Early Life and Career
Ivana Santilli, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, was born to an Italian father and a French-Canadian mother. Santilli's earliest performances began at age 9 playing trumpet for her father’s Italian wedding band in Toronto. During her schooling, she hooked up with her first band, Bass is Base, a band which gained national attention . The trio’s funk and soul fusion garnered them many an award, ( Juno award, CMVA, MMVA, etc.), and two successful albums with A&M/Polygram & Island Records in the U.S.. Ivana departed the band and set out to find her own sound. The band broke up while the 3 members were writing & recording demos for their 3rd album. Ivana asked to be released from her contract with A&M records, & then wrote & recorded 10 new songs as a solo artist within a month of the breakup. She then began working as a session musician (keyboards, Back up vocals) with various bands: Soul Attorneys, Women ah Run Tings, Punjabi by Nature, Holly McNarland.
Following the dissolution of Bass is Base, her solo career began with the release of her album Brown in April 1999.
The album Brown went on to become one of the most successful independent albums released in Canada that year outselling even major label releases. The album was unique in that it showcased Ivana’s many influences and had something for everyone, soul, bossa nova & drum 'n bass ("Sun + Moon = Tomorrow"). It was this music and her live performances that helped garner Brown critical and commercial success and helped Ivana become one of Canada’s most distinctive and talented artists; along with being a triple threat (vocals, keys, trumpet), Ivana is also fluent in Italian and French. Her Brown album, also featured '"If Ever I Fall", a duet with singer Glenn Lewis during his early career . She's toured across North America, and played live with the likes of James Brown, Tito Puente, Barenaked Ladies, De La Soul, Jamiroquai, Brand New Heavies, The Fugees, Jann Arden, Maceo Parker, Sylk130, Bahamadia, Pharcyde, The Roots, etc. One of her 3 performances during the Montreal Jazz Festival was the subject of a one-hour Bravo! television special. Peer publishing signed her as a writer in the fall of 2000.
On August 10, 2004 she released her second album, Corduroy Boogie, which included the singles, "Deserve" "Superstar" and "What Matters". The video version of "What Matters" appears on a various artists compilation entitled Required Listening. This album featured collaborations with James Poyser, King Britt, Dwele, Dego (4Hero), Kaidi Tatham (Bugz In The Attic), soul legend Omar, Stuart Matthewman (Sade, Maxwell, Sweetback). She then became heavily involved as a keyboardist in remix collaborations for such artists as Jazzanova, King Britt, Scuba, Vikter Duplaix, Steven Spacek, All Saints, Appleton: "Don't Worry", Rosey (Def Jam), Roy Ayers, Larry Gold. After touring Japan (blue note), and Europe, in New York, she's noted for her work as an instrumentalist on various soundtrack recordings for film. Her third album TO.NY was released on June 10, 2008 with the singles "Whateva U Want" and "Been Thru This" which reached #91 on the Canadian Hot 100.
Recently, Ivana signed to CP Records and released her fourth studio album, Santilli on June 29, 2010. The first single is "Your Girl Tonight" and the second single is "Letting Go". 6 of the songs on Santilli are new recordings while 6 others can also be found on previous albums.
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