Amandah's newest release!
Thanks for checking out the sound samples - enjoy!
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Reviews:
Jazzscene "Oregon's Jazz Magazine"
2004
FOUR STARS (out of five)
By George Fendel
Although Amandah Jantzen has spent considerable recent time gigging away from the Rose City, I still consider her "one of us." Hopefully, she agrees that "the road" has simply taken her elsewhere, but that indeed Portland remains home. In any case, I've always considered her one of our city's finest singers. She sings on key, stays nicely within her range, and delivers melodies with a subtle jazz feeling, never pushing the issue or overdoing it. On this album she appears with a lineup of skillful players, the names of whom are unfamiliar to me. Most likely they hail from that road of which I spoke earlier. In any case, listen to Amandah easily wend her way through dependable fare like It Could Happen To You, But Not For Me, When Lights Are Low, Gone With The Wind and Morning. She's equally comfortable and effective on ballads like My One And Only Love, 'Round Midnight and My Old Flame. My favorite tune of the bunch was the rarely heard Rough Ridin'. Amandah is at her best on this medium tempo evergreen and adds a clever second set of lyrics which I presume are her own creation. One of these days you're going to spot her name in Jazzscene's calendar section. When that happens, it's a signal she's returned to Portland, so get out and hear her in person. In the meantime, this CD is well representative of her considerable vocal talent. Visit her at www.amandahjantzen.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Biography:
Jazz and popular music are overloaded with "overnight successes" who gain a great deal of attention when they burst upon the scene, only to slip away into obscurity within a short time. Amandah Jantzen is the complete opposite. Throughout her career she has gradually earned a strong reputation while mastering her craft. She is a singer who, once experienced, one never forgets.
Amandah has the rare ability to uplift standards and make vintage songs sound fresh, new and topical. Her warm voice and swinging style, combined with a large repertoire, result in consistently memorable performances. She is never shy to embrace melodies and lyrics from the Great American Songbook, bringing out the hidden beauty in both, but her renditions are never predictable. She is a jazz singer yet is also quite accessible to a wide audience.
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Amandah was drawn to music from an early age. 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's 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, developing into the warm and highly expressive singer that she is today. Byrd convinced Amandah that she should accompany herself on piano, a move which has added to the appeal and musicality of her performances.
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, Once in A Blue Moon, and half of the tunes on The Standard Vanderslice. Because of the quality of these recordings and the popularity of her live engagements, I have picked Amandah as one of the top 500 jazz singers of all time and will profile her in my upcoming book, The Jazz Singers, which will be published by Backbeat Books in 2006.
In addition to working in Portland (including long-term bookings at both the Doubletree and Heathman Hotels), Amandah has performed at extended engagements in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, at the Salishan Golf Resort on the Oregon Coast, at the Stone Harbor Resort in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and at the historic Ankeny's Restaurant on the top floor of the Ridpath Hotel in Spokane, Washington. She has also been featured at the Du Maurier Jazz Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, in Florida with tenor-saxophonist Turk Mauro and multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan, at Bally’s Casino in Las Vegas, and has opened concerts for both Mc Coy Tyner and Charlie Byrd. Most recently, she worked quite successfully at two lengthy engagements in Singapore, where she also recorded her most recent CD, due for release in 2006. She is currently on an extended tour in Asia.
An enthusiastic and charismatic performer who is also subtle, Amandah Jantzen is a constant joy, both musically and personally. She is on her way to becoming a major name in the overlapping worlds of jazz, cabaret and classic American pop music.
