Sara and Kenny, Brookfield, WI
Italy meets Wisconsin, classical meets jazz, exploring songwriting as a couple.
Sara, a classical guitarist from Italy, joined Kenny, a jazz guitar player from Wisconsin in 2015 to form a duo that creates “a sweet rapport with nothing more than their expressive voices and guitars." (Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
The duo's debut album, Spirit of Gold was released in fall of 2015 to rave reviews and a sold out show at the historic Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum in Milwaukee, WI (USA). Piet Levy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said: “it's striking how simpatico Sara and Kenny sound…especially considering their backgrounds couldn't be more different."
After months of traveling and writing, 11 new tracks were recorded in Cosenza, Italy. Shortly after the duo relocated to London and have been growing and performing the music actively, catching the attention of various music critics. Chris Farlie of w21music describes the new material as “…a blend of jazz and traditional music… [Sara and Kenny] challenge your conventional idea of the way a tune should go in an entertaining way.” Tony Moore of Soho Radio London says “Fantastic, original and inspiring music from two astonishingly gifted musicians.”
The duo's second album, Familiar Rhythms, was released in April 2017, after being exclusively streamed on SENTIREASCOLTARE that described the album as “an intimate and vivid portrait of a duo that understands music as a family thing”
Born into a multicultural and musical family, Sara grew up in Calabria, Southern Italy. After obtaining her degree in classical guitar from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, she moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A native of Wisconsin, Kenny began his study of classical piano at age five and guitar at age twelve. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, and returned to Wisconsin to finish his degree in Economics. The two met in Milwaukee and started composing music together in 2015, finding an outstanding sympathy.
Their style is a meltdown of classical music (Bach, Satie), jazz (Snarky Puppy, Gilad Hekselman, Billie Holiday) and folk (Joni Mitchell, Neil Young). Their diverse and yet unique style portrays music as a form of constant dialogue between our intimate selves and the universe, between the strings of a guitar and the emotions of an audience.
