Roxana Amed singer-songwriter, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is recognized by audiences and critics alike as one of the most amazing and soulful voices in Argentine music.

Read More...

Her expertise writing shows a lyrical and musical language that follows the tradition of musicians such as Luis Alberto Spinetta, emblematic figure of the avant garde rock in Argentina, and Joni Mitchell, considering the jazz, folk and rock genres in commited combination with poetic lyrics capable to cross any cultural gap.

Through this unusual and particular mix of such unavoidable qualities as an author and a performer, she became an icon of new music.

After a celebrated career in Argentine jazz, awards winner and nominations as songwriter, with a solid education in Literature and Filmmaking, she built her singular figure to finally deliver her two powerful works, Limbo (2004) and Entremundos (2006), defying the structured rules of a limited market, providing her work international perspectives through the talented artists she worked with, such as Pedro Aznar (ex Pat Metheny Group), with whom she produced her two albums.

Entremundos, considered by Rolling Stone magazine among the 5 top Argentine jazz albums in 2006, also shows Amed recording her own Spanish translated version of Tom Waits´ and Kathleen Brennan´s Georgia Lee, in duo with León Gieco (legendary Argentine artist of Latin America folk/rock music, one of the very first musicians to be produced by Gustabo Santaolalla). With Georgia Lee, and Joni Mitchell´s Amelia, in duo with Pedro Aznar and included on her first album, Amed became the first Spanish spoken artist to record celebrated versions in this language, receiving enthusiastic comments from Mitchell herself for Amelia exquisite rendition.

This original and independent artist, role model for the younger generations claming for new and alternative ways of making music and even to her own contemporary colleagues, changed the concept of the singer songwriter and expanded the borders of jazz songs in her country. Roxana Amed always goes beyond her own limits through her confessional and testimonial lyrics, sustained by her overwhelming musical performances and is destined to represent the best of Argentine music tradition.

ROXANA AMED, works and days

She´s got a traditional but non-conventional education background, since music was only a part of her life as an artist. Studied piano since age six and attended the National School of Music. Took classes of harmony and composition with important teachers. Participated of many non-professional vocal groups since age eight. Between 1979 and 1988, took lyrical singing lessons of classical repertoire. Since 1980, integrated different contemporary, folk, pop and experimental music vocal groups as lead and/or arranger.

After many years of professional performance in bands and orchestras, in 1994 formed [Viva Zapata], an alternative rock band, with the natural intention to make a difference on the field. In this group, she participated as composer, lead singer, second guitar and arranger, and despite of the short time spent on tour with the band, AMED got amazing reviews by the rock media due to her vocal innovation in the Argentine rock tradition.

Since 1999 her songs have been performed by local and international artists and in a short period she´s got important recognition by the industry. Co-writer of Diego Torres´ international hit "La Última Noche", she has also written for Sandra Mihanovich, Los Tekis, and Luciano Pereyra, among many others, covering a wide spectrum as an author and composer while leaving her distinctive mark on all these albums.

Winner of the MARTÍN FIERRO 2000 - Best Original Song for a TV Series for Sobrevivientes (which appeared on the Pol-Ka production of "Vulnerables"), included on Sandra Mihanovich´s album "Todo Tiene un Lugar", CD title of another of her songs.

In 2001 she composed her first movie score for and independent movie ["Moving On"] in the United States.

ROXANA AMED, the jazz.

In the 90´s , she performed as a jazz singer with many and different groups and respected musicians, highlighting, above all, the concerts with the late Horacio Larumbe, one of the most surprising pianists of the Argentine jazz scene and who was the very first to invite AMED to share the stage with him in 1994.

Between 1999 and 2001 appeared on the Buenos Aires jazz scene with OUTSIDERS traditional jazz project in which AMED´s vocal performance well-deserved enthusiastic reviews by the specialized media.

Her original jazz songs and compositions, apart from her brand new album project, called the attention of labels like BLUE NOTE, where she was offered to work as a songwriter for different New York singers.

But her attention turned back to her own language and musical project.

In 2002 AMED began to write for LIMBO, her first original solo material with music that comes from jazz and extends to other more ethnic and alternative territories, repertoire that the public knew before its release through her TV special presentations with this new material. That same year the outstanding reception the artist got at the JAZZ FESTIVAL of October 2002 in the TEATRO OPERA of Buenos Aires in front of an audience of 2,000 and in a night shared by artists like Ernesto Jodos, the Quinteto Urbano and Javier Malosetti was the debut presentation of AMED´s LIMBO.

From then on, LIMBO has been performed on the jazz and alternative scene for the most diverse audiences. The great impact of this material on the specialized media was also surprising due to the selected attention dedicated to the artists of this genre. Reviews from other non targeted press and different music genres deserved special emphasis since this provoked a crossover effect on other audiences.

