Ana Vafai - piano, violin, voice

"A classically-trained multi-instrumentalist. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music. The lead singer of the award-winning hip-hop jazz-fusion group Radarada. A Buffalo Public School orchestra teacher. She's Ana Vafai, better known as Little cake.

What makes Ana Vafai a compelling artist is that she is a master of the tension between cerebral introspection and abject buffoonery. She's a perceptive observer of humanity who's not afraid to make a fool of herself for art's sake. She's been gifted with a voice that is equally at home with jazz and R&B as it is with musical theatre, and yet she's not afraid to make her voice ugly, often shout-singing and making exaggerated vocalizations for dramatic effect. It's bold and refreshing—honest in a manner that most artists, burdened by inhibition, are incapable of.

Born and raised in Buffalo, Ana Vafai loves the city and vows to stay. "Building community and friendship is as important a part of my life as music is, and they definitely affect each other. Buffalo is a very welcoming place to produce and create. It's a melting pot of music and art—and appreciators of the two." She says that the forthright nature of Buffalonians make them "very supportive and incredibly encouraging. There's just something about Buffalonians that make them want to say it out loud to you, so you know it's true."

Hallwalls Music Program is made possible through public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency and a grant from the Cullen Foundation.