I know I recommend every reviewed album wholeheartedly but every now and then there surfaces an album that I like at once. From start to finish. An album has to potential to be one of my albums of the year. Such a quality album is Amana Melomé’s debut album Indigo Red. So, I’m more than pleased that Amana gets into details in her jazz-not-jazz interview. Keep on reading if you wanna know how she met her musical alter ego Saverio “Sage” Principini, how she descibes her music and what she likes about LA…
Q: Please tell me a little bit about your childhood. Where were your born in Germany and where in Italy did you grow up? In retrospect, how influential was this time for you?
Amana Melomé: I was born in Munich, we left when I was only two years old, moved to the States for a few years, then to Italy when I was nine. Rome at first, thru middle school, then to Florence,Tuscany. My time in Italy, consequently, was VERY influential…those are important years when you start deciding who you are and what you want to be and not be. The fantastic passion for life and good food is and will always be a huge part of me. Also having the opportunity to travel around Europe got me into studying languages (I like to talk - ha!) and intrigued by other cultures and traditions.
Q: Both of your grandparents were active jazz musicians. What was it like to grow up in a musical family, and when did you know you wanted to become a musician yourself? How supportive was your family when you told them you wanted to become a musician?
Amana Melomé: I have always loved the fact that everyone in my immediate family is an artist. Everyone ranges from musicians, to photographers, to designers and more musicians…haha! My grandfather Jimmy Woode (who sadly, recently left us) was an amazing Bass player. He worked with literally the Who’s Who of jazz greats. I can’t begin to list them. He had stories for days, he was just an amazing man, and an inspiration. My grandmother was a Jazz vocalist and a dancer. She’d sing a lot around the house. Nana (my grandmother), my mom and I would have a ball harmonizing Christmas carols, but otherwise, during her life time I was quite shy with my voice and only let it loose in private…perhaps afraid that if they knew I had a nice voice, that there would be expectations of me that perhaps I couldn’t live up to. Instead, I am so thankful for the fact that my grandfather got to hear the demo of Indigo Red before he passed and he was so proud and amazed. That felt really good - to watch him stand up and dance around to my songs, to watch him take in all the little nuances of Jack and Jill with that pensive face with thousands of thoughts scrolling (we were so curious of what the Jazz maestro was going to think!)
My aunt Shawnn Monteiro is a fabulous Jazz vocalist, still touring. Needless to say everyone in my family has always been very supportive of my choices in the arts (which ranged from painting and sculpting, to dance, to acting, to singing now). I really surprised many with the singing and songwriting thing though! They had no idea what I was bringing to the table (I kinda kept it in a jar for a long time), so they were blown away once the jar was opened (smile). It’s only been about 3 years since I seriously took singing as a career into consideration. Feeling I had something valid to bring to the table, something to say and light to share - then meeting Saverio (Principini) my prducer (little over 2 years ago), kind of brought it all together. He was open to the creativity and not stuck on the mainstream crank out a pop hit mentality. My sweet sweet momma has come to every show thus far (actually she missed ONE and feels guilty about it). There is a lot of love and support. I am blessed.
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