RAQUEL BITTON
- Over 130 songs beautifully Orchestrated in every style and genre
- Sung in French, Spanish, English
- Sample on Itunes, Amazon, Spotify etc..
- Sparrow Productions, Raquel Bitton’s company owns all mechanical rights. We can help you with clearing Publishing.
Raquel Bitton is recognized as the foremost singer of French Jazz music in America today and has been internationally praised as the greatest interpreter of the music from the Edith Piaf repertoire. Raquel Bitton resides in the San Francisco Bay area.
- Discography : 8 albums to date
- Rhythm of the Heart ( Havana meets Paris)
- Boleros (French Latin Jazz recording)
- Paris Blues
- Dream a little Dream
- Raquel Bitton sings Edith Piaf
- In a Jazzy Mood
- Changes ( Country Originals)
- I wish you love
The star of the award winning Film “Piaf..Her story..Her songs” currently airing on PBS stations nationwide.
Raquel has performed sold-out performances at notable concert halls across North America including Three performances at Carnegie Hall.
Raquel Bitton has performed as the headline soloist at the following venues.
– Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
– The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
– The Elgin Theater, Toronto, Canada
– Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada
– Place des Arts, Montréal, Canada
– Symphony Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
– Orchestra Hall, Chicago, Illinois
– The Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
– Benaroya Hall, Seattle, Washington
– Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, California
– Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, California
– San Francisco Opera House, San Francisco, California
– Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, California
– Lincoln Theater, Miami, Florida
– Club Sportif, Monaco
For more ,please visit www.raquelbitton.com
Contact :
Sparrow Productions
Gerald Prolman
(415) 883 3393
Email : Sparrowprdct@aol.com
NEW CD
RHTHM OF THE HEART
HAVANA MEETS PARIS
Producer: Raquel Bitton Co- Producer : 11 Grammy award winner Rafa Sardina
Chief Engineer Rafa Sardina
A MAGNIFICENTLY RECORDED CD “RHYTHM OF THE HEART”. Raquel Bitton’s voice is warm and seductive and she has the full measure of Latin rhythms so that the undulating dances flow from her in a very natural manner.
All of the musicians in the large supporting band are world class. Rebeca Mauleón arranged percussion, plays piano and conducts; Ramon Stagnaro provides luscious guitar passages; all the horn players have a chance to shine. The music has been co-produced and engineered by Rafa Sardina, an 11-time Grammy Award winner. Rhythm of the Heart might put him up to an even dozen. Everything is exactly right, every balance perfect. The overall sound is lush, warm, and seductive, as it must be for this literature, but there is absolutely no lack of detail.
Be sure to listen to: Jorge (Coco) Trivisonno’s bandoneón solos in “Il est trop tard” (“It’s Too Late”) are positively scintillating and recorded with such presence that you can close your eyes and imagine him in your listening room.
. . . Rad Bennett
soundstagenetwork
Raquel Bitton may be a French singer, but she’s a woman of the world. On Rhythm of the Heart, she effortlessly bridges Paris and Havana, and dances, vocally, over sultry Afro-Cuban beats. From “La Vie En Rose” to “Merci Pour Tes Fleurs,” Raquel continues to blossom. This is un beau bouquet. Ben Fong –Torres (Former Editor Rolling Stones Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle columnist, Author).
“cannot, will not stop playing your absolutely beautiful new CD–thank you! Octavio Roca.(Author/Journalist)
NEW WORLD MUSIC/ http://www.slipcue.com/music/international/newreviews/2013/04_world-2013.html
Raquel Bitton “Rhythm Of The Heart” (RB Records, 2013)
(Produced by Raquel Bitton & Rafa Sardina)
A sweet, subtle, classy album by French-born chanteuse Raquel Bitton, who is best known for her stage show in tribute to Edith Piaf. On this album, Bitton glides skillfully and soulfully through a number of Latin American styles — tangos, boleros, bossa nova and rumba — with wonderful French-language tunes gleaned from the repertoire of Corsican crooner Tino Rossi, a French superstar who specialized in “Latin” flavored material in the 1930s and ’40s. Bitton’s versions are sublime, and bring a richness and immediacy to these songs that is a pure delight. Lush, emotive, redolent with melodrama and romance, this is exactly the way these songs should sound. Recommended!
