Writing Your Own Lyrics to Jazz Tunes

Details & Information

Would you like to add some original songs to your repertoire but don't know where to begin? Writing your own lyrics to an existing jazz standard is a fun way to add a personal touch to your song list, and it's easier than you might think! In this workshop we'll take a step by step approach to writing lyrics, and you'll leave with a rough draft of your very own song! Please bring a notebook and an instrumental jazz tune that you'd like to play with writing lyrics for. Amy Biondo is a Denver/Boulder vocalist, composer, dancer, vocal empowerment coach, and voice mentor. A versatile performer with a 4-octave range, Amy is equally comfortable climbing inside the rich rhythmic and harmonic structure of a modern jazz composition; mining deep into the emotional story of an old chestnut and communicating the timeless beauty that is still relevant today; resonating with the nuanced heartbeat of a traditional folk song in Spanish, Portuguese, or French; or belting out a rock tune to a room full of people who can’t help but dance. Amy has performed genres ranging from jazz to Latin to gypsy jazz to free improvisation to Kirtan to pop/rock and beyond. These diverse musical influences, combined with Amy’s background in theater and modern dance, create a charismatic stage presence and a deeply embodied and refreshingly unique vocal style and delivery. Amy works regularly with Art Lande (ECM), Venezuelan virtuoso Gonzalo Teppa, Bill Kopper (Octave Recording), Carmen Sandim (Rope-a-Dope), and the late Ron Miles (Blue Note), among others. Passionate about world music, she has extensively studied the music of Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, and France. Amy has performed and toured across the United States and abroad, including the San Diego Opera House, St. Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh, venues in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Britain, and Ireland, and venues in Colorado. She has appeared at City Park Jazz, Donkey Creek, Five Points Jazz, and on radio stations KUVO and KGNU. A prolific studio musician, Amy is featured as a lead vocalist on the self-titled albums Sundays at Vic’s (2007) and Los Bohemios (2013), as well as countless other studio recordings as a background vocalist. Amy also writes and records custom love songs for special events such as weddings, birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, memorial services, and more!