THE SOUL GUY

Alicia Saldenha (pronounced SAL-DAY-NYA) was born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the land of carnival, calypso and the steel drum. She started singing and dancing from early childhood, then toured the Caribbean and the US after graduating from high school in several musical productions. She has worked in the US under the direction of Nobel Laureate for Literature, Derek Walcott, as well as with the renowned Greg Doran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, England. She also appeared on television and film in the Caribbean before attending university in the UK. There she studied languages (French, Spanish, Japanese), and performed with the BBC National Chorus of Wales.

Alicia was introduced to jazz while working on a recording in Paris in 1993. Since then, she has performed throughout Europe and Japan including Osaka Blue Note, Nice Jazz Festival in France with George Clinton and the P-Funks, and at the Umbria Jazz Festival, Italy. In 2005 and in 2007 she also performed with legendary jazz steel drummer, Othello Molineaux, during his Japan tour.

Alicia Saldenha is also a scholar, a doctor and an educator, having obtained a Doctorate (PhD) in Ethnomusicology/Anthropology from Kobe University in 2006, and a Master's Degree in Singing and Music Education from Mie University, Japan, in March 2002. Dr. Alicia Saldenha is also a composer, and is currently working on her debut album, of soul-jazz originals, to be produced in Los Angeles.

As a songwriter, Alicia's music reflects this unique heritage, embracing influences from jazz to reggae. Alicia has performed at music festivals, concert halls and jazz bars around the world. In addition to being a professional vocalist and composer, Alicia Saldenha's resume includes a long and impressive list of experiences - as actress, dancer, scholar and teacher. It's a mystery where the young lady finds the time to do it all.

Alicia performs with drummer, Larry Ransome and his band at Mojo West
in Kyoto Japan on November 26, 2006.

Original song by Alicia Saldenha. Performed at Great Blue, Kobe, Japan on November 23rd 2007.

Alicia performs her arrangement of The Doors classic, Light My Fire at Cafe Aretha
in Osaka, Japan on April 5th, 2008. The band features:
Akio Ino (guitar), Yohei Arai (bass), Susumu Muraji (steelpan) and Larry Marshall (drums).

More Soul Than You Can Shake A Stick At!