Biography by: Scott Yanow, Los Angeles, CA
Check out the artist's website:
http://www.amandahjanzten.com
Track List:
1. Secret Love
2. Rough Ridin'
3. My One And Only Love
4. It Could Happen To You
5. But Not For Me
6. Round Midnight
7. Bye Bye Blackbird
8. When Lights Are Low
9. Morning
10. Gone With The Wind
11. My Old Flame
Other Genres:
Thanks for checking out the sound samples - enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reviews:
Jazzscene "Oregon's Jazz Magazine"
2004
FOUR STARS (out of five)
By George Fendel
Although Amandah Jantzen has spent considerable recent time gigging away from the Rose City, I still consider her "one of us." Hopefully, she agrees that "the road" has simply taken her elsewhere, but that indeed Portland remains home. In any case, I've always considered her one of our city's finest singers. She sings on key, stays nicely within her range, and delivers melodies with a subtle jazz feeling, never pushing the issue or overdoing it. On this album she appears with a lineup of skillful players, the names of whom are unfamiliar to me. Most likely they hail from that road of which I spoke earlier. In any case, listen to Amandah easily wend her way through dependable fare like It Could Happen To You, But Not For Me, When Lights Are Low, Gone With The Wind and Morning. She's equally comfortable and effective on ballads like My One And Only Love, 'Round Midnight and My Old Flame. My favorite tune of the bunch was the rarely heard Rough Ridin'. Amandah is at her best on this medium tempo evergreen and adds a clever second set of lyrics which I presume are her own creation. One of these days you're going to spot her name in Jazzscene's calendar section. When that happens, it's a signal she's returned to Portland, so get out and hear her in person. In the meantime, this CD is well representative of her considerable vocal talent. Visit her at www.amandahjantzen.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Biography:
Jazz and popular music are overloaded with "overnight successes" who gain a great deal of attention when they burst upon the scene, only to slip away into obscurity within a short time. Amandah Jantzen is the complete opposite. Throughout her career she has gradually earned a strong reputation while mastering her craft. She is a singer who, once experienced, one never forgets.
Amandah has the rare ability to uplift standards and make vintage songs sound fresh, new and topical. Her warm voice and swinging style, combined with a large repertoire, result in consistently memorable performances. She is never shy to embrace melodies and lyrics from the Great American Songbook, bringing out the hidden beauty in both, but her renditions are never predictable. She is a jazz singer yet is also quite accessible to a wide audience.
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Amandah was drawn to music from an early age. 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's 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, developing into the warm and highly expressive singer that she is today. Byrd convinced Amandah that she should accompany herself on piano, a move which has added to the appeal and musicality of her performances.
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, Once in A Blue Moon, and half of the tunes on The Standard Vanderslice. Because of the quality of these recordings and the popularity of her live engagements, I have picked Amandah as one of the top 500 jazz singers of all time and will profile her in my upcoming book, The Jazz Singers, which will be published by Backbeat Books in 2006.
In addition to working in Portland (including long-term bookings at both the Doubletree and Heathman Hotels), Amandah has performed at extended engagements in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, at the Salishan Golf Resort on the Oregon Coast, at the Stone Harbor Resort in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and at the historic Ankeny's Restaurant on the top floor of the Ridpath Hotel in Spokane, Washington. She has also been featured at the Du Maurier Jazz Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, in Florida with tenor-saxophonist Turk Mauro and multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan, at Bally’s Casino in Las Vegas, and has opened concerts for both Mc Coy Tyner and Charlie Byrd. Most recently, she worked quite successfully at two lengthy engagements in Singapore, where she also recorded her most recent CD, due for release in 2006. She is currently on an extended tour in Asia.
An enthusiastic and charismatic performer who is also subtle, Amandah Jantzen is a constant joy, both musically and personally. She is on her way to becoming a major name in the overlapping worlds of jazz, cabaret and classic American pop music.
Biography by: Scott Yanow, Los Angeles, CA
Check out the artist's website:
http://www.amandahjanzten.com
Track List:
1. Secret Love
2. Rough Ridin'
3. My One And Only Love
4. It Could Happen To You
5. But Not For Me
6. Round Midnight
7. Bye Bye Blackbird
8. When Lights Are Low
9. Morning
10. Gone With The Wind
11. My Old Flame
Other Genres: