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Pamela Rose

amela Rose is a San Francisco jazz and blues vocalist who has thrilled audiences locally and internationally with her swinging, soulful style. Rose is that rare breed of entertainer who connects solidly with her audience by always delivering a personal and unforgettable musical experience. Her rich, warm voice and easy rapport with excellent musicians moves jazz and blues audiences of all ages.

Originally from Southern California, Rose attended UC Berkeley and quickly met up with Hammond B-3 organist Merl Saunders, who took her on tour in 1977. This experience helped to define the strong passions that keep music fresh for Pamela today: writing and developing songs which are personal to her, a strong love for improvisation and spontaneity that comes with performing live, and a crazy adoration for the soulful sounds of Hammond B-3 organ.

Home from the road, Rose teamed up with guitarist Chris Cobb and formed the Eights, then Wild Kingdom, both all original dance bands that dominated the club scene of the early '80s. During this period Rose also met vocalist Glenn Walters (of the Hoo Doo Rhythm Devils) and together they mounted a show of R & B duets called "When a Man Loves a Woman." They were promptly tapped to join the Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra, the 14 piece Motown Dance Band who were unquestionably the darlings of the corporate party circuit and dance clubs throughout the '80s.

Challenging herself and searching for a more intimate sound, Pamela teamed up with pianist Nate Ginsberg, penning tunes and arranging 1930's style jazz standards. This led to two recordings, the first "On the Jazzy Side of Blue" (1993) which was nominated for two BAMMIE Awards (Best Jazz CD, Best Vocalist), and the second, "Every Time I'm With You," which had the distinction of being featured in the Sharper Image National catalogue as the only vocal jazz CD offered. Both of these recordings garnered tours in Denmark and France, culminating in being invited as one of the headline acts at the Cophenhagen Jazz Festival.

Now that she had found her footing in jazz performances and clubs, Rose reached back to her love of Hammond B-3 Organ and teamed up with organist Tony Stead (Gospel Hummingbirds, Family Stone) to create an all original soul jazz CD "You Could Have it All." With B-3 master Jimmy Pugh (Robert Cray) producing, and featuring a duet with Glenn Walters on the title track, this funk splashed, soul jazz CD garnered Rose a feature on NPR's "All Things Considered" in recognition of her effort to compose new material to show off both Hammond Organ and her expressive voice.

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In Pictures

Pamela Rose At The Sound Room

Read "Pamela Rose At The Sound Room" reviewed by Walter Atkins


Popular San Francisco Bay Area vocalist / composer / educator Pamela Rose held court at the recently relocated Sound Room in downtown Oakland. Accompanied by long time musical friends guitarist Danny Caron, B3 organist Wayne De La Cruz and drummer Mark Lee, Rose presented new material nicely sprinkled with some old favorites. Rose's stellar band played “Wake Up" to get the house rocking. When the tune was finished, she thanked them and introduced the individual members. Rose loved ...

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Live Review

Pamela Rose: Tribute To Etta James at The California Jazz Conservatory

Read "Pamela Rose: Tribute To Etta James at The California Jazz Conservatory" reviewed by Walter Atkins


Pamela Rose Tribute To Etta James California Jazz Conservatory Berkeley CA February 6, 2015 Pamela Rose's tribute to Etta James was a stirring live concert/talk/multimedia celebration of the life and career of the legendary soul, R&B, rock, gospel, and jazz artist. The set was interspersed with discussions of James' life experiences, house sing-a longs, and video clips that established context and acted as preludes to the next track. The soulful performance ...

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Album Review

Pamela Rose: You Could have It All

Read "You Could have It All" reviewed by Dave Nathan


Pamela Rose has a great voice, good range and phrasing , on the mark intonation recalling Nancy Wilson. It also drips with soul and funk; no sweet sounding lady she. One might, however, question the arrangements. Too many of the tunes are accompanied by the incessant, never varying back beat of Bryant Mills' drums such as on “The One That Got Away" and “This Love Is Gonna Do Me in". All of the tunes are written by Rose in collaboration ...

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Performance / Tour

Jazz this week: Marcus Miller, Jonah Parzen-Johnson, Pamela Rose's "Wild Women of Song," Jazz Edge Big Band, and more

Jazz this week: Marcus Miller, Jonah Parzen-Johnson, Pamela Rose's "Wild Women of Song," Jazz Edge Big Band, and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

There's lots going on in jazz and creative music this week in St. Louis, and so you don't miss out, here's a special early edition of our weekly highlights post... Tuesday, June 16 Tonight, bassist Marcus Miller and his band return to St. Louis to begin a three-night stand continuing through Thursday at Jazz at the Bistro. Miller, also known for his production work on behalf of musicians including Miles Davis and David Sanborn, is on tour promoting a new ...

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Performance / Tour

SFJAZZ Presents Pamela Rose's Multimedia "Wild Women of Song," Sat. Nov. 12

SFJAZZ Presents Pamela Rose's Multimedia "Wild Women of Song," Sat. Nov. 12

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

In the two years since Pamela Rose released her CD Wild Women of Song: Great Gal Composers of the Jazz Era, the jazz and blues vocalist has been gratified to observe her music and the research behind it taking on an exuberant life of its own. Just last weekend she brought Wild Women to the Monterey Jazz Festival. Now Rose's internationally acclaimed and ever-expanding multimedia Wild Women show, which celebrates the lives, times, and music of the unheralded women songwriters ...

