Club Room Groove with Anita Donndorff

Brazilian Jazz Sundays at The Club Room kick off this October 4^th with rising star vocalist Anita Donndorff. The Argentinian native has been dazzling audiences both here and abroad with her deft delivery of Latin and jazz classics.

 

Donndorff got started singing in jazz clubs in her homeland as a teen. “Buenos Aires is a very vibrant and intense city, full of music and with a wonderful local community of musicians,” she tells us. “My maternal grandfather was an opera and bolero singer, and my paternal grandfather was a jazz drummer. I grew up surrounded by great music at home. I think I always knew I wanted to be a singer. I sang all day for as long as I can remember. The first album that really got under my skin was Fina Estampa by Caetano Veloso. My mother would always play that album at home or on long car rides. I think of it as the soundtrack of my life – if my life were a movie, I can imagine that album playing throughout it. It also features a selection of some of the most beautiful songs from Latin America.”

 

Donndorff moved to the U.S. in 2023. What started as a trip to discover the city’s music and jazz scene somehow turned into an extended voyage that continues to this day. She’s a perfect fit to launch Brazilian Jazz Sundays at The Club Room, as her love of the music runs deep. “I grew up listening to Brazilian music, and the voices of its singers have shaped my musical education and are my greatest influence as a singer,” she explains. “The rhythm of Brazilian music also brings me a lot of joy and makes me feel alive. Brazilian music is happy music. Some of my favorite artists include Gal Costa, for her expressiveness and her incomparable voice. To me, she is the female voice of Brazil. She is my greatest inspiration when it comes to singing Brazilian repertoire. Also Caetano Veloso was my first love in music. I’ve listened to him since I was very young, when my mother would always have his records playing at home. Ever since then, his voice and his music have been part of my everyday life. And Djavan is one of the most complete and powerful musicians I know. He truly has a unique and unmistakable style, and an incredible ability to create and play such different and varied music. His compositions have a remarkable stylistic openness.”

 

And what keeps this rising songstress returning to The Club Room? “It’s one of the most elegant and cozy stages in the city,” Donndorff says. “The atmosphere is warm, and the audience is very diverse. There are people from all over the world who come to experience what’s happening artistically in New York.”

 

Don’t miss Anita Donndorff at the inaugural Brazilian Jazz Sundays on October 4^th with sets at 6:30PM, 8PM & 9:30PM.