“Flower Power”
Style Weekly, by Davy Jones
With new album “Entre Tus Flores,” Miramar gives listeners countless reasons to love the bolero.
Richmond-based bolero group Miramar is as closely knit as any trio you’ll find.
Vocalists Rei Álvarez and Laura Ann Singh harmonize with so much precision and grace that it’s hard to imagine there was ever a day when they didn’t sing together. Álvarez and band-leading keyboardist, Marlysse Rose Simmons-Argandoña, finish each other’s compositional sentences as partners in songwriting and arranging, as well as partners in married life.
Even Miramar’s stylistic focus—the famously romantic bolero with roots in Cuba dating back to the 19th century—exhibits a built-in sense of specificity. Yet this exceptionally tight trio is having an expansive moment. Big, varied arrangements can be found on “Entre Tus Flores,” its new album due out Friday, Jan. 10; with 10 tracks poised to reach a bigger audience than ever thanks to a new partnership with historic Latin music label Ansonia Records.
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Cinematic Intensity.
Style Weekly
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They bring the bolero into the 21st century."
All About Jazz
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Eloquent invocation of heritage
NPR, All Things Considered
In most of Latin America, if you are by the sea, there is bound to be a place called Miramar (“Look to the sea”) close by. It will typically have a postcard view of the ocean – and if music is playing, chances are it will be boleros, the romantic music genre that originated in the late 1800’s that became an international music sensation through the collaborations of Puerto Rican, Mexican and Cuban musicians.
When Puerto Rican singer, Reinaldo Alvarez, was naming the group, he searched for something simple that would be familiar to Spanish speakers, a name that would reflect the humble poetry of everyday life. Miramar seemed perfect: a romantic snapshot of a place both familiar and far away from home.
Miramar captures that poetry through their music with new interpretations of golden-era boleros and original songs that infuse the bolero with a variety of musical influences. They are associated with the Nuevo Romantico movement and carry the torch of Bolero-Beat, a popular genre defined by its blend of traditional boleros, psychedelic funk, and rock.
The band features the “thrilling vocals” of duo Laura Ann Singh and Rei Alvarez - who is also the group’s main songwriter - and lead by pianist and arranger Marlysse Simmons-Argandona. Backed by a rotating group of all-star musicians on percussion, bass and guitar. Miramar’s shows often feature an accompanying string or chamber orchestra. They have collaborated with string players across the globe and been featured at multiple Symphony Pop’s Concerts.
Upcoming
Highlights
NPR’s Tiny Desk (watch)
globalFEST (NYC)
Russia (Embassy Tour, Feb 2020)
Lincoln Center Out of Doors!
Stanford Live
Cleveland Museum of Art
Millennium Stage at Kennedy Center
Elebash Hall (NYC)
Studio L’Ermitage (Paris, France)
Festival Les Nuits De Fourviere (Lyon, France)*
Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, VA
*made possible by USArtists International Grant
by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
Who is Sylvia Rexach?
On January 22nd, 2022, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of one of the most legendary Puerto Rican composers of romantic music, Sylvia Rexach. She has been a huge inspiration to us and too so many, not only for her work as a composer but as a poet, comedian, and an avid leader of musicians' rights. Even though she only lived until her 39th year, the impact she left on the world was that of someone who had lived a hundred years. Learn more