First Blog Post!

I've made it! This is Anna Hart, the youngest member of a South Puget Sound (WA State) Jazz Band, Jazz Musette. (Please see http://www.jazzmusette.com and http://myspace.com/annahart/ for more details!) I'll be using this space to update about our rehearsals, gigs, plans, website.. or if the muse strikes, one never knows. The others will be set up with blogs soon. We're a six-piece band -- four of us live on the Key Peninsula in WA State (which is on the bigger Olympic Peninsula on the upper left hand corner of the state; we're about 90 mins southwest of Seattle) and the other two live in the greater Tacoma area. We gather each Thursday evening in Lakebay for rehearsal.

We're getting ready for a gig next month, the Two Waters Arts Alliance Spring Fling. (I believe there's a bit of an admission price, but one can google "Two Waters Spring Fling" which is a staple event in Key Centre, WA and find out more info.) We're busy recording. We're playing with a new digital recorder and I'll be working on the website soon.

I'm 27 years old, divorced and chronically ill with Lyme disease. Music is a passion of mine. Music is my life, my career, my joy and my solace. I grew up in studios and on stage; my first professional recording job in the Ed Sullivan Threatre of NYC. (I also play some guitar and piano.. but not in public. lol) Music has filled my being since before I could hear. It is the family business; I was brought up listening to nearly every genre that exists. I can enjoy the creativity it takes to produce a good rap album as much as a classic opera.

I learned how to play the guitar "thanks" to The Beatles! Once I had colleted all of their albums, from the song Please Please Me to Let It Be, I sat down with my own accoustic guitar and a chord chart.. and try, try, tried again until I could play along with every song. I can find something enjoyable in nearly every type of music save Heavy Metal.

I'd be here a long time if I were to list all of my favourites, but some inspirations (in no particular order) for me are:

Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, John Lennon (solo), George Harrison (solo), Eric Clapton, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, The Band, Levon Helm (solo), Robbie Robertson (solo) & The Red Road Ensemble, Rob Thomas (solo), Howard Shore's LotRs music, JJ Cale, Dire Straits, Sir Elton John, Taj Mahal, The Eagles, Shakira (more for her spanish songs than english), Beyonce & Destiny's Child, Leon Russell, Alanis Morissette, Imogen Heap, Johnny Clegg, Jimmy Cliff, Fleetwood Mac, Peggy Lee, Matchbox 20, Emmylou Harris, The Staples Singers, Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughan, Roberta Flack, Eva Cassidy, Beth Orten, The Winans, Madeleine Peyroux, Wyclef Jean & The Refugees, The Moody Blues, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Natasha Bedingfield, Bobby McFerrin, Yo Yo Ma, Mark O'Connor, Stephane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, It's A Beautiful Day, Chris Issak, Roy Orbison, Aaron Neville, Neville Bros, No Doubt, Gwen Stafani (solo), Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar, Norah Jones, Mark Knopfler, Chet Atkins, CSN&Y, Duke Ellington, The Ben Taylor Band..

See? lmao

Next rehearsal's on Thursday, we'll be trying out a new song and going over some of our staples.

Soon, I'll have the others up and running with blogs, too!