...After FAI i headed down to Boston (which was still freezing!) to have some lessons with of my favourite lessons - Mike Block (cello) and Anthony Coleman (improvisation/composition). This period of my trip, as I now know, was way way way too short. But the small time I spent with Mike and Anthony was immensely rewarding. It's a great feeling to be ready to go and work on technical and creative things which have become hurdles with such incredible and inspiring musicians and teachers...Looking forward to the next chapter.

And finally...NYC

Well - NYC is always great. I had hoped to spend more time there and up-state but alas I had to cut my trip short. I did, however, have time to catch up with my New York Klezmer family, schvitz (yiddish for sweat) my arse off and eat pickles and borsht in the Brooklyn Russian Banya and catch John Zorn play at Happy Lucky no.1 space in Brookyln for the inaugural weekend of the new weekly residency series- some incrizbdle artists playing over the coming year. Go check it out! I'll be spending a longer period of time in NYC and nearby later on in the year! Until then, lots of other exciting things in the mix.

More soon
Francesca x

...after finally taking myself on a little solo residency style retreat to the heart of Lisbon, i can happily say it was one of the decisions i've ever made. It's beautiful - from the building, to the pavements, to the food, to the warm windy weather and let's talk about THE FOOD for a second. TBH i didn't have time to physically eat everything on my list, i might have exploded, but i tried my best. So in between trying to process the last few weeks of crazy travelling, lessons, rehearsals, conferences and freezing East Coast climates and nibbling my way round the city, I walked it all off exploring the cute streets and even making it out to the secret beaches and cliffs of Capo Da Roca and the Sintra magic mountain. Still with the sweetest smell of Spring flowers. Obviously Portugal/Lisbon is no secret and has been a must-go-to destination for many a year so perhaps i'm a little late in the game in getting my arse over there. But it will definitely be just one of many trips to come to this beautiful city and it's surroundings. Here's some little anecdotal memories from my short but sweet trip! 

 We are blessed that our friend and Oscar award wining illustrator Alan Lee (Lord Of The Rings, The Hobbit) has hand drawn in pencil this beautiful 3D like work as the album artwork for my duo Fran & Flora's debut album Unfurl. The image just keeps going and going the more you zoom in. Try it! xx

Was an honour to close the EFG London Jazz Festival with the one and only creative force Talvin Singh OBE and an awe-inspiring line-up of performers and special guests including vocal sculptor Jason Singh, violinist Preetha Narayanan, Bansuri maestro Shriram Sampath and Trumpet legend Bryon Wallen. My duo Fran & Flora were the opening act - an intimidating but exhilarating experience, our biggest gig yet! 

Had a lush time with best buddy and fellow experimentalist Crom-Lus (Poppy Edwards) at the Finsbury Pub in London the other day. We played two solo sets then came together to conglomerate our eclectic array of sounds, including 'featuring' the recordings of our friend JindaLee from Toronto Canada reading our AURAS.

Thanks so much to Edy, Nicole and Frank London for inviting me to be part of the amazing annual Kleztival in Sao Paolo. Always been a dream of mine to go to Brazil, may it be the first of many trips. What an incredible group to spend a week with making music new & old friends; Frank London, Tine Kinderman, Paloma Shachmann, Eleonore Weill, Richie Barshay, Jake Shulman-Ment, Yoshie Fruchter, Cantor Jackie Mendelson, Alejandra Czarny, Nicole Borger, Uri Sharlin & Vera Lozinsnky. Plus the incredible team!!!! - Thaigo, Kamila, Adriana, Yara, Felipe. Amazing food, music, vibes. Loved it!!!! xxx

I'm excited to announce that I feel very lucky to have been awarded £10,000 from the Arts Council England from the new professional development fund 'Develop Your Creative Practice' (DYCP). I am extremely grateful to the ACE for making my application a success and giving me the opportunity to grow as an artist through periods of R & D, building new networks and creating new work. The DYCP fund will help me take my career to the next level, allowing me time and funds to begin making my first solo album, travel to North America and expand my networks and to be mentored in the UK by artists that inspire me.

First up, I intend to travel to Montreal for the Folk Alliance International Conference in February 2019, followed by some lessons in Boston with the legendary Mike Block (cello) and Anthony Coleman (improvisation), followed by some time in New York to explore the improv, jazz and Klezmer scenes... 

More on this all soon. But for now THANKYOU ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND!!!