Musicians: Winter Edition

MEET
YOUR MUSICIANS

MAYKA EDJOLE BAND
María del Carmen Edjo Leorza is a singer, composer and DJ. She began her musical career in the group Abadìe 500 Blues Band in 1991. After studying Philology and Teaching, she decided to dedicate herself professionally to music in 1997. Mayka has been part or numerous bands and choirs, as well as performing as backing vocalist for artists such as Sergio Dalma, La Cabra Mecànica, Coque Malla, Enrique Morente, Burning, Julian Maeso and Pitingo. From 2005 to 2015 she was the voice of the soul-funk band The Sweet Vandals with whom she has composed and performed four albums and toured around the world.

She has participated in great national and international Jazz Festivals, including Pori Jazz Festival (Finland), Sakifo Festival(Reunion), Ollin Kan (Mexico), Blue Note(France), WOMAD (UK and Spain). Mayka is also a singing teacher at ESMUVA (Vallecas School of Music), directs the Vallecas Modern Choir workshop and since 2017 she has directed the Gloria Fuertes Equality Space Choir workshop in the Vicàlvaro neighbourhood.

JESSIE GORDON

Jessie is a very sun-shy Perth red-headed jazz singer who enjoys swing music, dancing in her kitchen to Otis Redding, eating cheese at any given opportunity and singing in the shower and every other (shaded) venue. Her main musical passions are jazz, blues and roots music. She started singing professionally at the age of 15 and has fronted big bands, jazz duos and every sized band in-between. She has toured Australia, America, South East Asia, Germany, France, Spain, Poland and the UK. She is also a 20 time Fringe World Music and Cabaret Award winner.
She has also recorded nine albums, including one with Mark Turner (Best Friends 2019), an original album (A Work of Fiction 2018), two intercontinental albums entitled Berlin Nights (2017) and Unknowable Journey (2020) with Berlin band Ginger Blues, the latter of which won the German Blues Award for 2020, and most recently the eponymous Sassafras (2021).

STEF ROSEN
Stef Rosen is a guitar player and singer from Berlin, Germany. He is considered one of the most innovative and genuine blues players that have emerged in Europe in the recent decades. His way of composing, playing and arranging is inspired by the soulful electric blues from the 70s, as well as the old acoustic blues from the late 20s. He looks at the tradition of this music with a personal and respectful attitude. He has performed in blues clubs, festivals and blues dance events all around the world, from New York to Seoul, as a solo artist and with bands. In 2017 he joined a European tour with Tony Coleman, the drummer for many blues legends including Albert King, Albert Collins, Etta James, Ruth Brown, and for the king of the blues himself: B.B. King, for more than 20 years.

His latest recordings received enthusiastic reviews from all around Europe and by the international blues dancing scene. In 2019, the record 'Soul Mining', produced by RBB Kulturadio Berlin, was nominated in Germany for 'Album of the Year', next to giants of the blues scene such as John Mayall, Watermelon Slim, Joe Bonamassa and Walter Trout. Stef also works as sound engineer and producer at the Fuzznote Studio in Berlin and in 2020 he won the 'Album of the Year' award for his mixing and mastering work on Ginger Blues record 'Unknowable Journey'. His new album 'Soulify' was released in February 2022 for Timezone Records, and has been nominated for 'Best album'.