A good friend of mine asked, “have you ever heard Anita Wardell?”
The internet is a fabulous tool and within minutes, I found her, listened and was blown away by her beautiful voice. A jazz voice. A jazz singer. A true improviser. In tune and in time. AND she covers the changes.
A great scat singer knows the chord changes and like a great jazz instrumentalist can sing over those changes. A great jazz singer will sing those notes with precision and a good tone creating a musical thread from one chord to the next using melody, harmony, rhythm and soul. This is very difficult to do well. My own skills in improvisation are ever evolving. I personally continue to study and I feel I’ve found someone to help me with that endeavor. Anita is my newest teacher and newest friend.
For the past year and a half, once a month, we converge on Skype. Anita lives in London and continues to perform worldwide. She also continues to reach out to singers sharing her zest, her knowledge and passion for jazz singing. She’s a giving, upbeat and encouraging person. The kind of person that continues to hold true the art of jazz singing. And the kind of person I want to be around!
The beauty of music, jazz in particular, is the never-ending discovery the art form encourages. Once we get over the fact that we’ll never get to the end of it, we become invested in the process. We also learn how to learn again. That requires the guidance of a patient and passionate teacher. Anita is that teacher.
Anita will be coming to the states in a little over a month. I’ll be picking her up on September 23rd and she’ll stay here in Oshkosh until the 27th. My plan is to share her with as many singers and players that are interested in hearing and learning from this jazz artist.
I’ll be organizing a performance/workshop with Anita and if you are interested in attending let me know by emailing info@janetplanet.com Put in subject: Anita Wardell Workshop.
The date I’m working towards for this event is Monday, September 26th but details (price, location, time and date confirmation), will be communicated via email.
Listen to Anita here. http://www.anitawardell.com/pages/listen.php
She is a great gift to song and she’ll be a great gift to this community.
Welcome Anita!
Dear Janet: we were in the audience at Birch Creek last night. Wow! We remembered you from your early singing days in the Fox River Valley , and of course we looked forward to the concert. We were blown away by the beauty, sophistication, range , and clarity of your voice, and totally impressed with the creativity of the
arrangements and delight that you provided us all. The evening brought back sweet memories of the then jazz greats we loved during our long ago Milwaukee days.
You choice of songs , voice, and sense of humor truly revealed your heart and soul.
Thanks.
Dave and Lolly Ratajczak