Amanda Davids set to release debut album.
Amanda Davids is about to release her first CD.
Photo/COURTESY
Studying music since age three, Amanda Davids doesn't remember a time when sounds and instruments weren't part of her life.
"My dad is a pianist and I started out on piano," said the York resident. "I went to (Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts) and played the alto saxophone, then got into jazz vocals in my teen years, and jazz piano. It just blossomed into a career. After I graduated high school I took sciences in university, but it didn't make any sense. I started to take formal vocal lessons when I decided I wanted to do this as a career."
Davids, who has a studio in her home and teaches piano and singing, has spent the past two years putting together a five-song album EP, which is scheduled for release in February.
As a lead-up for the yet untitled album's debut, Davids will release the first single, Naughty Boy, Thursday, Nov. 24 at Dazzling Lounge, 291 King St.
"The album started off kind of poppy," Davids said of the sound. "It then turned into an urban/jazz/funk hybrid. It's an internal view of myself. Naughty Boy is a fun song, the type most people can relate to. It's nothing too heavy. Each song has its own life, some are good fun, some are easy listening."
An accomplished artist, Davids has performed in Canada and the United States, notably at the 2010 Oakville Jazz Festival, Yonge and Dundas Square for RBC DesiFest, and the September 11 memorial concert in New York City in 2010.
Davids, who performed all vocal and keyboard work for the album, along with composing and co-producing each song, said she draws inspiration from artists such as Herby Hancock, The Roots, Ella Fitzgerald and Etta James. She has also been working with organist Tony Monaco for the past six months.
"I'm very happy with how the album turned out," she said. "It was a discovery process as well as a recording process. I was heading in one direction, then realized it wasn't what I wanted it to be, then had to take a step back."
Davids' album will be available for purchase at shows and through her website at www.amandadavids.com