The French have always had a thing for Latin music. The attraction is the passion and style. On Rhythm of the Heart, French singer Raquel Bitton is joined by a 20-piece orchestra, and the result is a Havana cocktail with Champagne. Unlike most American singers who take on French songs, Bitton rolls her “r’s” authentically with Piafian elan. Meanwhile, the band chunka-chunks along with drama and mystique. I studied French but can’t make out the lyrics. It doesn’t matter. She’s worked up about something on each track—lost loves, cheating beaus and nostalgia for a long-ago love. This CD takes you on a trip to a place where makeup and manners mattered. – See more at: http://www.jazzwax.com/2013/04/weekend-wax-bits-1.html#sthash.d0MNOMhr.dpuf
Marc Myers/Jazzwax
Rhythm of the Heart, Raquel Bitton’s Tribute to Tino Rossi | World Music Report
It is not easy at all to interpret legends and musical icons like Edith Piaf, but Raquel Bitton has done it in a respectful and wonderful way. Continuing with the tribute to the most important contributors of French singing, Raquel Bitton brings us Rhythm of the Heart, her new album, a tribute to the French singer and film actor Tino Rossi.
In this production Raquel has the great opportunity to be accompanied by 21 classical musicians and a dream Afro-Cuban band composed of Ramón Stagnaro, Rebeca Mauleón, Carlos del Puerto Jr., Jimmy Brandly, Orestes Vilató and Jesús Díaz.
work itself. Mrs. Bitton sings a variety of rhythms in French, most of them latinos including chachachá, bossanova, danzón, tango, and bolero of the unforgettable French figure Tino Rossi. This is an interesting meld between two passionate, sensual and romantic worlds: Habana and Paris.
Tino Rossi was a reference in singing and film acting some decades ago. He recorded hundreds of songs and participated in more than 25 films. As a result of a great career Tino Rossi sold over 300 million records, a number that indicates the success he had in those days in the entertainment world. These reasons are more than enough for Mrs. Bitton to pay tribute to this great romantic French idol.
No other title for this album would have been better than Rhythm of the Heart. The French typical song is an invitation to recall love memoirs and feeling, and Raquel Bitton does it again with the name of this album and its 12 songs. Raquel Bitton keeps an elegant, sweet and warm style of the French singing interpretation but adds the syncopated and seductive sound of Latin rhythms. Her voice fits beautifully with the classic Latin beat which shows that she has total control of the rythym and the music flows very naturally with her soft and velvety voice.
This album moves you to sing passionately and profoundly evokes feelings with the subtle clave beat of the bolero or danzón. Each song is a great excuse to explore your mind looking for beautiful pictures. “Tout Bleu” explains what I am talking about, it is the pure softness and poignant expression of singing, it is the switch that makes you start dreaming about your profound wishes, loves and feelings. Mrs. Bitton’s voice and her big orchestra take us to the place we have been dreaming about for quite some time, the place of our deepest feelings.
What a wonderful tribute she has paid to the chanson of the world. This production has an incredible balance, keeping a lush and sweet sound from the beginning to the end.
Reviewed by: Oscar Montagut
Latino Music Album: Raquel Bitton’s “Rhythm of the Heart”
Posted by Hector Aviles in Reviews
If you’re new to Latino Music Cafe and like our content, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
What is Cuban maestro timbalero Orestes Vilató doing in a French album? I asked myself that question when I saw that the ex-member of the Fania All Stars, Tipica ’73, Santana, and Ray Barretto bands was in this recording. But he’s not the only Latino here; more on that below.
It turns out that Raquel Bitton’s album “Rhythm of the Heart” is an album she recorded based on Latino music. As she asserts in the liner notes, this is “Havana meets Paris, imagine the sensuality and passion of this melding of two romantic worlds!”. And although “Rhythm of the Heart” has sensuality and passion, it’s not just about Cuban or Afro-Cuban music. The album includes some soft samba, Tangos, Boleros, and even a Cuban Danzón. They classify the last song “So Blue” as a Haitian Merengue, to me it’s closer to a Bolero. I’m not familiar with Haitian merengue, but the rhythm in this song in nowhere near a Dominican merengue!
Now, if you’re like me, you probably don’t recognize Raquel Bitton’s name, even though a lot of music fans do. Raquel Bitton is a well-known and acclaimed singer, who although of French ancestry, was born in Marrakech, and has lived in San Francisco most of her life. Raquel is best known for her hit show “Raquel Bitton sings Piaf – her story, her songs” which sold out New York’s Carnegie Hall. Raquel Bitton is a renowned interpreter of Edith Piaf’s music!
