Ivana Santilli
Encyclopedia
Ivana Santilli is a Canadian
R&B singer and multi-instrumentalist
, who has recorded both as a solo artist and as a member of the 1990s R&B/pop combo Bass is Base
. Santili is presently signed to CP Records
.
for her father’s Italian wedding band in Toronto. During her schooling, she hooked up with her first band, Bass is Base
, a band which gained national attention . The trio’s funk and soul fusion garnered them many an award, ( Juno award
, CMVA, MMVA , etc), and two successful albums with A&M/Polygram & Island Records in the U.S.. Ivana departed the band and set out to find her own sound. The band broke up while the 3 members were writing & recording demos for their 3rd album. Ivana asked to be released from her contract with A&M records, & then wrote & recorded 10 new songs as a solo artist within a month of the breakup. She then began working as a session musician (keyboards, Back up vocals) with various bands: Soul Attorneys, Women ah Run Tings, Punjabi by Nature
, Holly McNarland.
Following the dissolution of Bass is Base, her solo career began with the release of her album Brown in April 1999.
The album Brown went on to become one of the most successful independent albums released in Canada that year outselling even major label releases. The album was unique in that it showcased Ivana’s many influences and had something for everyone, soul, bossa nova & drum 'n bass ("Sun + Moon = Tomorrow"). It was this music and her live performances that helped garner Brown critical and commercial success and helped Ivana become one of Canada’s most distinctive and talented artists; along with being a triple threat (vocals, keys, trumpet), Ivana is also fluent in Italian and French. Her Brown album, also featured '"If Ever I Fall", a duet with singer Glenn Lewis
during his early career . She's toured across North America, and played live with the likes of James Brown
, Tito Puente
, Barenaked Ladies
, De La Soul
, Jamiroquai
, Brand New Heavies
, The Fugees
, Jann Arden
, Maceo Parker
, Sylk130, Bahamadia
, Pharcyde, The Roots
, etc. One of her 3 performances during the Montreal Jazz Festival was the subject of a one-hour Bravo! television special. Peer publishing signed her as a writer in the fall of 2000.
On August 10, 2004 she released her second album, Corduroy Boogie, which included the singles, "Deserve" "Superstar" and "What Matters". The video version of "What Matters" appears on a various artists compilation entitled Required Listening. This album featured collaborations with James Poyser
, King Britt
, Dwele
, Dego (4Hero), Kaidi Tatham (Bugz In The Attic
), soul legend Omar
, Stuart Matthewman
(Sade
, Maxwell
, Sweetback). She then became heavily involved as a keyboardist in remix collaborations for such artists as Jazzanova
, King Britt
, Scuba
, Vikter Duplaix
, Steven Spacek, All Saints
, Appleton
: "Don't Worry", Rosey (Def Jam), Roy Ayers
, Larry Gold. After touring Japan (blue note), and Europe, in New York, she's noted for her work as an instrumentalist on various soundtrack recordings for film. Her third album TO.NY was released on June 10, 2008 with the singles "Whateva U Want" and "Been Thru This" which reached #91 on the Canadian Hot 100
.
Recently, Ivana signed to CP Records
and released her fourth studio album, Santilli on June 29, 2010. The first single is "Your Girl Tonight" and the second single is "Letting Go". 6 of the songs on Santilli are new recordings while 6 others can also be found on previous albums.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
R&B singer and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, who has recorded both as a solo artist and as a member of the 1990s R&B/pop combo Bass is Base
Bass is Base
Bass is Base was a Canadian R&B group from Toronto, Ontario, active during the 1990s.The band consisted of Chin Injeti on bass, Ivana Santilli on keyboards, and MC Mystic on percussion...
. Santili is presently signed to CP Records
CP Records
CP Records, formerly known as Capital Prophet Records, is a Canadian independent record label. It was founded in 2002 in Ottawa, Ontario by Tony Sal. It is now headquartered in Toronto, Ontario...
.
