Continuing their trajectory of innovation, Robert Prester & Adriana Samargia unveil their latest project, a piano/vocal duo album titled Quenara, set for a soft release in the fall of 2023 (with official radio play release January 2024).

Mixed and Mastered by Grammy Award-winning producer Bill Hare, this album weaves a musical tapestry that transcends time and genre. This duo collaboration features a blend of jazz standards, Prester’s original compositions, and a jazz-infused interpretation of Howard Jones’ 1980s hit Things Can Only Get Better.

1. Things Can Only Get Better (4:10)
2. Altar Ego (4:29)
3. You Go to My Head (4:48)
4. Can’t Get Over You (5:20)
5. Stolen Moments (2:53)
6. Love Games (3:43)
7. Lover Man (5:13)
8. Body and Soul (3:04)
9. But Not for Me (2:45)
10. Sophisticated Lady (3:56)
11. You’re Everything (5:10)
12. Quenara (5:01)

In a set of music that is continually full of surprises, and where the duo sounds very much like a complete orchestra, the new recording opens on a delicious, energetically velvet version of Howard Jones’ 1985 hit beloved Things Can Only Get Better and the flourishing Altar Ego and they are followed by the quietly forthright You Go to My Head, and then we get the delicately structured Can’t Get Over You, a gently furtive nod toward Oliver Nelson’s Stolen Moments and both the lushly imbibed Can’t Get Over You and the playfully stern Love Games.

On a collection chock full of an eclectic blend of classic, contemporary and Latin jazz as well as originals and unique arrangements of covers, along next is the ornate Lover Man, which is in turn backed by the simply stunning vocal workout showcased within the playful Body And Soul, the recording rounding out on the George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin track But Not For Me and a dutiful rendition of Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Lady, coming to a close on the bluesy hipsway of You’re Everything (Chick Corea and Neville Potter) and then the titular Quenara (which itself exemplifies the artistry of this album with Samargia’s other worldly vocal coupled with the rich harmonies and haunting melody of Prester’s composition).

Robert Prester is a virtuosic pianist who is consistently brilliant whether performing classical music or jazz. Adriana Samargia has a distinctive and powerful voice, digs into the lyrics that she interprets, and has created her own very original phrasing. Together they make for quite a potent team on Quenara.

Official Purchase Link