Biography

Florence K creates music that embodies the passions of her life. Her classical training, her mastery of several languages and the fact that she has performed around the world since she was very young has enabled her to create a genre of music all her own. Her songs float gracefully from Spanish and French to English and Portuguese. Her albums blend bossa nova, blues, pop and Cuban rhythms with originality, virtuosity and great beauty.

Born into a musical family, Florence began accompanying her mother on piano at a very young age and by the time she was a pre-teen was already performing on the world stage. At the age of 18, the singer-pianist had landed a regular gig at the Stash Café in Montreal where her already extensive repertoire cleverly mixed the styles of jazz, blues, bossa nova and pop. When she started university, Florence had already performed in Atlantic City, the Dominican Republic, Morocco, Italy, Germany and Vietnam.

Not only an accomplished performer and musician, Florence K is also a savvy business woman. At the tender age of 20, she founded her own record company called Red Blues Productions, in collaboration with Pierre Deslauriers. The new company's first album release was a live offering: FLORENCE K - LIVE AU LION D'OR. The concert recording was made in November 2004 and then released in May 2005.

A year later, she released her best-selling and innovative album BOSSA BLUE. Her mix of blues, jazz and bossa nova was a success with fans and critics alike. At the age of 23, Florence was invited to perform at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and was also awarded her first gold record, with sales exceeding 50,000 albums. A year later, she returned to the stage of the Montreal International Jazz Festival but this time it was to play three sold-out nights in a row.

In 2007, Florence toured with French superstar Patrick Bruel, performed at the ADISQ Awards and won a Felix for Album of the Year - World Music. And to finish the year off with a bang, Florence helped kick-off Quebec City's 400th anniversary celebrations on New Year's Eve.

In 2008 Florence enchanted audiences across Europe with Isabelle Boulay and Bernard Lavilliers. On November 6, 2008, her second studio album, LA HISTORIA DE LOLA, was released. This masterful album infused with the sounds of salsa, bossa nova and rhythm & blues later went gold and also won Florence another Felix for Album of the Year - World Music.

Much of 2009 was spent writing and composing the songs for HAVANA ANGELS, an album that includes original material along with reinterpreted holiday favourites. It was recorded in the summer of 2010 in Havana, Cuba with talented, young Cuban musicians. The album was co-produced by Osvaldo Montes and features the traditional Cuban ensemble Sintesis as well as a stunning duet with Jesse Cook. HAVANA ANGELS was released on November 2, 2010 and incredibly, though not surprisingly, it went gold in Canada within a month of its release.

2011 was a year of grand performances. It started at Place Des Arts with the concert entitled, "The Man I Love" with Nathalie Choquette during the "Montreal en Lumière" festival and ended with a HAVANA ANGELS tour across Quebec over the holiday season. In between, Florence K played a sold-out show at Club Soda at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and performed at the "Mondial des Cultures" festival in Drummondville and the "Festival d'été de Québec" in Quebec City. Florence had the pleasure of performing for 300,000 spectators including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the Canada Day festivities in Ottawa and also had the honour of singing a gorgeous yet subtle rendition of "Oh Canada" at the closing ceremonies of the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico for over 55,000 spectators, not to mention millions of television viewers.

2011 also began a new foray into the world of radio for Florence K with a weekly show "Planete K" on Espace Musique (Radio Canada). Each week, in a live music setting along with her percussionist and bassist, Florence takes listeners on a musical voyage over the airwaves.

Florence K is able to blend genres so well because she adores music, culture and language from across the globe. It is this love of culture and open-hearted goodwill to the world that helped Florence become a UNICEF Canada Ambassador. She is proud to be able to spread awareness while being part of an organisation that helps to diminish the plight of the world's destitute children.

Florence K is currently writing and composing songs for her next album with a release date in the not so distant future.