Laïka Fatien
Encyclopedia
Personal life
She is Black and Jewish. Her mother is a Moroccan-Spanish Jew, and her father is from the Ivory Coast. Fatien was raised mainly by women (her grandmother, mother, and aunt) in a Moroccan Jewish family.She studied at ARIAL Île-de-France
Île-de-France (région)
Île-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-two administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area....
, CIM and IACP (jazz music schools).
Music career
Carmen McRaeCarmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable...
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, Abbey Lincoln
Abbey Lincoln
Anna Marie Wooldridge , better known by her stage name Abbey Lincoln, was a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. Lincoln was unusual in that she wrote and performed her own compositions, expanding the expectations of jazz audiences.-Biography:Born in Chicago, Illinois, she was one of many...
, and Diane Reeves are her inspirations.
Laïka came into the public eye with Claude Bolling
Claude Bolling
Claude Bolling , is a renowned French jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and occasional actor.He was born in Cannes, studied at the Nice Conservatory, then in Paris. A child prodigy, by age 14 he was playing jazz piano professionally, with Lionel Hampton, Roy Eldridge, and Kenny Clarke...
’s orchestra. She featured on several artists’ albums,
Fatien released her first album in 2004. Her international background flavors her CD, Look at Me. It brought a fresh sound to vocal jazz. It was quite clearly different.
Musician and Day to Day contributor David Was
David Was
David Was is, with his stage-brother Don Was, the founder of the 1980s pop group, Was .Was was born in Detroit, Michigan...
offered a review, and saying that artists like Fatien are critical to insuring that jazz remains lively and experimental.
The quintet’s musicians are (David El Malek on tenor sax, Pierre de Bethman on piano, Jules Bikoko Bin’Jami on bass, Dré Pallemaerts on drums) are exceptional.
Look at me now! was recorded live without electronics, with a completely natural sound.
Her stunning 2008 CD Laïka: Misery, A Tribute to Billie Holiday (in memory of Thomas Shipp & Abraham Smith) is on the Blujazz label and features Robert Glasper on piano, David EL-Malek on tenor sax, Daryl Hall on bass, and Gregory Hutchinson on drums. It received ***1/2 stars on Allmusic.com, ****1/2 stars from Downbeat magazine and ***** stars on iTunes and Amazon.com.
Acting
Also an actress, she had a major role in A Drum Is A Woman directed by Jérôme SavaryJérôme Savary
Jérôme Savary is a French theater director and actor. His work has democratized and widened the appeal of musical theater in France, drawing together and blending such genres as opera, operetta, and musical comedy.- Biography :...
and performed at Chaillot, and has taken part in numerous festivals.