singer songwriter and jazz pianist
Sandy Asirvatham
presents her debut cd MEMOIR

A VILLAGE VOICE 2007 BEST JAZZ DEBUT PICK!

“...she walks a fine line between singer/songwriter and jazz chanteuse with some Tin Pan Alley in the mix, smartly turning phrases and crafting peculiarly appealing melodies...poetic, personal lyrics richly underscored by her idiosyncratic piano playing and tasteful accompaniment...” ~John Lewis, BALTIMORE MAGAZINE

CLICK HERE for Sandy's radio interivew on WYPR 88.1 THE SIGNAL (9/28/2007) and HERE for her appearance at Stoop Storytelling (show dated 11/5/2007).

“Sandy has written and produced some music that reflects her literary background and her musical background. This is great music. She’s created music that’s for everybody, but never ‘dumbed down,’ not even for a moment. You need this in your record collection.”
~Alex Norris, trumpet player, composer,
and Fresh Sounds recording artist

“What a terrific maiden voyage!
Smart chords and lyrics met by perfect solos...Beautiful...
Some work is made by artists because they MUST create it.”
~Claire Daly, baritone saxophonist, four-time Downbeat Critics' Poll award winner

Visit Sandy's MySpace space.

(pronunciation help for the syllabically cautious:
ah-sur-VAH-thum)

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This website and all its contents (c) 2006-2007, Sandy Asirvatham/JazzGrrl Music, all rights reserved. Except where otherwise credited, all photography (c) 2007 Brian J. Berman/Rocktography Visuals Inc. (www.brianjberman.com), all rights reserved.

from the liner notes....

I was writing a novel but kept getting stuck. Procrastinated at the piano, playing and singing old show tunes and standards—a return to childhood obsession. I got curious about jazz improvisation; then I got avid. Time passed. Piano lessons and college music courses led to jam sessions and gigs, and eventually to professional work on the local wedding/cocktail hour circuit.

I stopped struggling with the novel and started composing songs instead—JAZZish but flavored with FOLK ROCK FUNK ACOUSTIC—little five-minute fictions that rhyme.

Then I booked studio time and found hotshot friends to accompany my vocals/piano/synth: FRANK RUSSO drums/percussion AMY SHOOK bass/violin/viola JIM MCFALLS trombone TOM WILLIAMS trumpet/flugelhorn DANI CORTAZA acoustic guitar CHRIS KENNEDY electric guitar. With brilliant band-mates like these, who’d want to stay home and wrestle the taunting blank page?...

Arranged and produced by Sandy Asirvatham. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Fred Hughes (www.fredhughes.com). Frank Russo plays, exclusively, Maryland Drums, Bosphorus Cymbals, and Vic Firth Sticks. Jim McFalls plays, exclusively, Antoine Courtois trombones. Tom Williams plays Lawler Custom Trumpets. Frank Russo and Amy Shook co-lead the Shook/Russo Quartet appearing on Summit Records. Check it out!

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