Åsa Runefelt
“The best kept secret in town.” – Marcello Pellittieri
“In the top percent of writing talent” – Phil Wilson
With flawless pitch, a crystalline sound, deep harmonic wisdom, and melodic ingenuity, Åsa Runefelt effortlessly delivers the essence of jazz in her performances. She can remind you of Flora Purim or Norma Winston, but it is also easy to hear how Ella’s clear voice and joyful improvisations have been a major inspiration to her.
Her compositional influences are as wide as the world - from Argentinian tango to Swedish folk tunes, as well as the Great American Songbook. Åsa’s pieces share an esthetic with contemporary jazz composers like Kenny Wheeler and Pat Metheny. Her lyrics are often images of nature, evoking feelings of joy, passion, change, and peace. When woven together with poignant melodies and intriguing harmonies, Åsa creates rich and emotional songs that capture the listener on many levels.
A classically trained soprano, with a multi-instrumentalist father that owned a famous music store in Stockholm, Åsa was immersed in choral music, pop, folk and world music from the beginning. She came to the US to study jazz and composition at Berklee College of Music, and worked on film scores in Los Angeles after graduation. She returned to Boston to raise a family and work as a horticulturist.
After a decade away from music, she has rededicated herself to composition and performance. Åsa is currently involved in several projects, including a recording with famed pianist Chihiro Yamanaka, collaborations with pianist and composer Brian Friedland, and her first release under her own name. Several upcoming shows this year will feature Åsa’s compositions and singing. She can often be heard sitting in at shows and has been playing with Boston musicians like Brian Friedland, Jorge Perez-Albela, Austin MacMahon, Greg Toro, Bruno Raberg, Andy Voelker and many more. ____
Molly Flannery is a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, and a major player in the highly competitive Boston jazz scene. She hails from Libertyville, IL where she started playing piano at age six. After studying composition, improvisation, and theory at Yale, Molly began her performing career in Kyoto, Japan in 1981 where she appeared frequently at local clubs, playing rock and jazz. In 1983 she left Japan and eventually settled in Boston where she studied jazz with Ran Blake, Charlie Banacos, Kenny Werner, Harvey Diamond, and Doug Johnson. Soon after, she became the keyboard player for Cosmos Factor, the popular world beat dance band led by Jacques Pardo that was nominated for Best World Beat Band at the Boston Music Awards during that time. Then she moved on and formed the Molly Flannery Quintet which played such popular Boston jazz venues as The Willow, The Western Front, The 1359 Club, and Ryles. The Quintet’s music began popping up quite often on jazz radio programs such as WGBH’s Eric in the Evening, where they did a live show, and Harvard Radio’s Jazz Spectrum. When her first CD, Slow Dance at the Asylum, was released in 1999, it received wide air play and high praise from jazz critics, musicians and listeners. Her second album as leader, Riding the Bull, was released in October of 2004. Her third album as leader, Undercurrents, released in 2022, features Haley Isadora on voice and explores more Brazilian music as well as originals and jazz standards. She also was music director and accompanist on two albums released during the pandemic: Tyra Penn and Her Army of Snakes’ “Last Day of August” and Lori Zuroff’s “Ladybug.” All albums are available on streaming services such as spotify, Pandora, etc. For reviews and more info, visit www.mollyflannery.com