Avi Wisnia at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on June 11th

Philadelphia native Avi Wisnia will perform his Brazilian bossa nova on Friday June 11th at the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s “Art After 5.”

Philadelphia Museum of Art says of the Art After 5 Series, “Friday evenings take on a whole new groove with Art After 5, a unique blend of entertainment from 5:00–8:45 p.m. in the Great Stair Hall. With an eclectic mix of international music on the first Friday of each month, and recognized and emerging jazz artists performing all other Fridays, it’s a stylish way to start your weekend.” Wisnia is likely to have the most interesting style of jazz music the Art After 5 Series has ever seen! Wisnia will follow up almost a month later when he hits Cambridge, MA on July 11 at Club Passim.

Wisnia releases his debut full-length album Something New nationally on June 29th. Recorded by Grammy-winning producer Glen Barratt (Amos Lee), Something New’s unpredictable cover songs only highlight the main attraction of his new collection of songs: his incomparable mish-mash of piano-pop meets bossa nova pop gems.

Having played major festival such as SXSW and CMJ, Wisnia says of his live performances, which always seem to be unpredictable and chock full of great stories to tell afterwards, “There have been shows where the band and I improvise songs on the spot, or ask audience members to come up and sing on kazoo. In one instance, the bartender who was shaking a martini at the bar ended up being an add-on percussionist. Another time, I had lost my egg shaker and asked the audience to pass me a pack of Tic Tacs. Instead, someone threw on stage a bottle of menstrual relief pills (it sounded fantastic). You have to be spontaneous and cater to the crowd and the moment."

Avi Wisnia Tour Dates

Friday June 11, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Art After 5 Event, Grand Stair Hall
Show: 5pm-9pm
Tickets: Free after Museum admission

Sunday July 11, Club Passim, Cambridge, MA
Door Time 5:30 PM
Show Time 7:00 PM
Opening Act: Caleb Hawley
Cover: $12/$10 (Club Passim Members) Click Here to Read More..

Avi Wisnia Releases Something New with Glen Barratt, Grammy Winning Producer at Helm

Splitting his time between New York and Philadelphia, singer/songwriter Avi Wisnia follows up his 2007 EP with his first studio-full length album , Something New, which was recorded with Grammy-winning producer Glenn Barratt (Melody Gardot, Amos Lee). Set for release on June 29th, Wisnia mingles piano pop, fresh Brazilian bossa nova, acoustic guitar, contemporary - yet classic - jazz, and more, Something New is in a category all its own.

Wisnia uses the piano keys to create lush ballads, and his lyrics can be just as melancholic are they are whimsical, depending the song. He uses his quirky bossa nova-turned pop music in a variety of manners on Something New. His penchant to take the usual and flip it upside down can be heard on the album’s “cover” songs (The Cure’s “Love Song” and TLC’s “No Scrubs”). The title track of Something New could be the perfect song to sum up his mélange of genres that you’ve never heard mixed together before.

A modern piano man with zest and a penchant for unpredictable cover songs and subtle pop culture references, Wisnia recorded his first EP at the New Jersey synagogue where his father serves as rabbi.

Able to balance the somber “love-songs gone wrong” about ex-boyfriends next to upbeat breezy Brazilian piano jams, Wisnia never over does it. “The two major sides of me that constantly fight for my own attention are jazz and pop – the side that wants to improvise and go free form and let the moment take control; and the side that wants to hook you with something structured, catchy, accessible and relatable,” says Wisnia.

In 2009, Wisnia won an OutMusic Award for Outstanding Jazz Song of the Year, CMJ’s Zig Zag Live Competition as well as becoming a finalist in Rolling Rock’s National Band Search. A perfectly fitting title for his album, Something New is exactly that.

Something New Track Listing

1. New Year
2. More Than Me
3. I Wish That I Could Stop Writing Songs About You
4. Sink
5. Love Song (The Cure Cover)
6. Rabbit Hole
7. The Back of Your Hand
8. Prelude
9. Something New
10. Não É Coisa
11. It's Only Me
12. No Scrubs (TLC Cover) Click Here to Read More..