Amana Melome is a Euro-

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

-American singer-songwriter currently based in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. She was born in Germany and raised around the world. After finishing high school in

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

she returned to America to earn her college degree and graduated from

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-United States Secretary of the Treasu ...

, in

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. Her music reflects her jazz heritage as she follows in the footsteps of her grandfather, the late bass player Jimmy Woode who was the youngest musician in

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

's orchestra and accompanied many jazz legends such as

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

. Her late grandmother was also a jazz vocalist, and her aunt Shawnn Monteiro is still active in the jazz scene today.

Early life

Born in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

but raised around the world, Melome is a singer,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, actress who sings in Italian,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, and English. Having grown up exposed to the music of her family, Melome followed in the footsteps of her grandfather Jimmy Woode, the youngest musician in

's band.

Career

Melome moved to Los Angeles to pursue music after graduating, where she met Saverio "Sage" Principini and recorded her first album ''Indigo Red'' and her sophomoric album ''Phoenix Rising'', both recorded at the infamous Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood. After a U.S. release on indie label Savana Records, Amana's ''Indigo Red'' became the first CD to be sold in

Whole Foods Markets Whole Foods Market IP, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A USDA ...

, as they coined her music as "organic" and had her perform a mini-tour of the west-coast stores. ''Indigo Red'' was released in Europe on Irma Records in 2008. Following the American and European release of her record, Melome was headlining festivals and clubs, performing for private events for Fendi and

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

before she landed herself a lead role on the most popular Italian sitcom Un medico in famiglia which aired on national TV. Melome's music is said to evoke the jazz roots of her family with a sound that is a mix of neo-soul,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

, occasionally mixed with

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

inspired by her many travels. Melome has recently finished recording her third album ''Lock and Key'' at Manifest Studios in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

which is due for release in January 2015. The EP brings new collaborations and production by the talented duo Itai Shapira and Adam Berg of the Decoders, who have worked with the likes of Aloe Black and Rhye.

Discography

* 2008: ''Indigo Red'' * 2011: ''Phoenix Rising'' * 2014: ''Lock and Key''

Singles

* 2008: ''Caterpillar, Bella Farfalla, Platonic'' * 2011: ''Twisted'' * 2014: ''Lock and Key''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melome, Amana German women musicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people)