Magnolia Memoir
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Magnolia Memoir

| SELF | AFTRA

| SELF | AFTRA
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Music

The best kept secret in music

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"Bill Bentley - Sonic Boomers"

How many times do you hear someone from the first moment and know they are going to be around for a long, long time. Mela Lee, lead singer for Magnolia Memoir, comes walking slowly out of a foggy alley with a voice that sounds like she has lived several lifetimes, and is still discovering new ways to thrill us. There will be the inevitable comparisons to Billie Holiday, which are fair enough, but Lee is all her own person, and puts so much feeling into this music that it can be slightly voyeuristic just listening. There is such a hushed quality of deep intimacy in something like “When I Think of You” that you will swear you’re listening to a time-honored classic. Even next to an alluring version of Billie Holiday’s “Don’t Explain,” Mela Lee and Magnolia Memoir create an ambience that conjures up greatness. Keyboard player Alexander Burke, who also is the prime composer along with Lee of the originals, keeps the backing sound to a minimum, wisely letting the vocals take the listener into the singer’s world. Marcus Graf’s trumpet is the band’s main lead instrument, and those moments when he steps up front make such a strong statement it seems like we’re following him into another era. Clearly, from the name of the group to their instrumentation and even the songs they write, Magnolia Memoir is out to evoke a specific world. But the way they wisely stay away from nostalgia shows their talent and imagination, and lets it be known that it is only a matter of time before they make their mark. Mela Lee: remember that name.
— 07/20/2009 - www.SonicBoomers.com


"Donald Vega (Wynton Marsalis Band)"

“Reminiscent of Billie Holiday...Mela’s voice, phrasing and lyrics are captivating. Alexander Burke’s arrangements and performance are beyond musical. Instantly accessible and complex all at once, Magnolia Memoir is a wonderfully perfect album.” - Online


"Jonathan Widran (Downbeat)"

"Sometimes it’s just a matter of good timing, when one bears witness to a watershed moment and catches a cool glimpse of a stellar future. It’s an exclusive, exciting and unexpected “I was there” experience. For a few hundred hip, progressive and open-minded pop, R&B and jazz fans in Los Angeles, that moment came in early June 2009 when Magnolia Memoir made their truly unforgettable live debut at one of the city’s hottest venues, Largo at the Coronet—and opened the door to a realm that lead singer and songwriter Mela Lee playfully dubs “jazz for a new generation.”

Fashioning a vibe that is both traditional and contemporary, brimming with youthful pop and bits of blues and edgy soul, coolly structured, yet vibrant and experimental, Magnolia Memoir features the exceptional talents of Alexander Burke (piano, vibes, organ), Gordon Bash (upright bass, ukulele), Marcus Graf (trumpet, flugelhorn, clave) and Steve Hass (drums)—who join Lee for a journey to a sacred but gritty joint. Imagine an old speakeasy, where Billie Holiday meets Tom Waits at 3 a.m. Conversation and bootleg liquor flows, the lights die down and only the coolest cats are still hanging out.

The sultry, charismatic Lee takes the stage, her ethereal, powerfully emotional voice that covers a five-octave range, brings a hush to the room and leaves the audience spellbound. Fans like Grant-Lee Phillips and Margaret Cho are regulars here, referring to Lee as “Baby Holiday, what Billie would be if her life went right” or a “sober Amy Winehouse.” She exudes the soulful honesty and frailty of Lady Day, the rawness of Etta James and the sweetness of Judy Garland. The band, led by musical director and arranger Burke, brings the joint to its feet, playing with cool abandon.

This is Magnolia Memoir"...
- online


"Margaret Cho - Comedienne"

“...this album begs to be heard. Magnolia Memoir is an instant classic. Mela Lee’s voice and lyrics are stunning, and altogether unforgettable.” - Online


Discography

Magnolia Memoir

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Bio

MAGNOLIA MEMOIR

Sometimes it's just a matter of good timing, when one bears witness to a watershed moment and catches a cool glimpse of a stellar future. It's an exclusive, exciting and unexpected "I was there" experience. For a few hundred hip, progressive and open-minded pop, R&B and jazz fans in Los Angeles, that moment came in early June 2009 when Magnolia Memoir made their truly unforgettable live debut at one of the city's hottest venues, Largo at the Coronet, and opened the door to a realm that lead singer and songwriter Mela Lee playfully dubs "jazz for a new generation".

