passionate overtones, Cynthia Rafaella made a name for herself performing alongside some of the most talented musicians on the New York jazz scene..
About Me
With a warm full voice and passionate
overtones, Cynthia Rafaella’s artistry and
musical styling creates a tapestry of vibrant
color and mood that’s sure to uplift the masses.
Cynthia Rafaella first made a name for herself
performing alongside some of the most
talented
musicians on the New York jazz scene in the
1990’s. Cynthia Rafaella has performed
with musicians such as Max Roach, Bill Lee,
Juini Booth, Gil Coggins, Burt
Eckoff, Rahn Burton, Dennis Davis, Arturo
O’Farrill, Chip Crawford, James
Weidman, Roy Hargrove, Justin Robinson,
Winard Harper, Philip Harper, Stephen Scott,
Dwayne Burno, Miles Griffith, and many others.
Over the years, Cynthia
Rafaella has
studied with talented artists such as
Sheila Jordan, Barry Harris, Andy Bey,
Norman Simmons, Ann Marie Moss, Daniel
Carillo, Mike Holober, Nancy Marano, and
Harolyn
Blackwell.
After enrolling in a jazz workshop at the
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music in the early
1990's, Cynthia
Rafaella found herself immersed in classic jazz
standards and the Great American Songbook.
She
also attended the legendary jazz workshops of
pianist
Barry Harris. Her jazz education continued at
the
“University of the Streets”, in the East Village,
where she attended a jazz singer’s workshop.
She'd work on tunes with a trio and was
mentored by a continuous stream of seasoned
jazz
veterans. Cynthia Rafaella also performed
regularly at late-night jam sessions which
provided her
with opportunities to jam with some of the
most
talented musicians on the New York jazz scene
at
that time. These encounters eventually led to
weekly Monday night performances at the
famed
Village Gate and a spot as a featured singer
with The Harper Brothers Band during an
engagement
at Condon's jazz club in 1993.
Cynthia Rafaella was influenced by the
mentorship of Bill Lee, the acclaimed bassist
and
composer. From 1993 to 1995, Cynthia
Rafaella
was a member of his vocal group, “The
Family Tree Singers”, performing his original
compositions and excerpts from his folk-jazz
operas. The vocal group sang in a vocalese
style with Bill Lee
conducting from behind his bass. Bill Lee
often referred to Cynthia Rafaella as his “head
trumpeter” and composed a ballad solo that
highlighted her vocal range. Bill Lee was
known
for his work with Odetta, Duke Ellington, Bob
Dylan,
Simon and Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, and
many others. He also scored the soundtracks
for
some of
the films of his son, Spike Lee.
Looking to further develop her musicianship,
Cynthia Rafaella auditioned for Ron Carter “one
of the
most-recorded bassists in jazz history” and
other
faculty members of The City College of New
York
and was accepted into the Jazz Program.
During
her senior year, she was chosen to receive a
music
recording award and was also showcased at
Birdland as an up-and-coming jazz vocalist.
Cynthia Rafaella eventually placed her musical
aspirations on hold in order to focus primarily
on
family, although occasionally sitting in at jam
sessions. Notably, on 11/11/11, Cynthia
Rafaella’s vocal
arrangement of the Billy Taylor tune “His Name
Was Martin” was performed by opera singer
Harolyn
Blackwell and jazz pianist Geri Allen at the
Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. for “Jazz on
the
Elevens: A Tribute to Billy Taylor”. And in May
of 2013, Cynthia Rafaella had the honor of
singing in
a vocal ensemble that performed for the
Donald
Byrd Memorial Service & Concert, performing
jazz
and R&B compositions of this great trumpeter.
Many great jazz musicians were in attendance,
including pianist Herbie Hancock who
accompanied the vocal ensemble on piano for
the performance
of Byrd’s “Cristo Redentor”.