Early life and career
Ivana Santilli, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, was born to an Italian father and a French-Canadian mother. Santilli's earliest performances began at age 9 playing trumpetTrumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
for her father’s Italian wedding band in Toronto. During her schooling, she hooked up with her first band, Bass is Base
Bass is Base
Bass is Base was a Canadian R&B group from Toronto, Ontario, active during the 1990s.The band consisted of Chin Injeti on bass, Ivana Santilli on keyboards, and MC Mystic on percussion...
, a band which gained national attention . The trio’s funk and soul fusion garnered them many an award, ( Juno award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
, CMVA, MMVA , etc), and two successful albums with A&M/Polygram & Island Records in the U.S.. Ivana departed the band and set out to find her own sound. The band broke up while the 3 members were writing & recording demos for their 3rd album. Ivana asked to be released from her contract with A&M records, & then wrote & recorded 10 new songs as a solo artist within a month of the breakup. She then began working as a session musician (keyboards, Back up vocals) with various bands: Soul Attorneys, Women ah Run Tings, Punjabi by Nature
Punjabi by Nature
Punjabi by Nature was a seven piece bhangra band founded in Toronto in 1993.. They were nominated for a 1996 Juno Award in the Best Global Album category for their album Jmpn For Joy....
, Holly McNarland.
Following the dissolution of Bass is Base, her solo career began with the release of her album Brown in April 1999.
The album Brown went on to become one of the most successful independent albums released in Canada that year outselling even major label releases. The album was unique in that it showcased Ivana’s many influences and had something for everyone, soul, bossa nova & drum 'n bass ("Sun + Moon = Tomorrow"). It was this music and her live performances that helped garner Brown critical and commercial success and helped Ivana become one of Canada’s most distinctive and talented artists; along with being a triple threat (vocals, keys, trumpet), Ivana is also fluent in Italian and French. Her Brown album, also featured '"If Ever I Fall", a duet with singer Glenn Lewis
Glenn Lewis
Glenn Lewis is a Canadian R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter. Originally planning to pursue a career in animation as a teenager, Lewis instead decided to focus on music. His father was a member of the musical group Crack of Dawn...
during his early career . She's toured across North America, and played live with the likes of James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, Tito Puente
Tito Puente
Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
, Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
, De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
, Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...
, Brand New Heavies
Brand New Heavies
The Brand New Heavies are an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing, a suburb of London, England.-Biography:The Brand New Heavies began in the 1980s as an instrumental acid jazz group called Brother International....
, The Fugees
The Fugees
Fugees were a Haitian American hip hop group who rose to fame in the mid-1990s. Their repertoire included elements of Hip hop, soul and Caribbean music, particularly reggae. The members of the group were rapper/singer/producer Wyclef Jean, rapper/singer/producer Lauryn Hill, and rapper Pras Michel...
, Jann Arden
Jann Arden
Jann Arden is a Canadian singer-songwriter.-Life and career:Arden was born and raised near Calgary in Springbank, Alberta and attended Springbank Community High School. Her breakthrough came with her critically acclaimed 1993 debut album Time for Mercy and her first single "I Would Die For You"...
, Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones...
, Sylk130, Bahamadia
Bahamadia
Bahamadia is a Philadelphia-born hip hop artist born in 1970, and a DJ who later became an MC. As a member of Gang Starr Foundation, she released her critically acclaimed debut album entitled Kollage in 1996. The album featured production by Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr...
, Pharcyde, The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
, etc. One of her 3 performances during the Montreal Jazz Festival was the subject of a one-hour Bravo! television special. Peer publishing signed her as a writer in the fall of 2000.
On August 10, 2004 she released her second album, Corduroy Boogie, which included the singles, "Deserve" "Superstar" and "What Matters". The video version of "What Matters" appears on a various artists compilation entitled Required Listening. This album featured collaborations with James Poyser
James Poyser
James Poyser in Sheffield, England is a multi-Grammy winning songwriter, musician and multi-platinum producer.Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists including Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, John Legend, Lauryn Hill, Common, Anthony Hamilton, D'Angelo,...
