Amy Baker, vocalist, has been entertaining audiences around the world since age 17. Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, Amy now resides in the San Francisco Bay area where she can be found performing regularly when not on the road. Having graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Vocal Performance, Amy’s vocal training focused on opera and musical theater. Her true jazz training came not from school, but from growing up with a father who’s musical talents were rooted in jazz., and then going on to do it herself on the road all over the world.
From St. Petersburg, Russia, to a command performance for President Clinton, Amy’s stylings have continued to impress both jazz aficionados and novices alike. “Amy gives jazz a glamorous pop appeal with her latest album finding her in her element; swinging through the jazz and broadway hits with an all-star band.” “Her selection of songs and arrangements are true time-tested music of love and sophistication,” WFIT 89.5FM radio, Melbourne, Florida. Amy has performed as a guest artist with internationally reknowned tenor, Pasquale Esposito, the Christian Tamburr Quartet, as well as leading her own bands. Over the past seven years Amy has performed in venues worldwide including during the Salzburg Festival in Salzburg Austria; Piazzo San Marco in Venice, Italy, the Staadt Hotel in Karlskrona, Sweden; and has appeared repeatedly as a featured artist for Radisson Seven Seas Cruises on the M/S Navigator, the M/S Diamond, the M/S Mariner and the M/S Voyager.
Ms. Baker’s recording career includes a wide variety of projects, thanks to her versatility. Among these recordings are, three solo albums (the latest being In and Out of Love, a jazz project with the Christian Tamburr Trio), a recording of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, and she appears as Pocahontas on five albums for Disney Records. She has also worked as a studio singer for recording studios world wide. Her rendition of Swedish National Anthem is still being used to open some of the country’s sporting events.
Amy has her father to thank for her career in music, specifically in jazz. Charles Baker was a saxophonist in dance bands in the 1940’s, although his career was cut short as his father forbid him to accept a position with Jack Everett’s Dance Orchestra - he didn’t approve of the wild world of jazz. Amy’s father was just the opposite, constantly encouraging her in her musical endeavors from the day he had a piano delivered when she was five. Many happy memories are held in the days they spent sitting at the piano, Amy playing piano and singing, with her dad on sax as they made their way through his entire library of sheet music from the 40’s - a collection she treasures to this day.
Amy’s latest recording, In and Out of Love, is already garnering attention and receiving radio play. “This is definitely a CD you will want to add to your collection - I am certainly enjoying it,” Eric Young, WLRQ 99.3 FM Melbourne, FL. The CD has already earned her an opening act performance for renowned jazz guitarist, Earl Klugh and won her the title of "Best Upcoming Jazz Vocalist" on National Public Radio's "Swinging Down the Lane." Amy was also included in the "Best of the Best" section of the international best selling book "Entertainment: Jazz, Cabaret Divas Now and Then". Her work as a jazz and cabaret artist has earned a following that covers the globe, and her passion for her music continues to drive her to new musical heights.