You have to hear it to believe it- Harp and
Electric Guitar- this sound is so big it ought to be illegal!
ECCENTRICA puts a new edge on Rock and Pop hits from Led
Zeppelin to Usher, Annie Lennox to Rhianna! A brand new
sound blends Rock, Jazz and Pop in to a unique sound from
this eclectic duo. Performing on Harp Rizpah is accompanied
by Eric Faires on guitar with digital effects and both of
them are accomplished vocalists. This act brings a fresh
new sound with an unexpected edge. This is a new sound for
the ages.
Rizpah’s talent a jazz
harpist has been compared to the great Alice Coltrane, wife
of John Coltrane and legendary jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby.
Rizpah is embarking on what promises to be a sensational
career! Hailing from Detroit, harpist Rizpah is taking the
sounds of this ancient instrument to new levels. Rizpah
is an alumnus of the world renowned school of jazz studies
at the University of North Texas. Rizpah was the only harpist
to be selected out of 52 states and 15 countries to be a
part of the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles, CA.
In 2007 Rizpah was selected as one of 22 artists from an
international pool of talent to receive the Betty Carter
Jazz Residency at New York’s Kennedy Center. She made
her debut at Carnegies Hall in 2010. She was also honored
to be invited to Amsterdam as a guest performer at the 2010
World Jazz Harp Congress.
Born into a family of varied
and truly gifted musicians and there was little mystery
surrounding what path would lead
young Eric Faires out of the Corpus Christi, Texas town
that he called home! A proficient guitarist and vocalist,
Eric as honed his musical skills since age 6 training on
piano, violin, the entire family of brass instruments, bass
and drums. If Eric could be cloned he’d be the whole
orchestra! Eric’s strong interest in Ethnomusicology
has led him to be a prolific writer as well. Eric has always
had a strong sense of duty and honor, serving his country
in the US Army for 4 years giving him the opportunity to
travel around the world and broadened his exposure to music
to a global level. He then entered the world renowned University
Of North Texas - School Of Jazz Studies.
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Rizpah and Eric met in the recording
studio where Rizpah’s husband and Eccentrica’s
production manager, Hal Fitzgerald, was producing her tracks
and now they all collaborate in creating the Eccentrica
sound. Eccentrica debuted at Super Bowl XLV in Dallas in
2011 and has been taking the event world by storm ever since!
RIZPAH BIO
Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, harpist Rizpah is taking
this ancient instrument to new levels. A graduate of the
University of North Texas, Rizpah gives the harp a unique
and brilliant sound through expression of various musical
styles. Prior to completion of her degree in music, she
had already participated in such events as the Texas Music
Festival and played in the University of Houston Symphony
Orchestra at the Texas Music Educators Association annual
conference. She was also one of the first harpists to attend
the Jamey Abersold Jazz Arts Workshop . Rizpah was also
the only jazz harpist to be selected out of 52 states and
15 countries to be a part of the Henry Mancini Institute
in Los Angeles, California.
Rizpah has played harp with the
Metropolitan Wind Symphony and a variety of groups around
the Dallas Metroplex and beyond. For two seasons, Rizpah
was the principal harpist of the Detroit Civic Symphony
Orchestra under the direction of Lang Shui while attending
Cass Technical High School . Rizpah’s early training
included attendance at the prestigious music institutions
of Interlochen Arts Camp and Tanglewood Music Institute
in Lennox, Massachusetts. Rizpah performed at the Kennedy
Center in Washington D.C. as part of the Betty Carter Jazz
Ahead program. Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead at the Kennedy
Center identifies outstanding, emerging artists and brings
them together under the tutelage of experienced artist-instructors.
In July of 2007, Rizpah was crowned
1st place in Lyon & Healy’s 2007 Jazz & Pop
International competition in Salt Lake City, Utah. Rizpah
took top honors over harpists from all over the world, as
far away as Japan and Scotland. Rizpah has also been a featured
performer at the World Harp Congress in the Netherlands.
In February 2010, Rizpah was one of eleven performing composers
to be selected to present their musical composition at Carnegie
Hall. She frequently plays for such corporations as Shell,
Korean Air, and JC Penny’s.
Currently, Rizpah is working
on her forthcoming album. The melodious strains of the harp
are food for every human’s soul. For this reason,
Rizpah continues to stretch boundaries with her music and
expand the definition of a harpist incorporating classical,
jazz, and avant-garde in her style known as “Organic
Jazzy Soul”.
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