(July 27, 2021) - "I am a non-commissioned officer," said Kristen Mather de Andrade about her role in West Point's Army Special Band as a clarinetist. Kristen just released a solo Jazz album titled "Clarao (Of Course)" where she showcases her skills as a clarinetist and vocalist. "There is a special band in all the services. People audition for them. I won and was commissioned."

Mather de Andrade has been the principle clarinetist for the Army Special Band since 2007, so I think it's safe to say she is a veteran in the music business. On "Clarao," produced by Sergio Krakowski, Kristen sings in Portuguese and for some reason the sound takes me to Africa. Makes me ask myself is there a link between African music and Brazil. Her husband is Brazilian, which is the reason she said the Jazz album is in Portuguese.

"I met him in New York...online," she informed me about her husband.

Mather de Andrade also plays the sax. A native of Ohio she currently resides in New York where she is still employed by the U. S. Army as a non-commissioned officer in the Army Special Band. She is also founder and artist director of an ensemble called Vent Nouveau. Kristen has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center. If that's not enough, she also teaches elite music classes at various colleges and universities.

"I've been putting in a lot of work...learning so much and thought about putting my music into the world for people to hear," Kristen explained about the project.

On this "Clarao" project, classically trained Kristen is joined by songwriter Roque Ferrieira; accordion Vitor Goncalves; violinist Sesar Garabini, and bass player Eduardo Belo. On August 8, 2021 Kristen Mather de Andrade will perform selections from the "Clarao" album at 6pmET live from Studio 42 Brooklyn via Stretto.live.

"Here, we listen to Pop...but these are mostly what everyone would like in Brazil," Mather de Andrade concluded about the project.

When deciding, for my review of the album, my favorite cuts I almost included the whole album, but those that stood-out for me was #2 "Coco Tara-Ta-Ta (Coco Your Country)"; #3 "Guele Guele (Goodbye)" because it had that African flavor thanks to the vocals of Kristin that are simple and sweet; #4 "Chorinho Pra Ele (Music For You)" because of that Portuguese flavor; #5 "Doce Melodia (Sweet Melody)" because it sounds like a movie soundtrack and has that Sinatra era flavor; #6 "Sagrado (Sacred)" because of her vocals - again, simple and sweet with that African flavor; #7 "Bendito (Blessed)" because it starts off slow and sweet then changes to an up-tempo song that gets real Jazzy, and #10 "O Clarinete Gostoso (Yummy Clarinet)" because it clearly sounds like (American) Jazz with that Latin flavor that I'm use to hearing which made me get up and dance.

"The music is all Brazilian. I live in New York where there are a lot of different cultures," she said. How she met her album producer she added, "I had a lot of videos go viral that I posted...Sergio and I talked about a repertoire."

What a sweet and blessed Brazilian Jazz project "Clarao" added to the world of music. Recorded at Studio 24 Brooklyn, the album also features Mathieu Tetus, Jenny Hill, Joe Natale, Bill Owens and Alaina Alster. www.KristenMather.com