Elegant M

Meet Elegant M. So, how does a group like this get started?
Marieke and Allan first met in the summer of 2009. They played together a few times and discovered they liked each other’s skills and style. Marieke had been performing locally with various jazz pianists and groups for the past few years. As a classical singer, she had her vocal skills down and was enjoying learning the jazz repertoire and developing her own jazz vocal style. Allan had moved from Vail, Colorado to Eugene with his wife in 2007. Allan was well established as a pianist/singer/composer with his own recording studio and several published CD’s of original music to his name. He has played piano literally around the world.
Allan met Whitney at a jazz event. Whitney is a Eugene native who had recently returned home after performing and recording in New York City. She currently teaches at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. She and Allan discovered they had experiences in common, especially playing for cruise ships. Allan had an opportunity to play a jazz gig with Whitney right at the time he and Marieke were thinking of expanding their duo to a trio. Allan suggested Whitney come in and play a rehearsal.
That first rehearsal as a trio was electric! As we began to brainstorm what we coud do and how we could evolve, the idea of adding a drummer came up. Whitney immediately suggested Mark Powers. She knew him from Salem, both through teaching and performing arenas. Mark brought a fabulous energy to the group, and Elegant M was formed. They are currently playing local events.