Amanda King

With a smoothness of voice and surety of style, it’s hard to believe Amanda King has only been singing professionally since fall 2007. She comes from a solid theater background having performed in scores of productions, musical and dramatic. But she also has a close connection with music. Her march toward becoming the hottest new singer on the block in San Francisco began with the 2003 Bay Area Cabaret Competition. She entered the contest on a lark, but her talent took her to the finals losing only by two votes! Encouraged by this good start, she began singing in various showcases throughout San Francisco. She developed a devoted following that quickly grew with her acclaimed one-woman show "It's About Damn Time!" which ran in the fall of 2007 at the New Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

“This singer was a suberb (sic) performer. I expected a louder, brassier voice, and I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. Her choice of material was delightful, and her delivery was pitch-perfect. I was SO glad I had taken a chance on this unknown (to me) singer.” p.g. cabaret appreciator (Goldstar online review)

With the success of that show, Amanda began to take her singing more seriously and with a last minute opportunity to perform at an historic cabaret venue, she mounted a show that was to become the basis of this, her first CD. That show, “Chanteuse”, at the famous Empire Plush Room in January 2008 met with great acclaim and since that performance her voice, her following, and her confidence have grown enormously.

“King at the Empire Plush Room was in her perfect element. The singer is a true throwback to the golden days of nightclubs…The audience was watching a more seasoned performer on the Plush Room stage. King has found new confidence and her voice has taken on many new horizons…and the thrilling “Black Moonlight” was so masterful that I never wanted it to end. The arrangement had enough power to send a rocket to the moon.” Lee Hartgrave, BeyondChron.org

In the last few months, she has appeared at clubs around San Francisco and the greater Bay Area meeting with infectious enthusiasm. Most recently Amanda was featured as the lead in Duke Ellington’s rarely performed jazz opera (his only one!) “Queenie Pie”, produced by the Oakland Opera Theatre. Her performance combined her theatrical and musical smarts, and she garnered wonderful reviews.

“Amanda King performs Queenie in a blond wig, exuding lots of stage presence and powerful vocal skills. In the middle of her range she sounds a bit like Ella. She also has a light, full high voice which she uses in her shipboard lament about missing New York, and a low, low voice set way deep in the chest and solid gold in placement. My only complaint was that most of the songs she sang were very short, almost conversational in tone. I longed to hear her sing on, to tell us the story, verse and refrain.” Jaime Robles, Berkeley Daily Planet

This CD, her first, celebrates the music she loves. Working with her regular trio of outstanding jazz artists Shota Osabe, Jeff Neighbor, and Micha Nur Patri, this labor of love came into being over several sessions at the famous Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Her trio played masterfully, especially Shota who performed his magic on Bill Evans’ personal Yamaha C9, a deeply sonorous instrument. Voice, piano, bass and drums all perform as one, and it is so evident when you experience their magic.

Amanda hopes you will enjoy listening to “Chanteuse” with the same pleasure she and her musicians had in making it. With this new talent, most definitely the best is yet to come!
---Amanda King, MySpace