Reviews:
– “Yael Acher is a flutist who isn’t about faking the funk…her hard-edged Junk Kat Modiano ensemble is run from the kick drum.”- Steve Smith, Time Out New York.
– “…Acher raises the excitement level frequently by using overblowing techniques to ignite the collective voices”- Frank Rubolino, Cadence Magazine, USA.
-“…inheritance of post-hard-bop is especially original and convincing.” – Thierry Quénum, Jazz Magazine, France.
– “Very dense…highly original interaction between organic and non-organic…”– Kjeld Frandsen, Berlingske Tidende, Denmark.

About:

Based in New York City, the award winning, and multiple genres flutist/composer/educator Yael Acher “KAT” Modiano leads her urban jazz & beat ensemble “KAT” Modiano locally and internationally. Performed in New York City and NJ at: Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, nublu , Iridium, BAMcafe, APAP 2017, APAP 2023, Newark Museum, NJPAC in NJ, etc. And at European venues: Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Cph Jazz House, Rust, and Jazz i Malmö, Sweden, Jazzahead! Bremen, Germany, and more.

“KAT”’s latest original album NOMAD Imagination – Roots of Love is released the Grammy nominated Aliud Records.

The music:
Lining-up masterful / soulful musicians, “KAT” Modiano’s urban eclectic style merges together: fusion jazz-funk, indigenous beats, afro-Cuban, Industrial Noise-beats and hip-hop, blues, and spirituals. Pulsating rhythm section, funky -jazz el and acoustic bass lines, blues inspired, non-tonal harmonies on retro keyboards / piano, powerful improvisations with lyrical melodies and rhythmic riffs on the flute & EFX, with some afro-impro vocals, and MC & electronic multilayered noise-art beats. “KAT” Modiano’s electro-acoustic soundscapes vary in structures and atmospheres featuring instrumental combinations, from duo to quintet, with electronics and an image-collage screenings of abstract, associative, and social awareness visuals. While some tunes have clear forms with tight orchestrations, others display serial music motifs with more free style improvisation sections and unisons, yet other are more lyrical, like jazz-blues ballads.

Like a heartbeat, RHYTHM is a pivotal element, merging with and supporting the WINDs and STRINGs, creating an overall flow of an abstract cinematic storytelling, inviting the audience on an adventitious, multimedia journey.

As jazz soloist “KAT” Modiano had also performed and recorded with world known musicians: Wycliffe Gordon (Wynton Marsalis), Bernard Purdie (Modern Drummer Hall of Fame), David Haney (Cadence Magazine), Billy Martin (Medeski Martin & Wood), and more.

Grants: “KAT” Modiano’s group has been supported by: Copenhagen Culture Foundation, Danish Artist Union, Danish Musician Union, KODA, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and more.

Interviews and Broadcastings: HORIZONTE- “la vuelta a la manzana”- Mexican National Radio, WHCR 90.3FM, THE VOICE OF HARLEM, NYC, Radio Free Brooklyn, NYC, Danish Radio, Copenhagen Kanal, Jazz News and Jazz –Live, Danish Radio (DR), Radio Shalom, Denmark, WFMU Freeform Radio- New Jersey, USA, “Territori Sonor” Radio, Barcelona, Euronews, etc.

CD Releases featuring “KAT” Modiano’s music:

Redcar – Released in 2001 on MODIANO, recorded in Copenhagen, DK
Modiano – Released in 2003 on MODIANO, recorded in Copenhagen, DK
La Belle Ombre – Released in 2006 on Capstone Records, NYC, USA, recorded in Switzerland
“KAT” & “MOON” in Manna-hata – Released 2014 on CD Baby, recorded in NYC and Cph
Humanity is an Ocean – Flute Soundscapes – Released in 2020 on Centaur Records, recorded in Denmark
NOMAD Imagination-Roots of Love – Released 2022-2023 on Aliud Records, recorded in Copenhagen, DK.

“La Pile Électrique de Léontine” (1910) and “Léontine Enfant Terrible” (1911), French silent films with Acher-Modiano’s soundtracks. Released on Kino Lorber on Cinema’s First Nasty Women, a 4-disc DVD/Blu-ray. 2023