Saudade and Soul: Arcieri Sisters

Picture a Friday night where bossa nova slides into slow-burning soul, a jazz line turns into a funk groove, and two voices trade phrases and push each other into improvisation. It’s warm, close and unpredictable, and the two singers are sisters.

Stefania and Paola Arcieri grew up in Bari, in southern Italy, singing together. Then they went in opposite directions.

Stefania went to London and became a regular on the city’s jazz circuit, playing Ronnie Scott’s and the Vortex. She has made two albums of her own music, rooted in jazz and Brazilian music. She’s known for her scat and her daring improvisation, and London Jazz News said she “uses her voice like an instrument.”

Paola crossed the Atlantic. She won a scholarship to Berklee and then spent years between New York and Los Angeles, singing, producing and DJing. Along the way she played with musicians from the bands of Thundercat and Anderson .Paak. Her sound is soul, funk and R&B, with a bit of electronica.