Besides Orestes Vilató, who plays timbales and bongo, “Rhythm of the Heart” also has the participation of Carlos del Puerto, Jr. on bass, Jesus Diaz on congas, and Jorge (Coco) Trivisonno on the Bandoneon. The album was co-produced by Spainard Rafa Sardina, an 11 Grammy award winning Producer, Mixer/Engineer, who’s worked with music stars like Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow and Beyonce, and Latin music start Shakira, Alejandro Sanz, Luis Miguel, and Paco de Lucia.
This is Raquel’s 8th album. Her previous album was also a Latino music based album, “Bolero”, which features songs written by Latin composers.
What I Liked About “Rhythm of the Heart”
- Original concept – A French artists performing Latino songs in French within the context of Latin rhythms is not something you see everyday.
- Beautiful singing – I don’t understand French (other than a few words I learned in French 101 in college), but anyone can appreciate the beautiful singing by Raquel Bitton. Raquel has a sweet voice, with clear pronunciation and magnificent sense of the songs essence and tempo. Her rendition of the Latin songs is excellent.
- Beautiful Latin music – Latino master timbalero Orestes Vilato and the other Latino musicians mentioned above are among the 21-piece orchestra which provides a full-bodied sound to the Latin rhythms performed.
- Variety of Latin rhythms – there are tangos, Danzón, Guarachas, Boleros, and perhaps a slow Samba. Tangos and Boleros are the most prominent genres found in the album.
- My Favorite Songs – I particularly like the tangos, perhaps because the Bandoneon builds a nice bridge between Latino music and French music. The 1st song “It’s Raining on the Road” is my favorite of the tangos. My favorite song was the Cuban “Danzón” “Tell Me the Secrets of Your Caresses”. I also liked “Guitarra Mia”, which although not the Ana Gabriel standard I was expecting, it’s a nice slow samba, with a beautiful acoustic guitar solo.
What I Didn’t Like About “Rhythm of the Heart”
As you may know, I always try to balance my reviews trying to find something I didn’t like. There is nothing I didn’t like about the album, but there is something I would have done differently…
- Too many Boleros – although the album contains several Latin music genres, boleros dominate. Although Raquel Bitton’s musical experience perhaps is best matched with this genre, I would’ve liked to see more of other Latin rhythms in the album. Again, just a personal preference.
My Recommendation of “Rhythm of the Heart”
Raquel Bitton’s “Rhythms of the Heart” is a nice album with an interesting concept by an accomplished artist. I found interesting the concept of listening to Latino music and songs performed in French. The big band format used, combined with Raquel Bitton’s smooth and beautiful voice, made this an enjoyable album for me.
Raquel Bitton’s “Rhythm of the Heart” cover art.
I recommend it to those adventurous Latin music fans that can appreciate excellent singing regardless of the language. I liked the album for some of the same reasons I like Brazilian music. Although I can pick more of the lyrics in Portuguese, I love Brazilian music because of the singing performance and the fantastic rhythms they have, even when I can’t comprehend the lyrics.
_Fronting a 20-piece orchestra and an Afro-Cuban band, Bitton strolls through a dozen tangos, boleros, merengues, cha chas, bossas, and more, singing entirely in French and Spanish (the transcriptions and translations of each cut are included in a 19-page booklet three times each: French, Spanish, and English!), Forgive Me a particularly intriguing set of lyrics. Bonjour Tristesse, though, is my sonic pick of the
litter. There’s something about it, a je ne sais quoi, something that belongs to my parents’ generation, something that’s since gone missing—no, not in the spoken middle section but in the entablature of the singing itself, that gets to parts of the heart left previously untouched.
Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange
by Mark S. Tucker
Rhythm of the Heart: Long the armchair traveler’s best friend, Bitton, still singing in French, puts her Piaf thing aside to tackle the works of Tino Rossi, a Latin music superstar from the first part of the 20th century who’s name probably draws blank stares today. Singing in French but doing it in a spiritual Havana, Bitton plays with Rossi’s hits remaking them as tangos, sambas, bossas, cha-chas and whatever suits her fancy. Art chicks should take note, this is a classic example of the difference between artistic and art chick–pay attention if you want to be taken seriously. Certainly the kind of set where Rizzoli would have met Starbucks a decade back, class and hip meet here in a Gallic hug that’ll have people think you really know your apples if they catch you listening to this. A very special world beat treat from a committed world beater that enjoys breaking new ground for us.
