Amy London

Amy London is a jazz singer and educator who has appeared on Broadway and in the vocal group The Royal Bopsters. London grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. She moved to Manhattan in 1980 and began teaching jazz vocals in 1984.[1]

Amy London
BornCincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
GenresVocal jazz
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active1980–present
LabelsMotéma
Associated actsThe Royal Bopsters
Websiteamylondonsings.com

When I Look in Your Eyes (Motéma Music, 2007) was her first album as leader, recorded at Bennett Studios in Englewood, New Jersey. The album includes bassist Rufus Reid, drummer Leroy Williams, along with pianists Lee Musiker and the late John Hicks. "Let's Fly", London's second Motema release, features the title song written by Annie Ross and Amy London, performed with pianist Tardo Hammer, bassist Santi Debriano and drummer Steve Williams. "Bridges", Amy London's retrospective, was released in 2017, and features Fred Hersch, Bob Mintzer, Lonnie Smith, and Darmon Meader. London can also be heard singing alto with the New York Voices on Robert Lepley's "Visions Within," narrated by Meryl Streep.

London sang in the musical City of Angels from 1989 to 1992. She helped start the vocal jazz BFA program at The New School in 1992, at Jazz House Kids in 2013, and is an adjunct professor at New School, Hofstra University, City College and Jazz House Kids. She has led vocal clinics at jazz camps around the world.[2]

In 2015 London produced The Royal Bopsters Project (Motéma), an album that gathered a group of musicians to pay homage to vocalese singers. It received four and a half stars from DownBeat magazine.[1] The group included Amy London, Holli Ross, Dylan Pramuk, and Darmon Meader (replaced by Pete McGuinness). Appearing as guests on the album were jazz singers Mark Murphy, Annie Ross, Jon Hendricks, Sheila Jordan, and Bob Dorough.[3]

In 2020, The Royal Bopsters' second recording, Party of Four, was released again on the Motema label. The special guests on this recording are again Sheila Jordan and Bob Dorough, as well as Christian McBride.


Discography

  • Two for the Road (Fivecat, 1997)
  • When I Look in Your Eyes (Motéma, 2007)
  • Let's Fly (Motéma, 2011)
  • The Royal Bopsters Project (Motéma, 2015)
  • Bridges (Fivecat, 2017)
  • Party of Four (Motema, 2020)

References

  1. "Biography - Amy London". amylondonsings.com. Retrieved 2017-01-13.
  2. La Gorce, Tammy. "For Longtime Jazz Singer, Latest Success Is Sweet", The New York Times, April 6, 2008. Accessed April 12, 2020. "She sang in the Tony Award winning musical City of Angels from 1989 to 1992 before moving to Teaneck in 1998 with her husband, the jazz guitarist Roni Ben-Hur, and their daughters Sofia, now 12, and Anna, now 9.... If looking back affords fond memories, the here and now - here being Teaneck - reinforces them. 'Teaneck has traditionally been a residential area for jazz musicians,' Ms. London said. 'And there have been so many here - Sam Jones, Rufus Reid, Lisle Atkinson, Nat Adderley.'"
  3. Loudon, Christopher (31 October 2015). "Jazz Reviews: The Royal Bopsters Project". jazztimes.com. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.