As a result of such performance, AMED was nominated to the SHOWBIZ 2003 CLARÍN AWARDS as JAZZ NEW ARTIST, an unprecedented recognition for a singer with a personal, original and new proposal without any direct associations to the traditional vocal jazz.

Considered by Argentine and foreign musicians that have accompanied her on this journey as a virtuous jazz performer, AMED becomes an absolutely unusual figure on the Argentine vocal jazz and the new songwriting generation: exceptional peformer, author, composer and producer of her own sound.

LIMBO, the album.

On January 21st 2004 began the recording sessions of LIMBO, enlightened by the artistic production of Pedro AZNAR, one of the most talented and exquisite musicians of Argentina. LIMBO includes songs by AMED, performed by her band composed by Alejandro Ridilenir, Claudio Iuliano, Fernando Galimany and Mario Gusso and the special participation of great musicians like Juan Cruz de Urquiza, Pablo Mainetti, Ernesto Snajer, Cristian Judurcha, Facundo Guevara or by the brilliant company of Pedro both as a performer and arranger.

With the happy unanimity of the producer and the singer, two songs were added that the public never listened by AMED until that time.

One, a memorable Joni Mitchell´s song, Amelia -a statement of principles to include it, on an impecable and outstanding Spanish version by Pedro Aznar- and after several months of waiting for the authorization of this version they´ve got these lines from the L.A. agency:

"Joni has loved the recording (...) She wants you to know that she thought the song was beautifully done and wanted me to pass on her thank you to the artist for this wonderful rendition."

The other song was a classic of one of Argentina´s most original musicians, Luis Alberto Spinetta, a vernacular haiku called Durazno Sangrando.

LIMBO intends to be the beginning of an artist´s own language, both in sound and lyrics, to open a space that, from jazz, other genres and other speeches can be cited.

On April 13th, 2005, LIMBO wins the Gardel Award to Music for Best Sound Engineered Album.

On May 5th, 2005, AMED presents LIMBO on the renowned

stage of the ND ATENEO theater with her musicians:

Alejandro Ridilenir, Claudio Iuliano, Fernando Galimany and Mario Gusso, and special guests that participorated on the recding of the album like Pedro Aznar, Juan Cruz de Urquiza, Andrés Beeuwsaert, Facundo Guevara and Cristian Judurcha.

ENTREMUNDOS, some short steps forward.

The recording of ENTREMUNDOS began on Saturday, June 3rd, 2006. ENTREMUNDOS is Roxana AMED´s second album. This album describes the disturbing, violent, different and hopeful panorama that AMED discovers beyond LIMBO. Her songs show all these scenes on a chaotic, painful world that move or revolt her.

On this occasion, AMED, coproduces the album with Pedro Aznar. Eleven songs, eight by AMED citing jazz, rock and bordering genres, including for the first time a jazz standard, Strange Fruit and a Led Zeppelin classic, Friends.

AMED invites another legendary Argentine music figure, LEÓN GIECO, to sing a duet of TOM WAITS and KATHLEEN BRENNAN song, Georgia Lee, on a Spanish version written by AMED-Aznar.

Other special guests to ENTREMUNDOS are Adrián Iaies, Pepi Taveira, Juan Cruz de Urquiza, Santiago Vázquez, Facundo Guevara, Alejandro Oliva, Cristian Judurcha, Andrés Beeuwsaert, Fernando Kabusacki and of course Pedro Aznar.

This album delivers a more extrovert sonority, with more improvisations and riskier ensembles, combining jazz and rock that shows again a very original work on the Argentine music.

ROXANA AMED, other lives.

Meanwhile her curiosity as a musician were on working process, other careers took their own dynamics on AMED professional history.

Between 1983 and 1990 successfully studied SPANISH, LITERATURE AND LATIN, got a Master degree on CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE ON SPANISH LANGUAGE CRITIC, and also attended to Literature Seminars and Writing Workshops.

Fimlmaking, the most attractive life for the next life, according to AMED, influenced her on each and every language and definitively, many of the songs of LIMBO were composed and brought to light by movies watched over and over again.

During two years she attended the UC, University of Cinema, to the DIRECTING CAREER, and got the chance to develop herself on the movie industry on several fields for many years. From 1990 to 1998 she worked as producer for many TV

networks and foreign documentaries production companies, remarking her role

as assistant to Niv Fichman, Canadian producer of the Academy Award winner "The Red Violin"; also formed part of the film team of Argentine acclaimed director Leonardo Favio on "Gatica, El Mono"; "El Lado Oscuro del Corazón", directed by Eliseo Subiela; and "Corazón Iluminado" ("Foolish Heart") by Academy Award nominee Héctor Babenco, having an invaluable access as an artist to all these prestigious directors.

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.