, King Britt
King Britt
King Britt is an American DJ and record producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.King Britt is his actual legal name.- 1987: Tower Records Years :...
, Dwele
Dwele
Andwele Gardner , better known by his stage name Dwele is a soul singer, songwriter and record producer from Detroit, Michigan.-Biography:...
, Dego (4Hero), Kaidi Tatham (Bugz In The Attic
Bugz in the Attic
Bugz in the Attic is a collective of DJs and producers based in West London, who are prominent in broken beat. The collective includes Orin Walters , Paul Dolby , Kaidi Tatham, Daz-I-Kue, Alex Phountzi , Cliff Scott, Mark Force, Matt Lord, and Mikey Stirton. The group also has a label, BitaSweet...
), soul legend Omar
Omar
Omar can refer to:-Name:* Omar , including a list of people with the given name or surname Omar, Omer or Umar as well-Places:* Omar, Konar, a village in Afghanistan...
, Stuart Matthewman
Stuart Matthewman
Stuart Matthewman also known as Cottonbelly, is a Grammy-winning songwriter, musician, and producer.-Career:He is a vital part of the band, Sade....
(Sade
Sade (band)
Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
, Maxwell
Maxwell (musician)
Maxwell , is an American R&B, funk and neo soul musician. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.-Early life:...
, Sweetback). She then became heavily involved as a keyboardist in remix collaborations for such artists as Jazzanova
Jazzanova
Jazzanova is a German Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, and Axel Reinemer. Formed in 1995, the group is one of the foremost proponents of the nu-jazz, chillout and jazz house styles of music...
, King Britt
King Britt
King Britt is an American DJ and record producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.King Britt is his actual legal name.- 1987: Tower Records Years :...
, Scuba
Scuba
Scuba is an acronym for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. It may also refer to:* Scuba diving, the use of a self-contained breathing set to stay underwater for periods of time* Scuba set, the equipment used to do scuba diving...
, Vikter Duplaix
Vikter Duplaix
Vikter Duplaix, is an American singer-songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and DJ. Duplaix has traditional soul singer’s beginnings – being raised in both Philadelphia and Augusta, Georgia singing in church choirs, and later took work programming drum tracks while working at a Philadelphia...
, Steven Spacek, All Saints
All Saints (group)
All Saints were a British/Canadian girl group. Founded in 1993 as All Saints 1.9.7.5, the group consisted of founding members Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, and sisters Nicole Appleton and Natalie Appleton...
, Appleton
Appleton
-People:* Alistair Appleton, British television presenter* Charles W. Appleton, of GE* Colin Appleton, footballer* Daniel Appleton, American publisher, 1800s founder of D...
: "Don't Worry", Rosey (Def Jam), Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk .- Biography :Ayers...
, Larry Gold. After touring Japan (blue note), and Europe, in New York, she's noted for her work as an instrumentalist on various soundtrack recordings for film. Her third album TO.NY was released on June 10, 2008 with the singles "Whateva U Want" and "Been Thru This" which reached #91 on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
.
Recently, Ivana signed to CP Records
CP Records
CP Records, formerly known as Capital Prophet Records, is a Canadian independent record label. It was founded in 2002 in Ottawa, Ontario by Tony Sal. It is now headquartered in Toronto, Ontario...
and released her fourth studio album, Santilli on June 29, 2010. The first single is "Your Girl Tonight" and the second single is "Letting Go". 6 of the songs on Santilli are new recordings while 6 others can also be found on previous albums.
Albums
- April 1999: Brown (Brown Recordings)
- August 2004: Corduroy Boogie (Brown Recordings)
- June 2008: TO.NY (Brown Recordings) review
- June 2010: Santilli (CP Records)
Singles
| Year | Single | CAN Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Whateva U Want" | - | TO.NY |
| "Been Thru This" | 91 | ||
| 2009 | "Hollywood" | - | |
| "Your Girl Tonight" | - | Santilli | |
| 2010 | "Letting Go" | - |