February 2, 2014

Cynthia Mullis Quintet A Tribute to Antonio Carlos Jobim and Brazil

Inspired by musical style from the Big Apple, Cynthia Mullis plays saxophone with East Coast flair and West Coast sensibility. She is a versatile, accomplished musician who leads her own group and is a valued side-person in numerous ensembles. Cynthia performs music that is an organic, creative mix of straight-ahead and post-modern jazz, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian styles, and original compositions.

Cynthia leads her own groups and and is a valued side-person in numerous ensembles. Her OA2 Records release Inside Job combines top-notch jazz musicians from the Pacific Northwest with musical style inspired by the Big Apple. Cynthia performs jazz that is an organic and creative mix of classic jazz, post-bop, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian styles, and original compositions.

In 1993 Cynthia moved to New York City at the encouragement of Jimmy Heath, and studied saxophone, composition and improvisation with the legendary saxophonist at Queens College. While completing her studies with Mr. Heath, she immersed herself in the jazz scene of New York City, hitting late night jam sessions, practicing hours a day, and meeting and performing with world-class musicians.

From 1994 to 2000 she was a member of the all-women big band Diva, based in New York City. With Diva, she performed extensively across the United States and Europe, backing such artists as Diane Schuur, Joe Williams and Dave Brubeck. While with Diva, Cynthia performed at many prestigious venues, including the Blue Note, Birdland, and Tavern on the Green in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the SS Norway and QE2 Floating Jazz Festivals, and jazz festivals in Berlin, Montreal, Austria and Switzerland. Cynthia can be heard on two of Diva’s CDs, Leave It to Diva and I Believe in You.

Cynthia has performed with a notable list of musicians that includes: Jimmy Heath, Ndugu Chancler, Jovino Santos Neto, John Stowell, Claire Daly, Roberta Piket, Allison Miller, Sheryl Bailey, Matt Jorgensen, Jeff Busch, Jay Thomas, Becca Duran, Bill Anschell, Eric Verlinde and Susan Pascal. In addition, she was a featured saxophonist on the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra OA2 Records release Meeting of the Waters, and performed with SWOJO at the Lima, Peru Jazz Festival in 2007.

Cynthia Mullis earned a Master of Arts in Jazz Performance from Queens College in NYC. She holds a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from the University of Northern Colorado. Cynthia is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Cynthia Mullis, saxophone, flute and clarinet
Adriana Giodano, vocals
Julio Juaregui, piano
Dean Schmidt, bass
Jeff Busch, drums