MIDWEST RECORD: CHICAGO
Raquel Bitton reminds me of the month I spent in Paris searching for the apartment and hotel where Marlon Brando filmed the great “last tango in Paris.” “Rhythm of the heart” is an all-together different journey. It combines an extraordinary marriage of Havana and Paris with Raquel singing beautifully and passing the greatest message in the world for men. You don’t abuse women; you give them love.
John Shelton ivany . Best 21 CD’s of 2013 jsitop21.com
Your new musical offering “Rhythm of the Heart” is “Fabulous” truly love it, rich in texture, complex and pleasing to the heart. To be savored like a fine wine; aged to perfection!!!!!
Harry Hall, Jazz Sessions. KCSM, FM.91
Heartfelt rhythms from Raquel Bitton
Havana meets Paris on one of my favorite new CDs of 2013.
Bay Area residents should well know the name Raquel Bitton, for the diminutive vocalist with the big voice has played hither, thither and yon for several decades, including a few Napa Valley gigs.
While listeners associate her most often with the ballads of France — especially those made famous by the Little Sparrow, Edith Piaf — Bitton knows a thing or three about tango, bolero, danzon and merengue, too.
For her latest recording project, Bitton has turned to the repertoire of “a genuine movie heartthrob” most of us have never heard of. This “Rudolf Valentino of song” named Tino Rossi was born in Corsica in 1907 and had a successful 50-year career, recording some 1,200 songs and appearing in more than two dozen films. His romantic ballads had women swooning and his art songs by Jules Massenet and numerous others helped draw sold-out audiences wherever he performed. He is the only French singer to have sold more than 300 million records.
“Women wanted to be with him and men simply wanted to be him,” notes Bitton in the liner notes of her new recording. “His rolling, undulating Rs became the standard for Parisian speech; everyone spoke and sang like Tino Rossi.”
The Bay Area singer waded through some 500 of the songs Rossi recorded to find a dozen for her new CD, “Rhythm of the Heart” (City Hall Records).
Bitton will release the new CD in mid-April and to celebrate she’ll present the material, complete with large orchestra, at Yoshi’s San Francisco on Friday, April 19.
The CD features a 21-piece orchestra with musicians from stellar Afro-Cuban ensembles and the San Francisco Symphony, led by acclaimed Bay Area pianist Rebeca Mauleon.
From the beloved bolero of Osvaldo Farres, “Plus Je Vous Aime,” to the pulsating bandoneon of “Tango Melodie,” from the classic love song, “Tout Bleu,” of French composer Andre Hornez to the ultimate payback song, “Il Est Trop Tard,” “Rhythm of the Heart” is a gem.
All sung in French, the songs are as seductive as they are stirring.
NAPA VALLEY REGISTER
L.PIERCE CARSON
Recommended New Music,San Jose Mercury News
Raquel Bitton – “Rhythm of the Heart”
You might recognize Bitton from her PBS special, “Piaf: Her Story, Her Songs.” This time, it’s Havana meets Paris as Bitton sings sumptuously, in French, songs made famous by Latin legend Tino Rossi. Backed by a large Afro-Cuban band, she brings her own distinctive flair to the Samba, Bossa Nova, Cha-cha, Merengue, Danzon, Tango, Milonga and Bolero rhythms. The album was produced by 11-time Grammy winner Rafa Sardina. Originally from Morocco, now based in the Bay Area, Bitton plays a CD release date Yoshi’s San Francisco on April 19. – raquelbitton.com
– Paul Freeman/ San Jose Mercury News
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice homage to classic Latin-flavored French chanson music, April 16, 2013
By DJ Joe Sixpack (…in Middle America) – See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)
This review is from: Rhythm Of The Heart (Audio CD)
Raquel Bitton
“Rhythm Of The Heart”
(RB Records, 2013)
A sweet, classy album by French-born chanteuse Raquel Bitton, who is best known for her stage show in tribute to Edith Piaf. On this album Bitton glides through a number of Latin American styles — tangos, boleros, bossa nova and rumba — with wonderful French-language tunes gleaned from the repertoire of Corsican crooner Tino Rossi, a French superstar who specialized in “Latin” flavored material in the 1930s and ’40s. Bitton’s versions are quite nice, and bring a subtle richness and immediacy to these songs that will delight fans of the era. Lush, emotive, full of melodrama and romance, this is exactly the way these songs should sound. Recommended! (DJ Joe Sixpack, Slipcue Guide To French Music)
_Attended French jazz singer Raquel Bitton’s show at Yoshis San Francisco, what a marvel it was! I call it “The Big Buena Vista Social Sound a la Raquel Bitton” Emmanuel Nado, Host of “Echoes of Africa” on Kalw.