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Event

Pamela Rose Celebrates Women's History Month with 2 San Francisco Shows

Pamela Rose Celebrates Women's History Month with 2 San Francisco Shows

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

In honor of Women's History Month, jazz and blues vocalist Pamela Rose brings her internationally acclaimed multimedia show, Wild Women of Song: Great Gal Composers of the Jazz Era, to two San Francisco venues next month. The theatrical concert celebrates the lives, times, and music of the rarely mentioned women songwriters who helped create the American Songbook. On Wednesday, March 16, Rose returns to Yoshi's San Francisco, where she first presented Wild Women as a work-in-progress in the fall of ...

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Event

Wild Women of Song" at Feinstein's, January 7, 2011

Wild Women of Song" at Feinstein's, January 7, 2011

Source: Carolyn McClair Public Relations

Pamela Rose to Bring “Wild Women of Song: Great Gal Composers of the Jazz Era," Hit Multi-Media Jazz and Blues Concert, to Feinstein's at Loews Regency Friday, January 7, 2011 at 8:30 pm NEW YORK, NY, December 13, 2010—Fresh from sold-out performances in London, Los Angeles (The Grammy Museum), San Francisco & Oakland (Yoshi's) and Santa Cruz (Kuumbwa), Bay Area jazz vocalist Pamela Rose will bring her hit multi-media jazz and blues concert “Wild Women of Song: Great Gal Composers ...

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Performance / Tour

The Grammy Museum to Host a Night of Jazz History with Pamela Rose and the "Wild Women of Song"

The Grammy Museum to Host a Night of Jazz History with Pamela Rose and the "Wild Women of Song"

Source: Michael Ricci

Ask any young person under the age of twenty-five what a gramophone is and good luck getting a correct answer-for that matter, try talking to them about LPs! Despite this, the gramophone has easily become one of the most prominent images in music that history can recall-it is the symbol for The Recording Academy, presenters of the annual GRAMMY Awards. For over fifty years, the GRAMMYs have been synonymous with the distinguished recording artists, songwriters, and producers of several generations. ...

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Performance / Tour

Singer Pamela Rose Brings Her Multimedia "Wild Women of Song" Show to New California Venues & Beyond

Singer Pamela Rose Brings Her Multimedia "Wild Women of Song" Show to New California Venues & Beyond

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

On the heels of sold-out performances at Yoshi's San Francisco, the San Jose Jazz Winter Series, and Pacifica Performances, jazz and blues vocalist Pamela Rose is taking her dynamic Wild Women show on the road. Rose has created a rollicking multimedia showcase drawn from her Wild Women of Song CD, and audiences are responding in a big way. “It goes beyond a jazz show," says Bruce Kelley of San Francisco magazine. “It's a swinging honors course in womankind!" Rose and ...

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Event

Singer Pamela Rose Brings Her Multimedia "Wild Women of Song" Show to Bay Area Venues in February & March

Singer Pamela Rose Brings Her Multimedia "Wild Women of Song" Show to Bay Area Venues in February & March

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

Following her sold-out Yoshi's San Francisco concert in November--a rollicking multimedia showcase drawn from her Wild Women of Song CD--jazz and blues vocalist Pamela Rose will be kicking off the new year with three Bay Area performances devoted to this same dynamic repertoire. “It goes beyond a jazz show," says Bruce Kelley of San Francisco magazine. “It's a swinging honors course in womankind!" Rose and her band will be featured at a special Valentine's Day show in San Jose Jazz's ...

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Recording

Vocalist Pamela Rose's New CD - "Wild Women of Song: Great Gal Composers of the Jazz Era" - Due October 13

Vocalist Pamela Rose's New CD - "Wild Women of Song: Great Gal Composers of the Jazz Era" - Due October 13

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

For the last five years, San Francisco jazz and blues vocalist Pamela Rose has been investigating the music of women songwriters—particularly those of the Tin Pan Alley and classic blues eras—in her dynamic live shows. Both she and her audiences responded strongly to the repertoire, but Rose was surprised to realize that “even though we love and revere these songs, we don’t know the writers’ names.” Determined to bring these women and their contributions into the limelight, Pamela Rose has ...

"Pamela Rose has a great voice, range and phrasing and on-the-mark intonation recalling Nancy Wilson" —All About Jazz

"Rose infuses her live and recorded performances with non-stop energy, and...heartfelt, female-centric Jazz Anthropology" —Harvey Siders Jazz Times Magazine

"It goes beyond a jazz show...it's a swinging honors course in womankind!" —Bruce Kelley, editor, San Francisco Magazine

"I recommend my readers purchase two copies. If they wear out the first one, they'll have a back up" I Dig Jazz, —Charles Latimer's Jazz Journal

"Bay Area Jazz mainstay Rose really plants the flag. The recording, band and performance are spot on. A STONE COLD KILLER THAT JAZZ FANS SHOULD NOT MISS. Simple as that" —midwestrecord.com

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Primary Instrument

Vocals

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Pamela Rose is on the vocal faculty at the Jazz School in Berkeley (www.jazzschool.org)

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Wild Women of Song:...

Three Handed Records
2009

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You Could have It All

Three Handed Records
2002

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