Star Gazers (SWIT46) (SWIT46) Sara Dowling & Ignasi Terraza Trio

• 1 I Hadn't Anyone Till You 03:33
• 2 Star Gazers 06:05
• 3 Time After Time 04:42
• 4 After You Who? 03:56
• 5 Bluebird Of Happiness 03:37
• 6 Isn't It A Pity 06:05
• 7 What a Little Moonlight Can Do 03:39
• 8 Se Todos Fossem Iguais a Voce 06:14
• 9 Devil May Care 04:43
• 10 This Is Always 04:20
• 11 That Old Feeling 04:13
• 12 I'm Lost 06:01
• Total Runtime 57:08

Info for Star Gazers (SWIT46) (SWIT46)

A classy meeting between acclaimed vocalist Sara Dowling and the Ignasi Terraza Trio, Star Gazers glows with lyrical phrasing, elegant swing, and sensitive trio accompaniment. Traversing classics from the Great American Songbook alongside a Brazilian gem, the album highlights Dowling’s expressive storytelling and Terraza’s nuanced touch, anchored by Dario Di Lecce and Esteve Pi. Warm, intimate, and timeless.

The new recording by the Sara Dowling & Ignasi Terraza Trio. Sara Dowling's voice is a magnificently modulated instrument. Her initial training was as a cellist. Her timbre is clear, and she has excellent articulation that doesn't sacrifice subtlety. Her voice evokes the spirit of great singers like Betty Carter and Anita O’Day. Even in the song “Devil May Care,” she looks to her Eastern roots. However, beyond these influences, Dowling has forged her own unique voice, one that avoids unnecessary embellishments, focusing instead on expressiveness and fidelity to the lyrics.

As usual, pianist Ignasi Terraza displays remarkable sensitivity in his accompaniment. His classical training, with a particular emphasis on Baroque music, gives him a style that is not merely malleable but adaptable to the needs of his accompanists, in this case, Sara Dowling. A particularly striking example is “I’m Lost,” the only duet on the album, in which every note seems to have been custom-designed.

The album's repertoire, which harks back to the style of classic vocal jazz recordings, is a journey through well-known songs, including versions of "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," "I Hadn't Anyone Till You," "Time After Time," "Isn't It a Pity," and "That Old Feeling," along with the original composition "Stargazers," written by Dowling and Terraza. This last track stands out not only for its melody but also for its evocative lyrics (included in the booklet), which Dowling wrote inspired by her childhood travels through the desert between Muscat and Amman, under starry skies that shaped her imagination.

Sara Dowling, vocals
Ignasi Terraza, piano
Dario Di Lecce, double bass
Esteve Pi, drums

Sara Dowling
a Palestinian-Irish jazz vocalist, was voted Best Vocalist in the 2019 British Jazz Awards and is recognized as one of Europe’s leading jazz singers.

Due to Sara’s mixed parentage her first contact with music was the voice of Fairuz and Umm Kalthoum whom her mother dearly loved and, in complete contrast, the piano of Errol Garner, her father’s favourite. Originally trained as a classical cellist at Chetham’s and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, she performed with the Hallé Orchestra and for Yo-Yo Ma at the age of 18. All her musical experiences eventually led her to discover her voice and her passion for extemporisation, thus emerging as a powerful and expressive jazz vocalist and composer. Her most important influences are Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan.

Now a resident of Spain after an extended career on the London jazz scene, Sara is currently playing on many European stages. El País International recently published a feature on Sara where journalist Ferran Bono said, “Sara Dowling, the jazz singer with Palestinian roots, shines in Valencia […] showcasing her powerful vocal range and commanding stage presence in Spain.”

Testament to Sara’s exceptional artistic evolution as a performer, composer and bandleader, she has headlined jazz festivals in France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Hungary and shared the stage with many top artists like Michael Kanan, Bruce Barth, Albert Sanz, Andrea Pozza, Terrell Stafford, Jason Rebello, Steve Brown, Ross Stanley and Mátyás Gayer. The move to Europe started a new chapter for Sara and within her first year of residing in Valencia she headlined at two of the most prestigious festivals in Spain, San Javier 2022 and the San Sebastian Festival Jazzaldía 2023.

She has also performed in festivals and concert series such as The British Jazz Festival in France, Jazz Tardor 2022, Valladolid Jazz 2022, International Jazz Day Auditorio de Tenerife 2023, Jazz at UPV Valencia 2023, Santander Centro Botín 2023, Cangas Jazz 2024, Fundacion Juan March 2024..

As an in-demand educator, Sara has taught at jazz seminars throughout Spain, including Berklee Valencia, Leon International Seminario de Jazz, Tenerife Jazz Camp, Jorge Rossy’s Jazz Camp Begues 2025, Jazz Alhaurrín Malaga 2023 and Seminario Internacional de Jazz Fuengirola 2025.

Sara’s recent work includes collaborations on albums with Bruce Barth “At Sundown Time”, Ignasi Terraza “Star Gazers”, she featured on Perico Sambeat’s album “Roneando”, and Albert Sanz Big Band “Algú Que Em Vullgar Cuidar”. In 2024, she launched the duo project Samā with Albert Sanz, releasing a live recording of their concert at Fundación Juan March in Madrid, “The music of Tom Jobim”. Summer 2025 will see the release of “Bons Amigos” for the prestigious label Chandos Records, a collaboration with the U.K. based Aquarela Guitar Quartet where Sara appears as vocalist, cellist, pianist and composer.

Ignasi Terraza
After his first public appearance in 1980, Ignasi Terraza (born in 1962) has played an important role in the Barcelona Jazz scene. His style has placed him amongst the most in demand accompanists in the City, allowing him to back up many of the American musicians visiting Wess, Jesse Davis, Gene “Mighty Flea” Conners, Teddy Edwards, Ralph Lalama, Lou Donaldson, Brad Leali or Donald Harrison as well as Michelle, Randy Greer, Michelle McCain, Lavelle, Dee Daniels, Ann Hampton Callaway or Stacey Kent. Terraza has also been, since its key members of the Barcelona Jazz Orchestra. But Terraza’s favorite setting is, indeed, his trio: regular partners include the likes of bassists Pierre Boussaguet, Darryl Hall or Horacio and drummers Gregory Hutchinson, Bobby Durham, Jeff Hamilton, Alvin Queen, Jorge Rossy, Leon Parker or Jean-Pierre Derouard. Influenced by Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly and Ahmad Jamal, and rooted in the classic jazz tradition, Terraza is featured in more than 20 in a Trio format: Let me tell you something (1999), Jazz in the darkness (1999), It’s coming (2004), and In a sentimental Groove (2005) best jazz record of 2006 award given by the Spanish magazine Jaç).

During the last ten years Terraza has kept busy playing all around Spain, as well as in Festivals and club dates in France, United Kingdom, Portugal and Switzerland. Ignasi Terraza trio also toured Asia for two times playing inChina, The Philippines and Thailand. On May 21st, 2009, Ignasi Terraza became the winner of the 25th edition of The Great American Jazz Piano Competition, an extremely in Jacksonville, Florida, since 1983. This special award was won on previous editions by pianists like Marcus Roberts, Lynne Arriale or Kenny Drew Jr. The jury (Marcus Roberts, Doctor John and Naim Talib Rashid) chose Ignasi amongst 46 other pianists because of “his personal musical view” and “his ability to transmit it”. In 2010 his record “Night sounds” have been included in the sound track of latest Travolta movie “from Paris with love”.

This album contains no booklet.