_Havana and Paris come together to form a special and incredibly unique sonic profile with some world music flavor added for texture with Raquel Bitton’s latest release, Rhythm of The Heart.
Havana meets Paris? Not as odd as some may think given Cuban music traces its roots from Europe and Africa. Bitton is joined by a smoking hot Afro-Cuban band including members of the San Francisco Symphony and does her own riff (in French) on sambas, bossa novas, cha-chas, and tangos of the iconic Latin singer Tino Rossi.
A common misconception is that one may need to know a little French to fully appreciate a release that marries old Havana with a slightly more contemporary European flair. Nonsense.
Rhythm of The Heart succeeds thanks to the phrasing, timing and rich color pallet from which Raquel Bitton pulls and displays her solid vocal chops from. Another key to success is the intentional mix of rhythm and groove. Pulling the music roots from two different continents into one harmonious presentation is never easy but Bitton pulls it off with flair and an indescribable joy for a release that despite the rather large ensemble maintains an old world intimacy and charm that borders on the addictive.
There compositions here cover a wide range of emotions and pay fitting tribute to the great Tino Rossi who was a genuine movie heartthrob in his day. Often referred to as the Rudof Valentino of song. Combining jazz, Latin jazz, world and french music is never easy while similar artists have attempted to bring the gap between some of these genres the end result is normally stiff and lackluster by comparison.
Taste is of course subjective but for those that dig Latin jazz along with the influence of the Astor Piazzolla tangos this is the perfect marriage of genres by an incredibly well respected and critically acclaimed vocalist in Raquel Bitton.
4 Stars
Tracks: Il Pleut Sur La Route; Le Secret De Tes Caresses; Un Violon Dans La Nuit; Merci Pour Tes Fleurs; Pardonne Moi; Guitarra Mia; Bonjour Tristesse; Plus Je Vous Aime; Tango Melodie; J’Ai Garde Ta Photo Sur Mon Coeur; Il Est Trop Tard; Tout Bleu.
Personnel: Ramon Stagnaro: acoustic guitar; Rebeca Mauleon: piano; Carlos del Puerto Jr.: bass; Jimmy Branly: drums; Orestes Vilato: timbalist; Jesus Diaz: congas. 21 piece Orchestra from The San Francisco Symphony
If the cover art looks familiar thank Martin French (Los Lobos, The Chronicle of Narnia).
By melding her sensuous Edith Piaf-inspired vocal style with Afro-Cuban rhythms and lush orchestrations played by 21 of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most gifted musicians in a salute to the legendary French vocalist and motion picture star Tino Rossi, Raquel Bitton has created a unique and exquisitely romantic new form of intercontinental fusion music she calls Rhythm of the Heart.
–Lee Hildebrand, freelance music journalist
Raquel Bitton reminds me of the month I spent in Paris searching for the apartment and hotel where Marlon Brando filmed the great “last tango in Paris.” “Rhythm of the heart” is an all-together different journey. It combines an extraordinary marriage of Havana and Paris with Raquel singing beautifully and passing the greatest message in the world for men. You don’t abuse women; you give them love. john Shelton ivany jsitop21.com .Top 21 CD’s of 2013
LINKS TO PUBLICATIONS:
http://theworldmusicreport.com/music-review/rhythm-of-the-heart-raquel-bitton-tribute-to-tino-rossi/
http://www.jazzwax.com/2013/04/weekend-wax-bits-1.html
http://www.jazzweekly.com/2013/05/tre-bien-amigo-raquel-bitton-rhythm-of-the-heart/
http://www.criticaljazz.com/2013/05/raquel-bitton-rhythm-of-heart-rb-2013.html?m=1
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=44630#.UaudzErtiFc
http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p08606.htm
http://www.latinomusiccafe.com/2013/05/31/latino-music-album-raquel-britons-rhythm-of-the-heart/
http://www.marinij.com/entertainment/ci_23261350/press-play-paris-meets-havana-raquel-bittons-rhythm
http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_23048895/recommended-new-music
http://midwestrecord.com/MWR620.html
http://www.Frenchmorning.com/sanfrancisco/2013/04/10/raquel-bitton-de-piaf-a-tino-rossi/
