Today you will be able to listen to the first single of my upcoming album Encounters and Collisions (Biophilia Records). Entitled Labor, it’s about (my) child birth and all the intensity, chaos, fear and magic it entangles.

First review here:

“I remain fascinated as I listen to this work, especially knowing that writing about one’s own story is incredibly delicate and difficult. I appreciate every nuance of this work and its particularly courageous approach. For all these reasons, this album has earned a place among our “Essential Albums.” And I will let Sara conclude: “The most humbling thing is to discover that, suddenly, it’s no longer about me,” she says. “It’s about all of us, and how we humans share so many experiences.”

Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News

Sara Serpa will be teaching at the New England Conservatory during the Fall 2024 semester, subbing for Dominique Eade, who will be taking a sabbatical semester.

OJM: Today is The Question! – Composers of Our Time

João Pedro Brandão: musical direction

What music still amazes us? How can a big band, so marked by its legacy of tradition, enter this moving wheel that is experimentation and the search for new sounds?

The Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos invited six of the most unique and surprising names in contemporary jazz composition to bring completely new music to the first concert of this Jazz at Real Vinícola.

TODAY IS THE QUESTION! is a sound map of the worlds of Eve Risser, Kaja Draksler, Susana Santos Silva, Mariana Dionísio, Fuensanta Mendez and Sara Serpa. These are composers with a very strong and highly creative musical identity, coming from the most diverse contexts and geographies and who bring with them new paths for the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos to venture down.

Saturday, June 15, at 6pm in the Praça Exterior da Real Vinícola in Matosinhos.

Free entrance!

The Consul General of Portugal in New York, Luisa Pais Lowe, says that it will be a joint concert by Portuguese composer and jazz singer based in the “city that never sleeps”, Sara Serpa accompanied by André Matos, and Brazilian jazz singer Denise Reis accompanied by Fernando Saci, followed by a Luso-Brazilian reception.

Register for this event, which is free and supported by the Camões Institute and the Guimarães Rosa Institute here. The space is large, but there is, of course, a capacity limit.

Linda Many Han Oh’s Tiny Desk Concert is now online and Sara Serpa performs in 2 songs.

In this Tiny Desk, Oh presents a mix of cuts from her 2023 release, The Glass Hours, and new works. Her theme of resilience is exemplified in “The Imperative,” where drummer Mark Whitfield Jr. and tenor saxophonist Mark Turner shine. “Rise Mountains” is a conversation between the married duo of Oh and Almazan — at times a unified conversation, in others one where each takes a side. To close her set, Oh moves from upright bass to an electric for “Hatchling,” inspired by her and Almazan’s 3-year-old son. This whimsical song, with Oh and Sara Serpa vocalizing, paints a portrait of a tiny human discovering life and exploring a new world.

SET LIST

• “Halo”
• “The Imperative”
• “Rise Mountains”
• “Hatchling”

MUSICIANS

• Linda May Han Oh: acoustic bass, electric bass
• Fabian Almazan: piano/effects 
• Sara Serpa: vocals
• Mark Turner: tenor saxophone
• Greg Ward: alto saxophone
• Mark Whitfield Jr.: drums

Exciting busy week ahead!

This week I will be traveling to Miami and to Washington DC.  See details below:

Wednesday, February 14, 12pm, FREE

Jazz at Wolfson Series

Miami Dade College, Wolfson Auditorium

Sara Serpa w/ Mark Small and other faculty members

Friday, February 16

NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Linda May Han Oh – The Glass Hours

w/ Fabian Almazan, Mark Turner, Mark Whitfield Jr.

Saturday, February 17, 7.30pm /9.30pm

Kennedy Center, Washington DC

Linda May Han Oh – The Glass Hours

w/ Fabian Almazan, Mark Turner, Mark Whitfield Jr.

Also, NYC friends, get your tickets for this unique concert in March in the city:

Saturday, March 2nd, 8pm

Miller Theatre, Columbia University

Linda May Han Oh- The Glass Hours

w/ Fabian Almazan, Mark Turner, Obed Calvaire

After a 7 year hiatus (we have been busy parenting and with our own projects!) André Matos and I released “Night Birds”. We made it to a few Best of 2023 lists: Arts Fuse, Jazz.pt, Screen of Distance. We toured on the East Coast during Fall with Dov Manski and it was so much fun. A new live album is coming out soon.

“Listening and listening to Night Birds by Sara Serpa and André Matos even becomes a political act from which to take inspiration: it is possible to make an original speech without shouting or exaggerating the tones, exploring styles and forms with taste and freshness.” Alessandro Tacconi and Roberta Mangiacavalli, Off Topic Magazine

Our next performance:

Mar 30, 2024, 7:30 PM

Institute for the Musical Arts,

165 Cape St, Goshen, MA 01096, USA

Linda’s album “The Glass Hours” was released in 2023 and it has been a thrill to be on the road with her. She’s one of my favorite bandleaders and her musical vision pushes me to unexpected places- I love the challenge, growth and the multiple opportunities to continue exploring her music. Our performance from last year was included as one of the best gigs in 2023:

“A highlight of the Winter Jazzfest, and one of the year’s first head-turning gigs, this showcase by bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh introduced a book of slippery new tunes that would later see release on an album. Oh’s nimble accord with vocalist Sara Serpa, and the confident hum of her hookup with drummer Obed Calvaire, imbued the set with a combination of balletic grace and spring-coiled power.” Nate Chinen, The Gig

Saturday, Jan 20

Tucson Jazz Fest, Arizona

Sunday, Jan 21

Athenaeum Music And Arts, LaJolla, San Diego

Monday, Jan 22nd

Just Jazz Tv presents @Townhouse Venice, Los Angeles

Wednesday, Jan 24

Kuumbwa Jazz, Santa Cruz

Thursday, Jan 25

University of the Pacific, Stockton

Friday, Jan 26

Stanford Live, Bing Concert Hall, Stanford

Sunday, Jan 28

Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay

On December 2nd 2023 I was received the Artist of the Year 2023 by the Portuguese RTP/Festa do Jazz Award. I was not able to attend the ceremony in person but my dear friend Inês Barreiros represented me at Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisboa.

Here is my speech:

“It is a great honor and a nice surprise for me to receive this award today. The life of a jazz musician is not easy, especially in a world that increasingly devalues music that is not commercial or easily categorized. As a woman musician, I work hard to create and imagine new realities and contexts for myself and for the work of musicians of underrepresented genres to be normalized and valued. The jazz scene in Portugal was very different when I left for the United States. It wasn’t easy to leave behind the comfort, friends and family. I salute, celebrate and respect all musicians who continue to fight to keep this music alive in a country where opportunities are limited. I salute the persistence, the resistance, the endless hours of unpaid work to keep schools, clubs, festivals, publishing houses, publications and radio stations alive and active.

I thank the Jazz Festival for supporting me throughout all these years. I thank the jury for listening to me and valuing me. I thank my family: André Matos, Lourenço, my mother and my sister Joana for their infinite support. It’s been 5 years since my father José Luís Serpa died today and my life wouldn’t be what it is today without your infinite support in this adventure. I dedicate this recognition to him, knowing that he would be very proud. Thank you very much.”