Biography
The American singer Ann Malcolm grew up in Iowa, USA. She began piano at the age of four, listening nearly daily to her grandmother who had been a pianist for silent movies. After adding the saxophone at age ten, Ann says, "I knew very young that I wanted to be a musician. In Iowa Ann had many opportunities to build up a strong musical foundation. She received her Bachelor of Music degree at the University at Iowa, and it was there she had her first engagements as a jazz singer. Ann received her Master of Music degree (saxophone performance) at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston with the highly respected professor, Joe Allard. At the same time, she continued singing with New York guitarist, Paul Meyers (presently with vocalist Andy Bey, Annie Ross among many others). Her studies in Boston included vocal workshops with Sheila Jordan and lessons in New York with Helen Merrill. At New England Conservatory she also was involved in the Third Stream Department, created by Gunther Schuller, including classes with pianist Ran Blake. She was often sought out by fellow musicians who appreciated her excellent time, intonation and sense of musical line. Ann proved to be an exciting and expressive vocalist at the Charles Mingus Memorial Concert.
After attending saxophone master classes in France with Jean-Marie Londeix and Daniel Deffayet she moved to Switzerland to study further in the Konzertklasse at the Musik-Akademie der Stadt Basel with Iwan Roth. On the saxophone Ann has played and toured with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, Opera Orchestra Zürich, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Hessischer Rundfunk Orchestra, as well as with the saxophone trio Europort.
Ann trained vocally with Jacob Keller in Bern, Eva Csapó, and Eva Krasznai in Basel and jazz studies with Vince Benedetti and soon became well known in the Swiss jazz scene. In the late 1980’s and 1990’s she was the featured vocalist with the Peter Jacques Band, Alex Bally Orchestra, Victor Burghardt Orchestra, Vince Benedetti Tentet and Heritage Big Band, Cojazz, Ten In One Orchestra and Stage Four. In July 1992 Ann appeared with Cojazz at the Montreux Jazz Festival at the TCB Jazzclub Q's.
Ann Malcolm's CD " Incident'ly " was in the top 10 of vocal jazz releases in 1994 in Japan. The CD was recorded by Rudy van Gelder at Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey and features her also as lyricist on compositions by Thelonious Monk, Tom Harrell and Kenny Barron.
With the trio Robi Lakatos, piano; Reggie Johnson, bass; and Keith Copeland, drums, Ann performed in clubs and on festivals in Germany, France, Hungary and Switzerland. The CD “RSVP” on Mons Records, Germany, 1998, documents this period in her career.
A reunion with the trio Cojazz in 2000 resulted in the CD " Scenes of Christmas ", available worldwide. Ann is a fascinating singer between mainstream and modern jazz. Her style is melodic and original. Bassist Ray Drummond wrote in the liner notes of " Scenes of Christmas " that her voice is "singularly unique and instantly recognizable". One definitely hears the influence of an experienced instrumentalist as well.
On the international jazz scene, she has performed with Kenny Barron, Ray Drummond, Keith Copeland, Brian Lemon, Szakcsi, Robi Lakatos, Vince Benedetti, Junior Mance, Reggie Johnson, Ákos Holéczy, James Woode, Martin Wind, John Betsch, Fritz Pauer, Peter Tuscher, Dre Pallemaerts, Mario Gonzi, George Robert, William Evans, Alvin Queen, Marc Abrahms, Andy Scherrer, Matthieu Michel, Jürgen Seefelder, Thomas Stabenow.
The CD, “Shadows Who Dance”, recorded by Daniel Dettwiler ( “Idee und Klang”, Basel ) at Radio DRS, Zürich was released in November 2007 on Mons Records, Germany. The rhythm section is Colin Vallon,piano; Bänz Oester,bass; and Dejan Terzic,drums and includes creative sound design by Hannes Kumke. Ann’s abilities as a lyricist are again evident on lyrics to Sascha Schönhaus’s “Bruno’s Dance” and “I’m Into You” ( “Dig”) by Miles Davis. Since 2006 Ann is performing in clubs and festivals in Europe with this formation.
The new recording “The Crystal Paperweight”, ABEAT records, Italy, will be released in July 2010. Arranged for octet by the great trumpeter, composer and arranger Tom Harrell, this very special work includes 4 new lyric versions of Tom Harrell’s compositions and a second recording of Before Dawn (“Sail Away”), previously recorded by Ann in 1994 at Van Gelder Studio, New Jersey, with Kenny Barron. As a producer, singer, lyricist and saxophonist Ann combines all facets of her musical talents on this new project.
Ann is Professor for vocal jazz and workshop at the Hochschule für Musik, Abt. Jazz, in Basel and since Oct. 2005, is Professor for vocal jazz at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Mannheim, Germany. She is also internationally active at workshops and contests (see www.jazzfest.it/workshop/docenti.htm, www.voice-and-guitar.de 2006/2007/2008/2010)
