Amandah, thanks for that Swing!
Just Jazz/Ravi V. Chhabra
Its getting better each time at Shangri-La's Island Bar. A hard-core professional and a voice to match the true sound of Swing, charming Amandah Jantzen plays 6 pm onwards to Jazz aficionados, who love to walk up to her and make requests for songs. She usually obliges, unless the notes arent' there in her song-book.
Equally adept at the piano, Amanda loves Bill Evans and Keith Jarret, the magniloquent lady in black has jazz in her veins. Speaking with fnbworld's managing editor Ravi V.Chhabra, Amanda explained that she has been touring South East Asia since last 3-years and has performed in Singapore for 15-months. She has 4-CDs to her credit and countless gigs in America, Hong Kong, Bali, Canada and Mexico. What started as a thing for fun, piano is now a part of her musical style.
She has opened concerts for Charlie Bird and Mc Coy Tyner. This is her first visit to India and she says with a grin, I" am excited but having a 6-days week schedule, I haven't yet been able to visit much, even in Delhi. She enjoys Indian music buy says she can't mention any titles so far. Her fetish for Indian food consists of chicken tikka-masaala and baingan-ka-bharta and she surely managed to pronounce the north Indian delicacy without the many pauses one would expect of a foreigner!
She was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Amandah was drawn to music from the age of 5-years. Although she occasionally performed at jam sessions and in piano bars, she primarily worked outside of music until 1986. By then, having discovered in turn Al Jarreau, Linda Ronstadt, Nelson Riddle recordings, Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan, Amandah knew that she simply had to sing jazz. She relocated to Portland, Oregon five years later and became active locally, performing in jazz clubs and at concerts.
She was particularly inspired by bassist Leroy Vinnegar and guitarist Charlie Byrd, evolving into the warm and highly suave singer. Byrd convinced Amandah that she should accompany herself on piano, a move which has added to her musical tour de force. Amandah Jantzen's singing is well showcased on her three recordings, Some Other Time, Devil May Care and My Secret Love. She is also featured on a third of the songs on the Ellen Vanderslice compilation.
She was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Amandah was drawn to music from the age of 5-years. Although she occasionally performed at jam sessions and in piano bars, she primarily worked outside of music until 1986. By then, having discovered in turn Al Jarreau, Linda Ronstadt, Nelson Riddle recordings, Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan, Amandah knew that she simply had to sing jazz. She relocated to Portland, Oregon five years later and became active locally, performing in jazz clubs and at concerts.
She was particularly inspired by bassist Leroy Vinnegar and guitarist Charlie Byrd, evolving into the warm and highly suave singer. Byrd convinced Amandah that she should accompany herself on piano, a move which has added to her musical tour de force. Amandah Jantzen's singing is well showcased on her three recordings, Some Other Time, Devil May Care and My Secret Love. She is also featured on a third of the songs on the Ellen Vanderslice compilation.