Fashioning a vibe that is both traditional and contemporary, brimming with youthful pop and bits of blues and edgy soul, coolly structured, yet vibrant and experimental, Magnolia Memoir features the exceptional talents of Alexander Burke (piano, vibes, organ), Gordon Bash (upright bass, ukulele), Marcus Graf (trumpet, flugelhorn, clave) and Steve Hass (drums)-who join Lee for a journey to a sacred but gritty joint. Imagine an old speakeasy, where Billie Holiday meets Tom Waits at 3 a.m. Conversation and bootleg liquor flows, the lights die down and only the coolest cats are still hanging out.

The sultry, charismatic Lee takes the stage, her ethereal, powerfully emotional voice that covers a five-octave range, brings a hush to the room and leaves the audience spellbound. Fans like Grant-Lee Phillips and Margaret Cho are regulars here, referring to Lee as "Baby Holiday", what Billie would be if her life went right or a "sober Amy Winehouse". She exudes the soulful honesty and frailty of Lady Day, the rawness of Etta James and the sweetness of Judy Garland. The band, led by musical director and arranger Burke, brings the joint to its feet, playing with cool abandon.

This is Magnolia Memoir.

For Lee, whose influences include Helen Merrill and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as Annie Lennox and k.d. lang, it harkens back to a time when jazz was relevant, accessible, fresh and of the moment, when ties get loosened and the party begins."

Burke, a film and TV composer, co-wrote two vocal tracks on the band's self-titled debut album ("Unexpected Bliss", "Broken Cup") and composed the disc's lone instrumental, the moody, trumpet-laced ballad "Last Night In New York". In 2002 he became one of the youngest music directors in the history of Second City Chicago and continues to tour with the national company when time permits. His musical repertoire spans jazz to punk, pop and rock and his influences are equally diverse including Thelonious Monk, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel and David Byrne. He brings a definitive energy to the mix reminding Magnolia Memoir's growing fan base: "Jazz was the punk music of its time. It was bold and 'out there' taking chances long before it was a conservative, suit-and-tie affair. Combine that with the wonderful musicianship of the rest of the band and Mela, who is the most interesting and tasteful singer I have ever had the pleasure to work with, and you have Magnolia Memoir". To borrow a song title from the album, it's"Unexpected Bliss".

Magnolia Memoir opens with "Not with Me Now",a dreamy, chill jazz exploration punctuated with a vibes and trumpet interlude that gives way to "Unexpected Bliss". a soaring, funky jazz/blues exultation. The disc's lone cover, is a sparse, elegant arrangement of "Don't Explain", an obscure Holiday track recorded by Helen Merrill in 1954, with Clifford Brown, and arranged by Quincy Jones. It is a nod to the first jazz LP Lee received from her mother, and one she still listens to regularly. One of the 11-track collection's most lovely cuts is the subtly swinging "Broken Cup", a song about accepting love for the moment even if it may not last. "When I Think of You" is an intimate expression of passion that's haunting and bittersweet while "Dangerous Kiss" is all brass and sass, a spunky and rollicking blues jam.

Lee taps into her Southern roots with the New Orleans-flavored "Every Song Begins with You", a dedication to her to her father, who died when she was a child. It's an uplifting declaration of the endurance of a loved one's spirit in our lives. The set closes with the intimate "My Heart", a brief but memorable tune that captures the complexities of the romantic human soul.

* * * * *

Magnolia Memoir came together when Lee and Burke met through a mutual friend. Though Burke was not interested in working with a vocalist initially, he had an immediate change of heart the moment he heard Lee sing.

"Most musicians don't like to work with singers because they tend to sing at you or around you," he explains, "but Mela plays and interplays with the band and the audience beautifully. I loved her mix of traditional and experimental sensibilities. After that first meeting I had to work with her."

Lee had already penned most of the material for Magnolia Memoir and was looking to create an ensemble rather than simply have a backup band. She and Burke had