Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival - AYO and Mayra Andrade

Ayọ

The German-Nigerian singer, whose name means joy in Yoruba, sensitively and gracefully blends soul, folk and reggae to delicious acoustic music. 

Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin, known as Ayọ, is an artist who is immediately compelling with the inflections of her suave and luminous voice. Born to a Nigerian father and a German mother in Frechen in 1980, she discovered the violin and later the guitar, which would become one of her favourite instruments. With roots in soul, folk and reggae, she was revealed in 2006 by the album "Joyful", which sold more than one million copies with the hit "Down On My Knees". Living between Paris and New York, Ayọ is winning over an ever-growing international audience with her raw talent and the sincerity of her message. A singer, songwriter and performer, she has enjoyed success after success with albums such as "Gravity at Last" (2008), "Billie-Eve" (2011) – named after her daughter, born in 2010, and created with the participation of -M-, Saul Williams and David Bowie's bassist, Gail Ann Dorsey – and "Ticket to the World" (2013) and "Royal" (2020), an opus characterised by its soul, folk and very pared-down arrangements. Each of the singer's albums is an invitation to go on a musical journey, where she humbly delivers her emotions about life through catchy melodies. Ayọ, an accomplished artist with a passion for travelling, reveals her seventh album, called "Mami Wata", inspired by her move to Tahiti. This powerful and introspective album, which marks a new chapter in the artist's career, is available from 20 September 2024. Ayọ is a voice that resonates, sounds that caress the soul and lyrics that speak plainly. She is one of these magical artists whose grace seems to make time stand still. 

Mayra Andrade

Mayra Andrade, a singer from Cape Verde, takes us back to the origins of jazz with finesse, and blends the popular music of Santiago with Afrobeat and Portuguese electro. 

Mayra Andrade's silky rhythms, lively melodies and delicately peppery vocals make it seem as if the Europe of pop had always been a warm sea archipelago. Born in Cuba in 1985, she began singing at the age of 14. Mayra comes from the island of Santiago, where funana and batuque - percussive, rhythmic African music - were frowned upon by the colonial elite and were not exported. Yet these are the styles that the singer is passionate about. After finding her own uniqueness on stage, she decided to release her first album, "Navega", in 2006. A roots opus, recorded at the rate of three songs per day, before "Stória, stória", with which she went on tour with eight people. Embracing eclecticism as a woman of her time and open to a host of inspirations, her album, "Lovely Difficult", is more varied. Mayra speaks and creates "in four and a half languages", as she says: Cape Verdean Creole, Portuguese, Spanish, French and – for the half – English. Her new album, "Manga", entirely in Creole, unites the rhythms of modern African music (it was recorded in Abidjan) and her Cape Verdean roots. It features Kim Alves, the famous Cape Verdean musician, and a new generation of musicians from West Africa.  Here, she revisits her repertoire in an acoustic version, accompanied by guitarist Djodje Almeida, and reveals some delicious surprises.