Some time ago, I asked American tenor Branden James how he and his husband, Australian cellist James Clark, met Effie Passero and how they not only became friends but also professional collaborators as a trio. When I read what Branden had written, I realized we had all heard Effie sing for the first time at the same concert at The Palm Cabaret. I had gone to listen to Spencer Day, whom I had fallen for at The Palm on his first visit to that venue some years prior. After the show, I mentioned to Spencer that I was initially sceptical of anyone joining him on stage, BUT changed my mind after hearing Effie sing. They raised each other up. The same thing happens with Branden’s tenor voice, James’ cello, and Effie’s classically trained, richly-colored soprano. The three of them together are greater than the sum of their parts. Hear them, one night only, at Teatro Vallarta on December 29 at 8 pm. Read on to learn how this extreme magic came to be…M.B.
Branden James:
”The three of us met in Puerto Vallarta during the pandemic. She had just arrived in town for the first time to play some shows with Spencer Day. James and I had made a last-minute decision to leave NYC and go to Puerto Vallarta for the extended winter. It was getting colder in NYC, pandemic restrictions were becoming tighter, and we thought to ourselves, ‘Why stay closed up in our Manhattan apartment when we can be on the beach, take long, warm walks, and eat safely at the many outdoor restaurant offerings Vallarta has to offer?’
”I’ve known Spencer Day since 1996, and have collaborated with him many times over the years. Naturally, James and I were planning to attend their joint show. When we walked in and heard Effie for the first time, our mouths dropped wide open. I just had to befriend her – I was especially drawn to her because of her classical music background.
”A week later, all the PV venues shuttered from Covid restrictions, and we invited Effie to play a virtual concert with us to broadcast to the USA & Canada.
”Our musical connection was immediate and immense. We became fast friends, and our audiences had already taken a shine to the three of us together as a trio. We played an arrangement of Total Eclipse of the Heart and people went nuts. We knew we had something special. When the world reopened, we invited her to be our special guest on tour in the US.
”In 2022 and 2023, we did a 34-city tour of the USA together, and that, along with our bonding over delicious food, cemented a beautiful friendship and musical partnership.
”During our many hours of driving on open roads, we brainstormed the name CelloVoci. We all loved the sounds of it, put all the gears into motion: created a website, took promo photos, and put together a promo package.
”I started finding us more and more work, and now, the rest is history. It’s sort of like a dream when you think about how fast and easily CelloVoci all came together. I suppose the two dozen hand-rolled pot-stickers she brought to our Vallarta apartment after the first meeting didn’t hurt either. Effie knew what she was doing with that offering: good food has a way of melting our hearts.”
