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MP3 Michelle Samuels - Michelle Samuels (feat. Mike Renzi)
3 MP3 Songs in this album (10:38) !
Related styles: Jazz: Jazz Vocals, Easy Listening: American Popular Song, Solo Female Artist
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Michelle is a New York-based singer whose love of jazz began as a child en route to her grandfather’s favorite Chinese Food restaurant in the back of his Cadillac.
“His two favorite things were Chinese Food and Sinatra. So he’d play Jonathan Schwartz on WNEW all the way there and all the way home. I didn’t realize it, not only was I enjoying what I heard, I was memorizing it. And every so often my grandfather would offer commentary. "You know why he’s the best,’ he’d say. ''Diction. You can understand every word he says.''” Michelle heard both her grandfather and Sinatra loud and clear and was hooked on swingin'' standards.
While studying at NYU’s Jazz Vocal Workshop, Michelle found she didn’t have to work all that hard to memorize lyrics. "All the standards had sunk in years before in the Cadillac." She sang favorites like “In the Wee Small Hours,” “It’s All Right with Me” and “There Will Never Be Another You” -- playing with tempos and drafting arrangements, and learned to work with trios. She began working in lounges and clubs in and around New York City to hone her personal style. Since then she''s worked with several of the city’s most renowned jazz guitarists including Gene Bertoncini, Howard Alden, Frank Vignola, Roni Ben-Hur, Joe Cohn and John Hart -- thoroughly enjoying and exploring her sound.
Michelle says she takes her lead from vocalists Nina Simone, Nancy Wilson, Diahnn Carroll, Peggy Lee, Carmen McCrae, Shirley Horne, Sheila Jordan and Julie London to name a few. “Jazz, and these singers in particular, taught me that you can be as powerful in a whisper as you can be in full-voice. Just mean what you sing.”
In 2004, she recorded her debut CD “Across A Crowded Room” which included some unique choices – “It Ain’t Necessarily So” with just bass, (Steve LaSpina) and Hum Drum Blues with just Hand Drums (Rich DaRosa). These were last minute decisions made collaboratively veteran composer, singer and producer Anne Phillips. “Some Enchanted Evening" may be the most notable track on the CD” Michelle says. “It’s an honest expression of a vulnerable, exciting moment.” Michelle says she is always choosing to be candid in her interpretations and specific in her song choices. “I aspire to be most frank with my phrasing, and to tell stories with my voice and with my heart, interpreting material that captures a feeling, or a mood, or a message.”
“Across A Crowded Room” can be heard on jazz radio all over the world. “I’ve been contacted by listeners as far as Croatia and Brazil and it’s always a pleasant surprise.”
Michelle has performed at venues including Avery Fisher Hall, The Metropolitan Room, Yale''s Eugene O''Neill Theater Center, The Rainbow Room and Tavern on the Green.
Most recently, Michelle recorded three songs with legendary jazz pianist Mike Renzi. “Softly,” "Anyplace I Hang My Hat is Home” and “I’m A Fool To Want You.” (Recorded at Millrose Music, New York, NY).
"Working with Mike Renzi was a thrill. He can make it seem as if you’re accompanied by an orchestra. He plays lines that you’d likely hear a string section play, or a lone oboe''s line beneath you. It’s this spontaneous, emotional precision that’s nothing short of genius and I had the opportunity to experience it. I feel lucky for it. And he’s as dear and charming a person as he is an artist. It’s hard not to use hyperboles to describe his work on these tracks with me. He makes a singer sparkle.”
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