Ivana Santilli

Last updated
Ivana Santilli
ETalk2008-Ivana Santilli (cropped).jpg
Background information
Born (1975-08-04) August 4, 1975 (age 48)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Instrument(s) Keyboards, Trumpet
Years active1991-present
LabelsBrown Recordings Inc., CP Records
Website ivanasantilli.com

Ivana Daniela Santilli is a Canadian R&B singer and multi-instrumentalist, who has recorded as a solo artist and as a member of the 1990s R&B/pop trio Bass is Base.

Contents

Early life and career

Santilli was born to an Italian father and a French-Canadian mother. Santilli's earliest performances began at age 9 playing trumpet for her father's Italian wedding band in Toronto. Ivana is also fluent in both Italian and French.

Career

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 a number of Juno, CMVA, and MMVA awards, and they released two albums with A&M/Polygram & Island Records in the U.S.

Bass is Base broke up, and Santilli asked to be released from her contract with A&M records. She wrote and 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.

Santilli began a solo career in 1999. She performed in Toronto at The Bamboo Club in March, [1] and released her album Brown in April. [2] That year she performed in Hamilton as part of Showcase '99. [3]

The album Brown sold very well, outselling some major label releases.[ citation needed ] The album included soul and bossa nova, as well as drum 'n bass ("Sun + Moon = Tomorrow"), and featured Santilli's vocals, keys, and trumpet. The album led to a Juno nomination in 2000 as best new solo artist, [4] and also featured '"If Ever I Fall", a duet with singer Glenn Lewis during his early career.

Santilli toured across North America, including a performance at the 1999 Stardust Picnic festival at Historic Fort York, Toronto. [5] She played live with James Brown, Tito Puente, Barenaked Ladies, De La Soul, Jamiroquai, Brand New Heavies, The Fugees, Jann Arden, Maceo Parker, Sylk130, Bahamadia, Pharcyde, and The Roots. One of her three performances during the Montreal Jazz Festival was the subject of a one-hour Bravo! television special. [6] Peer publishing signed her as a writer in the fall of 2000.

Santilli at the Montreal Jazz Fest in 2004 Ivana Montreal Jazz Fest.jpg
Santilli at the Montreal Jazz Fest in 2004

In August 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 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 appeared as an instrumentalist on various soundtrack recordings for film. Her third album TO.NY was released in June, 2008 with the singles "Whateva U Want" and "Been Thru This" which reached #91 on the Canadian Hot 100.

Santilli signed to CP Records and released her fourth studio album, Santilli in June, 2010. The first single is "Your Girl Tonight" and the second single is "Letting Go". Three of the songs on Santilli are new compositions & recordings, 3 are remixes, while the remaining 6 were remastered from TO.NY. An amalgamation of song collaborations with Nasri Atweh, Adam Messinger, Belly, DaHeala, Ethan White

Ivana's 5th studio album entitled Late Night Light was pre-released on February 13, 2015 and released digitally worldwide on March 10, 2015. It features collaborations with Mike Lindup, Eon Sinclair, Stuart Matthewman.

Santilli began doing Voice Over work in 2015 and has done commercials for Bank of Montreal, Marshall's, WestJet.

Currently she is composing for film. The most recent film score for an indie short art film is set was released in fall of 2021.

Discography

Albums

Singles

YearSingle CAN Album
1999"Too Deep"-Brown
"Sun + Moon = Tomorrow"-
"If I Ever Fall (Pt. 1)" (feat. Glenn Lewis)-
2000"Lonely Lullaby"-
2004"Deserve"-Corduroy Boogie
"Superstar"-
2005"What Matters"-
2008"Whateva U Want"-TO.NY
"Been Thru This"91
2009"Hollywood"-
"Your Girl Tonight"-Santilli
2010"Letting Go"-
2016"Lovers Love 2 Rock" (feat. Mike Lindup)-Late Night Light

Related Research Articles

Dream Warriors were a Canadian hip hop duo from Toronto, Ontario, comprising King Lou and Capital Q. Described as "a pair of deft, intelligent rappers" by John Bush of AllMusic, they were major contributors to the jazz rap movement of the early 1990s. Their 1991 debut album, And Now the Legacy Begins, was cited by Bush as one of the finest alternative hip hop records of the golden era. Before the release of their second album Subliminal Simulation in 1994, the duo became a group with the addition of rapper Spek and DJ Luv. In 1996, they released a third album, The Master Plan, before the two new members left the group a year later. Though their subsequent releases did not garner similar commercial success as their debut, the duo released a well-received greatest hits album in 1999. Their final album, The Legacy Continues..., was released in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emm Gryner</span> Canadian singer-songwriter (born 1975)

Emm Gryner is a Canadian singer, songwriter, recording artist, and author. She has released 20 albums as a solo performer, and has collaborated with artists including David Bowie and Chris Hadfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bootsauce</span> Canadian rock band

Bootsauce was a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock band based in Montreal. The band was composed of Drew Ling (vocals), Pere Fume (guitar), Sonny Greenwich Jr. (guitar), Alan Baculis, and John "Fatboy" Lalley (drums). Their style combined soul, funk and metal sounds. Two of their albums, The Brown Album and Bull achieved Gold status in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Doiron</span> Musical artist

Julie Elaine Doiron is a Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage. She has been the bass guitarist and co-vocalist for the Canadian indie rock band Eric's Trip since its formation in 1990. She has released ten solo albums, beginning with 1996's Broken Girl, and is also the lead singer for the band Julie and the Wrong Guys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Cox</span> Canadian musician and actress (born 1974)

