ANDREA VICARI was born in Miami and grew up in Birmingham. Educated at Cardiff University she won a scholarship to study at The Guildhall School of Music. Andrea worked with Dill Katz in a band with guitarist Phil Robson. She then formed her first important group with Julian Argüelles on saxophone & Stuart Hall, then of Django Bates’ “Human Chain”, on bass. Other employers included GRP recording artist, Phil Bent; jazz warrior David-Jean Baptiste with whom she recorded her first commercially released CD; and the all-women band “Birds” led by Kathy Stobart. She played a successful season at “The Bass Clef” with American saxophonist, Eddie Harris, broadcasting live on JazzFM; and gigged with the US trumpeter Art Farmer.
A prolific composer, she has been commissioned by the Arts Council, the BBC, Jazz Umbrella, the Peter Whittingham Trust, and has completed a setting of the poetry of A.E Housman for the Ludlow Festival. Other projects include ‘Women in Jazz project’ at the ‘Hideaway Jazz Club’ during the London Jazz Festival & scoring the Chet Baker “Speedball” musical. She often tours with ‘Jazz Extempore’ a European quartet which combines jazz with folk influences of Eastern Europe. Recent tours have included performances in Italy, Croatia, Bosnia- Herzogovina and Bulgaria.
