Carla Van Blake: Roberta Flack Tribute

New Mexico based vocalist, songwriter, engineer and designer Carla Van Blake’s musical influences range from Jazz, Gospel, R&B, to traditional African music, but one of her first and most significant influences was the great Roberta Flack whose earlier music will be highlighted in this concert. Van Blake will also highlight Flack’s unique style and the way she used her music to delight and entertain while also delivering socially significant messages, some of which are still relevant today. Flack was appreciated for her poignantly beautiful ballads, which Van Blake will feature in this concert along with some original tunes inspired by Flack’s music. Joining her will be Alex Murzyn, saxophone; Robert Muller, keyboards; Steve Terwilliger, guitar; Kim Stone, bass; and Douglas Cardwell, drums. Born in Cobleskill, NY, Van Blake grew up in Nigeria where she learned to sing from her parents, who were gospel singers. She published her first collection of original tunes in 1993 and has gone on to publish three more collections since then, releasing a CD in 2016 and another in 2018.