MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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From New York to Mangawhai, new local brings jazzBY JULIA WADE
An international ensemble of awardwinning musicians, including a brand new local, is bringing a sassy smooth infusion of Christmas bossa nova to Mangawhai. Featuring New Zealand and international musical artists including Kiwi jazz vocalist Maggie Gould and Brazilian ‘master of bossa nova’ Nanny Assis, the New York-based Brazilian jazz band are bringing their Christmas jazz style to Bennetts courtyard on December 20 in a fundraising concert for the Melanoma Foundation. Gould moved to Mangawhai recently after being inspired by her daughter’s love of the area, the closeness of the sea reminding them both of their former Wellington coastal home. Although the talented singer – who is also an award-winning photojournalist – admits to ‘living in a shoebox in the jungle of New York’, she is keen to bring the buzz of the big city’s jazz scene to her new hometown. “As I’m new here to beautiful Mangawhai I want to invite all the locals to join us,” she says. “We want all to feel welcome to come and dance, sing and get into Christmas with these amazing musicians in a beautiful setting.” Based in the ‘Big Apple’ for the last six years, Gould’s sultry vocals have taken her around the globe with her many performances collating into an impressive portfolio, including jazz festivals in Rome, Venice, Samoa, Tauranga and London clubs, sold out shows in New York, musical shows ‘Cats’ and ‘Folies Berger’, and has sung alongside Dionne Warwick and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Besides making beautiful music Gould is also an award-winning photo journalist with 20 years of experience capturing events and people on film including Queen Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela, Dame Whina Coper, Audrey Hepburn and the Dalai Lama as well as musical greats BB King, Paul and Linda McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and Johnny Cash. She has also worked as a news photographer, lecturer of photojournalism and held private exhibitions. Gould and Nanny Assis, a world-renowned songwriter, vocalist and percussionist who has performed with the likes of Paul Simon, Kenny Baron and John Patitucci, as well as awarded the lifetime achievement in Brazilian Jazz, have been musical collaborators for six years. The pair have recently returned from Kaitaia after teaching music to Abundant Life School students, and Assis also directed Gould’s debut album ‘Todo Amor’, launched earlier this year at top premiere New York jazz club ‘The Blue Note’. While more touring, performances and jazz festivals in New York and Greece are already marked on her 2020 calendar, Gould says she is hoping for time to keep her feet planted on Mangawhai’s coastline. “I’d be happy if I don’t see another airport for while… it’s a pleasure to be a New Zealander and be home, we have everything here, including amazing talent.”
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