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Janet Seidel

Based in Sydney, Australia, vocalist / pianist Janet Seidel currently enjoys a rare and enviable international reputation with 14 CDs released in Australia and also available in several other countries. In the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD 2006 (UK) she is described as “Australia’s first lady of jazz”. On the other hand she is revered by cabaret aficionados overseas such as in New York’s Cabaret Hotline - “I had heard so much about this delightful jazz star from Australia, but I was still not prepared for this awesome performance. I have never been so thrilled by a performer - this lady is amazing - such pure clean vocals!" according to the writer. Janet has been performing jazz oriented material and the Great American Songbook in particular since her High School and University days in South Australia in the 1970s. She has been fortunate to work with some great Australian jazz musicians in her various groups. Her first CDs made in the early 1990s feature some potent jazz content from artists such as Tom Baker, Ian Date, Paul Williams, Bob Gebert, Billy Ross and Col Nolan to name a few. Janet’s likes to tour with her jazz quintet, but more often now she travels with just her Trio with excellent guitarist Chuck Morgan and her brother David on double bass. It was with this trio that her first forays into the Cabaret world were launched in 2000 with a kind of personal tribute show and CD “Doris and Me” which has played successfully in many theatres and venues around Australia. The latest success in cabaret has been the show and CD, Delovely, which features a selection of Cole Porter songs recorded live at Sydney’s Woodfire Cabaret venue. With 14 CDs to her name she has covered quite some ground stylistically and many have been nominated for awards. All have been well reviewed all over the world. Janet’s groups have toured Australia several times and played most important Jazz Festivals around the country. Internationally she has toured to many countries including UK, USA, Europe, the Middle East and many South East Asian countries. Japan in particular has been a great success in the last few years with 8 CDs released there, with Janet booked to do many national tours since 2001 and she has been consistently named in the top 10 jazz vocalists in the Jazz Polls there. In June, Janet’s Trio toured Japan for 2 weeks for the Fujitsu Jazz Elite 2006 where they shared the bill with jazz diva Helen Merrill and the George Mraz Quartet.

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190
Album Review

Janet Seidel: The Art of Lounge, Volume 2

Read "The Art of Lounge, Volume 2" reviewed by Dave Nathan


Australia's Janet Seidel continues to work magic on popular songs of the past, many of which have become standards. Like her first volume honoring the art of sophisticated swing and ballad, Seidel chooses to work in small group settings sometimes with sax or cornet added, other times with strings. When the sax is present, it adds a jazzy feel to the music.

There's not a bad track on the album. Each one seems to top the track that preceded it. ...

187
Album Review

Janet Seidel: Comme Ci Comme

Read "Comme Ci Comme " reviewed by Dave Nathan


Australian singer, Janet Seidel, continues her exploration of popular music, this time adding a Gallic touch to the presentation. In fact, several of the tunes on the play list have a French origin, “A Man and A Woman" from the 1966 classic French film of the same name and “I Will Wait for You" from the Umbrellas of Cherbourgsound track. All the tunes are sung in French (like a native) and English and for those who need further help, the ...

147
Album Review

Janet Seidel: The Art of Lounge

Read "The Art of Lounge" reviewed by Dave Nathan


Performing since she was 17, Janet Seidel is now one of Australia's more prominent vocalists. Despite the title of her latest effort, this is by no means an album of easy listening, lounge type music. Even though there's the presence strings on several tracks, they are offset by musicians steeped in the jazz tradition like Tom Baker on tenor sax. Also having a jazz flavor, “I've Got Crush on You" is done in a small group setting with Paul Williams ...

187
Album Review

Janet Seidel & William Galison: Love Letters

Read "Love Letters" reviewed by Dave Nathan


With her clear, cool voice, Janet Seidel successfully combines the fluencies of such singers as Chris Connor, Blossom Dearie, Peggy Lee and Doris Day into a style which focuses on delivering the story told by the lyrics rather than making her vocal faculties the message.

This is the Australian's 8th album for the La Brava label and reflects her ability to make each new release as fresh and as captivating as those that preceded it. She does this by adding ...

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