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Melissa Hamilton

Today she can be found in The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz as a member of The Ritz, but Melissa Hamilton began her singing career in her elementary school auditorium, singing the National Anthem at first grade assemblies. It wasn’t until college that she discovered jazz, when she heard Ella Fitzgerald sing. In 1987, after studying with the renowned jazz vocalist Sheila Jordan, Melissa was invited to join The Ritz, a vocal ensemble celebrated for its tight harmonies and inventive arrangements. In addition to touring the globe and playing some of the world’s most notable venues and jazz festivals in Europe, Asia, and North America, Melissa recorded four albums with The Ritz on the Denon label – Movin’ Up (1988), Flying (1989), The Spirit of Christmas (1989) and their final album, Almost Blue (1991), which she also produced. Melssa has appeared at some of the city’s leading venues, including The Blue Note, Fat Tuesdays, J's, Metropolitan Room, Cornelia Street Cafe, Jazz at Kitano and Iridium, where she recorded many of the tracks for her first solo CD, Live Songs and Love Songs (2012). Melissa has opened for Billy Taylor at the Bright Moments Jazz Festival and performed with many distinguished jazz musicians including Doc Cheatham, Grady Tate, Frank Wess, Harvie Swartz, Michael Kanan, Victor Gaskin, and Gene Perla. She toured as a backup singer with acclaimed Chicago blues guitarist, David Bromberg. Melissa enjoys sharing her love of music and jazz. She taught at her alma mater, the University of Maine, for eight years and serves as a clinician and adjudicator for high school and college jazz programs. In 1996, she received the University of Maine’s Distinguished Achievement Award and was honored to speak at its commencement exercises. She was a finalist in both the 2009 Jazzmobile Vocal Competiton and the 2015 HotHouse Magazine Fan's Decision Contest. Discography: Feeling Better and Better, Tom Hoffmann; Movin' Up, The Ritz, (Denon); Flying, The Ritz, (Denon); The Spirit of Christmas, The Ritz, (Denon); Almost Blue, The Ritz, (Denon) (vocals, producer); Castle of Dreams, Byron Taylor, independent; Tryin' to Sort it All Out, Core NYC, (Head Bopping Syndrome); Nostalgia in My Square Head, Malcolm Hunter and the Makeshift Dream Orchestra, (Head Bopping Syndrome).


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It's been said of Melissa that ...she is a female vocalist far above the usual cut of jazz singers. Hear for yourself why versatility, technical control, delicacy of articulation, poetic sensitivity, and adventurous scat singing are just some of the terms used to describe her. Hear for yourself why listeners around the world have said she made the whole audience take notice, this woman can really sing! - Maine Public Broadcasting Network

It’s an increasingly rare occurrence to encounter a vocal jazz performance at which, after only a bit of the first number, I can just relax in the realization that I am in the presence of a master of the form, that I will gladly put myself in his or her hands and let them take me on their journey. Melissa Hamilton is such a singer. I caught her recent appearance at Jazz at Kitano (Aug 20, 2015). From the very first lines of her opener, “Too Close For Comfort” (Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, George David Weiss)—performed in a uniquely aggressive style that suits it quite well—Hamilton displayed a command of the material, the stage, and the sold-out crowd. She segued into the laid-back blues of Rickie Lee Jones’s “Easy Money,” mining both its music and its humor. She is obviously not tied to tried-and-true jazz material; she eagerly embraces newer work not often showcased at a jazz club. Carmen McRae used to do this a lot, and McRae is one of the many echoes reverberating through the set: you can hear the influence of Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O’Day, and Hamilton’s mentors, Sheila Jordan and Betty Carter, but they are just that—echoes. Hamilton has her own voice and her own style, and she builds on the legacy of these great singers. She resurrected the delightful “Shaker Song” (Jay Beckenstein, David Lasley, Allee Willis), a hit for both Spyro Gyra and Manhattan Transfer sometime in the last century, and made it her own, putting the lyrics and story on equal footing with the infectious melody—and in the process filling the stage with a commodity all too rare on the current music scene: joy! She followed this with an effortlessly swung “East of the Sun (and West of the Moon” (Brooks Bowman) complete with scat chorus. When it comes to scat, you either buy it or you don’t. I bought it. She wasn’t trying to impress or look hip; she was using it as an expression of her musicality. Her band offered impressive support throughout the evening. Pianist/music director Lee Tomboulian is a strong yet subtle and witty player, whose arrangements were constantly surprising and always spot on. As he played a gorgeous, folk-tinged intro, the singer asked the audience, “Doesn’t that sound like a Joni Mitchell song?” And it did—but it turned into a beautifully realized “My Foolish Heart” (Victor Young, Ned Washington). Talk about breathing new life into a warhorse! Pianist and singer shared an exquisite moment with their deeply moving take on Matt Alber’s “End of the World.” Drummer Peter Runnells and bassist Kevin Hailey supplied great rhythmic support, whether the song required a subtle back beat or a fiery solo. Like all great vocalists, Melissa Hamilton, made me hear songs I thought I knew well in a different way. Even in the most musically complex material and arrangements, she never lost the story. She combines the assured style of a master with the open-hearted enthusiasm of someone in her first embrace of jazz. She closed with an explosive rendition of Cole Porter’s “Just One Of Those Things” followed by a warm and touching “But Beautiful” (Johnny Burke, James Van Heusen) and the audience reluctantly let her leave the stage. They, and I, would gladly have stayed for another hour or two at least. - Gerry Geddes, bistroawards.com

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Primary Instrument

Vocals

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Credentials/Background

Experience: Adjunct voice faculty for the University of Maine Jazz and Contemporary Music program, 8 years. Private lessons and vocal ensemble. Adjudicator for numerous vocal jazz competitions and festivals. Private voice instruction.

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