Jenna Mammina
is a jazz/pop singer originally from St. Joseph, Michigan but based in the San Francisco bay area since 1986.
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JENNA MAMMINA TICKETS
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Biography
Mammina was born in St. Joseph, Michigan,
[1] and began singing as a child, singing in church from the age of five, and appearing in school musicals.
[2] In her teens she learned piono and guitar and performed with local bands.
She attended
Central Michigan University,
Michigan State University, and
Laney College in
Oakland, before settling in San Francisco.
After session work with
The Spinners and
Narada Michael Walden,
Mammina has gone on to record five albums, all released on her own label, Mamma Grace.
She performs as often as 250 times a year, and has performed with
Bobby McFerrin,
Bobby Watson,
Nancy King,
Andy Narell, and
Steve Coleman.
Derk Robertson, writing for the
San Francisco Chronicle
, picked her debut album,
Under the Influence
, at number nine in his top albums of that year.
[3] Her second album,
Meant to Be
, was nominated for a
California Music Award in the 'Outstanding jazz album' category.
[4]
Mammina is also a music educator, running workshops titled 'Scat for Cats' and 'So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star' in schools and universities.
Musical style
Mammina combines together
folk music, pop, and jazz, often performing with guitarist Andre Bush. She covers a wide range of music including songs ranging from
Abbey Lincoln (her mentor) to
Elvis Costello,
U2, and
Tom Waits, as well as original compositions.
[5] Her voice has variously been described as "sweet and flexible",
[6] "whisper-like" with "air-brushed phrasings and silky nuance",
[7] and "tiny, thinnish, high-pitched".
[8]
Mammina herself says of her style:
"I don't want to categorize the music. It's not that I don't know who I am. I don't sing classical, and I'm not a soul singer, or an R&B singer, but I have been influenced by that stuff too. I can sing a Patsy Cline tune, a James Taylor tune or a Led Zeppelin tune, but I do it with my own flair." [9]
Discography
- Under the Influence
(1999)
- Just a Little Bit
(2000)
- Meant to Be
(2001)
- Art of the Duo
(2003)
- Inner Smile
(2005)
References
- Richardson, Derk (2001) "It's 'Dirty Work,' But Jenna Mammina's Got To Do It: Bay Area jazz vocalist reworks new rock standards", ''San Francisco Chronicle'', 30 August 2001
- Yanow, Scott "Jenna Mammina Biography", ''Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation
- Robertson, Derk (1999) "One Picky Critic's Top Albums of 1999", ''San Francisco Chronicle'', 30 December 1999
- Selvin, Joel (2003) "Cammies to be a free concert: Donnas lead music awards with eight", ''San Francisco Chronicle'', 13 March 2003
- Elwood, Philip (2001) "Jenna Mammina's free-spirited cabaret busts the fourth wall: Singer's interactive style creates a house-party atmosphere at Yoshi's", ''San Francisco Chronicle'', 6 September 2001
- Tanow, Scott "''Art of the Duo'' Review", ''Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation
- Edelstein, Paula "''Meant to Be'' Review", ''Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation
- Nastos, Michael G. "''Under the Influence'' Review", ''Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation
- Gilbert, Andrew (2002) "Big Range Rider: Local fave Jenna Mammina returns to Carmel with her genre-hopping repertoire", ''Monterey County Weekly'', 19 December 2002