Janet Seidel
Janet Seidel (28 May 1955 – 7 August 2017) was an Australian jazz vocalist and pianist. Seidel was described as a "virtual institution" in her country.
Janet Seidel | |
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Seidel at Tokyo Uniform Club in Japan for her concert (April 2010) | |
Background information | |
Born | Cummins, South Australia, Australia | 28 May 1955
Died | 7 August 2017 (aged 62) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
Genres | Jazz, traditional pop |
Occupation(s) | Singer, musician, educator |
Instruments | Vocals, piano |
Years active | 1974–2017 |
Labels | La Brava |
Associated acts | Billy Ross, Kevin Hunt, Tom Baker, David Seidel, Chuck Morgan, Ben Jones, Adam Pache, Col Nolan, Maree Steinway, Bob Gebert, William Galison, Bob Jeffery, Ian Date |
Website | janetseidel |
Education
Seidel studied at the Elder Conservatorium at the University of Adelaide (BMusic, 1973-1976).
Career
She worked as a high school music teacher in New South Wales at the Sydney Girls High School[1] and as a professional musician as a pianist and singer. From 1976 to 1980, she was an active member of the Adelaide Feminist Theatre Group. For their first show, The Carolina Chisel Show (1976), she wrote the piano arrangements. For the musical melodrama The Redheads' Revenge (1978), she wrote and arranged all the songs, conducted and played in the orchestra and was also involved in the writing, production and direction of the show. For the revue Out of the Frying Pan (1980), she wrote five original songs, collaborated with Judy Szekeres on the musical arrangement, played in the orchestra and was involved with the choreography.[2]
Seidel's 18 CD albums, recorded with musicians including her brother, bassist David Seidel,[3] have been nominated for prizes such as the ARIA Music Awards.[4] Her album Moon of Manakoora won the Bell Award for Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album in 2006.[5]
Death
Seidel died on 7 August 2017 from ovarian cancer in Sydney at the age of 62.[6] Some newspapers mistakenly reported her death as 8 August.[7] A posthumous CD of previously unreleased recordings was released in September 2018 in Japan. Entitled You Are There, it was produced by David Seidel.
Discography
- 1994 Little Jazz Bird
- 1994 Winter Moon
- 1995 Doodlin'
- 1997 The Art of Lounge
- 1998 The Way You Wear Your Hat
- 1999 The Art of Lounge Volume 2
- 2000 Love Letters
- 2001 Doris & Me
- 2002 Don't Smoke in Bed
- 2003 Comme Ci, Comme Ça
- 2003 The Art of Lounge Volume 3
- 2004 Dear Blossom
- 2004 Hooray for Christmas
- 2004 Midnight Jazz Lounge
- 2005 Moon of Manakoora
- 2005 Delovely
- 2007 We Get Requests
- 2007 Charade – Henry Mancini Song Book
- 2011 Janet Seidel – Live in Taipai (DVD)
- 2013 Far Away Places
- 2018 You Are There
References
- Nathan, Dave. "Don't Smoke in Bed: Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
- Szekeres, Judith Anne (February 1993). "The Adelaide Feminist Theatre Group. A case study", MA thesis, UNSW.
- Nathan, Dave (1 May 2001). "CD/LP Review: Comme Ci Comme". All About Jazz. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
- Nathan, Dave. "Janet Seidel: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
- "The Australian Jazz Bell Awards 2006". Australian Jazz Bell Awards. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- Janet Seidel: The cabaret singer with the pure voice is gone