Deborah Cox is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before becoming a professional backing vocalist for Celine Dion. In 1994, Cox relocated to the United States and was signed to Arista Records by Clive Davis, releasing her self-titled debut album the following year. Her second studio album, One Wish (1998), was certified platinum in the United States. It was marked by the commercial success of the pop crossover single "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here", which would become her most successful entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number two and remaining there for eight consecutive weeks. Cox signed with J Records for her third studio album The Morning After (2002), which saw moderate commercial success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Mother Earth</span> Canadian rock band

I Mother Earth, or IME, is a Canadian rock band. The band formed in 1990 and reached its peak in popularity in the mid-to-late 1990s. After an eight-year hiatus, the band reunited in 2012. Between 1996 and 2016, I Mother Earth was among the top 150 best-selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 40 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada.

Michelle McCullock, better known by her stage name Michie Mee, is a Canadian rapper and actress. Canada's first notable female MC, she is considered a national hip-hop pioneer.

The Pocket Dwellers are a Canadian seven-member experimental hip-hop group from the Toronto area. The band's main genre is hip-hop, but their music is influenced by jazz, funk, soul and breakbeat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wide Mouth Mason</span> Canadian rock band formed 1995

Wide Mouth Mason is a Canadian blues-based rock band, consisting of Shaun Verreault and Safwan Javed. Former bassist Earl Pereira was also co-founder of Wide Mouth Mason. The band hails from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and has been active since 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass is Base</span> Canadian R&B music group

Bass is Base was a Canadian R&B group based in North York, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renee Rosnes</span> Canadian jazz pianist, composer, and arranger

Irene Louise Rosnes, known professionally as Renee Rosnes, is a Canadian jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charity Brown</span> Musical artist

Charity Brown is a Canadian film actress, singer, and voice artist for television animation shorts. She is one of Eastwood Collegiate Institute's notable alumni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian blues</span>

Canadian blues is the blues and blues-related music performed by blues bands and performers in Canada. Canadian blues artists include singers, players of the main blues instruments: guitar, harmonica, keyboards, bass and drums, songwriters and music producers. In many cases, blues artists take on multiple roles. For example, the Canadian blues artist Steve Marriner is a singer, harmonica player, guitarist, songwriter and record producer.

Pranam "Chin" Injeti is a Canadian singer, musician, and music producer. He got his start as a founding member of Juno Award-winning group Bass is Base. He frequently collaborates with producer DJ Khalil; together they have written and produced songs for Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Drake, Clipse, Eminem and P!nk. Injeti's work with Eminem and Lecrae has garnered 3 Grammy Awards, as well as Grammy nominations for Aloe Blacc's Lift Your Spirit and P!nk's The Truth About Love.

Sekou Lumumba is a Canadian musician, based in Toronto, who has been drummer for such artists and groups as Ben Kenney, The Illegal Jazz Poets, Thornley, Edwin & the Pressure, Goodbye Glory, Ivana Santilli, Kardinal Offishall, Serena Ryder, 24-7 Spyz and Bedouin Soundclash.

Jenny Whiteley is a Canadian country and folk singer-songwriter. She was a member of the band Heartbreak Hill, and released several solo albums of folk music. She has won two Juno Awards for her music.

Lisa Patterson is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, performer, producer/engineer and educator. A classically trained musician, she went directly from high school to study audio engineering and production at Fanshawe College, London, Ontario, and later attended Toronto’s York University as a performance major focusing on South Indian music, Composition and Contemporary Improvisation. She has been active as a side musician and solo recording artist touring in North America, India, Mexico, Europe and the Middle East. While her main instrument is piano, Lisa performs frequently on alto saxophone and duduk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Britt</span> American DJ, producer and educator

King Britt is an American educator, DJ and record producer from Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Mooking</span> Trinidadian-Canadian chef, musician and television host

Roger Mooking is a Trinidadian-Canadian chef, musician, and television host. Mooking is the host of the television series Man Fire Food. He is also the host and co-creator of Everyday Exotic. Both programs aired on the Cooking Channel and Food Network Canada. He also appears on Heat Seekers with Aarón Sanchez on Food Network. Mooking has had many appearances on shows such as Today, Good Morning America, The Marilyn Denis Show, Iron Chef America, Top Chef Canada, and Chopped Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Richardson</span> Canadian actor and singer (born 1965)

Kim Richardson is a Canadian singer and actress, who won two Juno Awards as a solo recording artist in the 1980s.

References

  1. "Live Reviews: Ivana Santilli, March 6, 1999, The Bamboo Club, Toronto, ON" [usurped] . Chart Attack, by Mike Doherty
  2. Nazareth, Errol (1999-04-16). "Sex in the subtlety: Ivana Santilli brings elegance to the fore". Jam!/Canoe. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved 2009-03-01.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. "Live Reviews: Ivana Santilli, Pocket Dwellers, Dream Warriors August 20-22, 1999 Showcase '99, Hamilton" [usurped] . Chart Attack, Shawn Despres, August 22, 1999
  4. Larry LeBlanc (12 February 2000). "Morissette leads Canada's Juno nomination list". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 45–. ISSN   0006-2510.
  5. "Live Reviews: The Stardust Picnic" [usurped] . Chart Attack, July 11, 1999, Howard Druckman
  6. Montreal Jazz Festival: "Ivana Santilli" at TV Guide