Lyambiko (born Sandy Müller; 1978) is a German
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
singer. She has released five charting albums in Germany.
Life and work
Lyambiko, whose stage name is the last name of her father, was born in
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
, and grew up in a musically active family. Her grandfather was already a member of a jazz combo in the 1930s and her father worked as a singer in both the church choir and in jazz and in
world music bands. At the age of 17 Lyambiko founded her first band as a singer (folk, pop, blues) and participated as the youngest participant in a band contest, where she won her first studio recording.
After a long musical break, Lyambiko moved to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
in 1999. As part of the preparation for the entrance exam to the
Hochschule für Musik
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...
, she received singing and piano lessons and developed a small repertoire of jazz standards. This was followed by the first concerts in Berlin jazz clubs with various lineups and a regular engagement "Lyambiko - Strange Fruit" in a duo with guitar. Lyambiko was given the opportunity to perform at the renowned Berlin jazz club
A-Trane
The A-Trane is a jazz club in Berlin, Germany.
Overview
The A-Trane was opened in late 1992. It is located in Berlin-Charlottenburg at Bleibtreustrasse 1 where its doors open every night at 9 pm. Uncounted locally and internationally renowned mus ...
in April 2000.
From April 2001, the quartet of the same name was named after Lyambiko, with whom she expanded her concert activities to Germany, and later also to neighboring European countries and the United States.
In addition to her jazz projects, the singer first worked on a program of African music with a children's and youth choir in 2007.
Nationally, "Singer of the Year" Lyambiko won the
Echo Jazz The Echo Jazz (stylized as ECHO JAZZ) was a German music prize, an Echo Music Prize for personalities and production of jazz. It was awarded annually by the between 2010 and 2018.
The awards had been given in 30 categories, including ensemble of t ...
2011 with "Something Like Reality".
Lyambiko (band)
The band of the same name originally consisted of American pianist Marque Lowenthal, Canadian bassist Robin Draganic, German drummer Torsten Zwingenberger, and Lyambiko. They had their first appearance in April 2001 and have been on tour at home and abroad ever since. They play
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing rid ...
,
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
soul jazz
Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including ten ...
, including many standards.
The first two albums were released by the Hamburg jazz label ''
Nagel Heyer Records
Nagel-Heyer Records is a German jazz record label based in Hamburg.
Nagel-Heyer was founded in 1992 by Hans and Sabine Nagel-Heyer to issue primarily live recordings of both North American and European jazz performers. By 2004, it had released ne ...
'', after which they switched to
Sony BMG
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...
. The album ''Shades of Delight'' reached number 2 on the German jazz charts. The albums ''Lyambiko—''a collection of flattering jazz standards''—''and ''Love… And Then'' were each awarded a jazz award by the German Phonover Association. In February 2007, the album ''Inner Sense was released'', to which Lyambiko contributed two songs of its own for the first time. In addition to two cover versions from pop / rock music, it only contains original compositions. The album ''Saffronia'' is a tribute to
Nina Simone.
Reviewing ''Shades of Delight'' in July 2004, ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'' critic
Tom Hull said, "She's an Afro-German who sings perfectly nuanced English. They're an eponymous band of determinedly optimistic
Ãœbermenschen. Together they demonstrate their taste and smarts many times over."
Discography
* ''Out of This Mood'' (2002)
* ''Shades of Delight'' (2003)
* ''Lyambiko'' (2005) (GER:
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
in jazz);
Gold-/Platin-Datenbank des Bundesverbandes Musikindustrie, Abruf vom 3. Juni 2016
/ref> GER #91[Lyambiko](_blank)
on the German Charts
* ''Love ... And Then'' (2006) (GER: Gold in jazz); GER #78
* ''Inner Sense'' (2007) (GER: Gold in jazz); GER #89
* ''Saffronia'' (2008) GER #57
* ''Something Like Reality'' (2010)
* ''Lyambiko Sings Gershwin'' (2012) GER #78
* ''Muse'' (2015)
* ''Love Letters'' (2017)
References
{{authority control
German jazz singers
Nagel-Heyer Records artists
Sony BMG artists
Okeh Records artists