Intelligent, thought-provoking lyrics over a variety of warm jazz/rock grooves, from a versatile and uniquely visioned new singer, pianist, and bandleader.

12 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Jazz Fusion, ROCK: Acoustic



Details:
âSandy has written and produced some music that reflects her literary background and her musical background. This is great music. Sheâs created music thatâs for everybody, but never âdumbed down,â not even for a moment. You need this in your record collection.â
Alex Norris, trumpet player, composer,
and Fresh Sounds recording artist

âWhat a terrific maiden voyage! Smart chords and lyrics met by perfect solos...Beautiful...Some work is made by artists because they MUST create it.â
Claire Daly, baritone saxophonist, four-time Downbeat Critics' Poll award winner

âSandy has made an impressive debut with MEMOIR. Her piano playing is very pleasing and together with her supportive ensemble, the music is beautiful. The voice is clear and truthful...the songs are lyrically fresh and inventive. I say BRAVA Sandy!â
Nora York, composer, singer, multimedia performance artist

âWith the abundance of female singers in the business today, it is supremely refreshing to work with a brand-new talent. Iâve known Sandy for only a few years and have been impressed with her meteoric transformation from student to professional performer.
What is most engaging for me as an instrumentalist is the surprisingly wide palette of timbres and emotional depth she brings to her music. She is a JOY to work with!â
Jim McFalls, trombone performer and jazz educator



A 1994 graduate of Columbia University's MFA in fiction writing and a former columnist for Baltimore CityPaper, Sandy was supposed to be working on a novel when she instead got sidetracked by music. Strictly an amateur, music-reading pianist in her 20s, by her mid-30s she had become a jazz improviser good enough to go pro, as well as a fledgling composer & arranger.

Recently Sandy has put her storytelling skills in the service of original songs. Sandy's idiosyncratic melodies and lyrics suggest dark, melancholy themes, but are played and sung with a light, kinetic, quietly joyful approach. Recommended if you enjoy versatile jazz-based artists like Madeleine Peyroux and Cassandra Wilson, but also if you have a liking for the more contemplative songs of singer-songwriters like Fiona Apple, Feist, or Rufus Wainwright.

FROM THE LINER NOTES:

"I was writing a novel but kept getting stuck. Procrastinated at the piano, playing and singing old show tunes and standardsâa return to childhood obsession. I got curious about jazz improvisation; then I got avid. Time passed. Piano lessons and college music courses led to jam sessions and gigs, and eventually to professional work on the local wedding/cocktail hour circuit.

"I stopped struggling with the novel and started composing songs insteadâJAZZish but flavored with FOLK ROCK FUNK ACOUSTICâlittle five-minute fictions that rhyme.

"Then I booked studio time and found hotshot friends to accompany my vocals/piano/synth: FRANK RUSSO drums/percussion AMY SHOOK bass/violin/viola JIM MCFALLS trombone TOM WILLIAMS trumpet/flugelhorn DANI CORTAZA acoustic guitar CHRIS KENNEDY electric guitar. With brilliant band-mates like these, whoâd want to stay home and wrestle the taunting blank page?..."