Melissa Sigler
Gig Seeker Pro

Melissa Sigler

| SELF

| SELF
Band Blues Jazz

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Music City Blues Society"

Louisiana-bred Melissa Sigler has recently relocated to Music City to further her writing and performing career. She certainly has a leg upon the competition with the release of her latest CD, "Secrets." Produced by Grammy-winning Harold Cowart (who does double duty as bassist), this CD is a fine taste of jazz-inflected blues from a true-fine-piano-pounding-red-hot mama!!
Raised in the Lake Charles, LA, area, that also was Janis Joplin's stomping grounds, Melissa possesses that rare vocal ability to go from a purr to a growl in a heartbeat! And, "Secrets" is full of songs about love and sex from a gal who's not shy about saying what's on her mind!
Melissa is joined by Randy Carpenter on drums, Bob Henderson on guitar and sax, the aforementioned Mr. Cowart on bass, Lucille Ridges on slide guitar, and Gina Forsyth on fiddle. Together, they make a good gumbo stirred up nice by Melissa's rollicking 88's and hot vocals.
Anyone who's ever been in or out of love can relate to these songs. A lover who just can't seem to commit makes one wonder if he wouldn't just "Be Happy Blue." The slyly-sexy "Light On In The Kitchen" is just in case the lover who just left wants to come back. On "Poor Me," Melissa is glad she got rid of Mr. Wrong (or IS she?), so she can do what she really wants. And, on the rockin' "I Know When I'm Left," she can see the writing on the wall when "it's over."
A fine sophomore effort from a clever, gifted writer and singer, Melissa Sigler can be spotted in various places 'round town on Writer's Nights. Catch her if you can, or pick up a copy of "Secrets," and---ENJOY!!! Until next time....Sheryl and Don Crow.
- Music City Blues Society - Nashville TN


"Nashville Scene"

Melissa Sigler, like Marcia Ball, is an R&B singer-pianist from Cajun country whose throaty alto can travel from growling confessions to mellow ballads with ease. - Nashville Scene


"OffBeat Magazine"

"You're not fooling with a half-cocked kid," warns Melissa Sigler in the lyrics of "Be Happy Blue," from her second album Secrets. And indeed, Sigler, who's been touted as Louisiana's answer to Marcia Ball, has the piano chops, the deep-throated microphone presence, and the world-weary songwriter stance that distinguishes her from anyone's idea of a neophyte.
The Marcia Ball comparison is just a way of describing her as a distaff blues pianist, because Sigler has a style all her own. One that's still emerging, but a fascinating one nonetheless. The sound on Secrets is-fittingly, given the title-darker and quieter than her year 2000 debut, Easy Way Out. The entire sound (a fairly straight blues-rock) is airbrushed slightly, so much so that even a rocking fiddle track like "Zydeco" seems cushioned, yet there's an urgency bubbling under it all that Sigler's vocals and lyrics are left to deliver to the top. And as a member of the Louisiana Songwriters' Association who hosts a songwriters' night in her native Lake Charles, Melissa has no problem telling you exactly what's on her mind. The cheerily ironic "Poor Me" is a laundry list of things she'll get to do now that her love has gone, while the title track makes love sound like the dirtiest, most shameful of revelations.

Sigler's piano gets dwarfed in the mix sometimes, and the regional color gets a little too blinding on eager-to-please travelogues like "Zydeco" and "Back To The Bayou," but that's a rather common failing for such an uncommon singer/songwriter, and she demonstrates every ability to cast out cliche's when she's at full power, so that problem will likely work itself out in time. Melissa Sigler may be a secret herself to most of the music industry, but if she keeps traveling this dark road so well, she won't be one for long.
R. Fontenot - OffBeat Magazine


"Dirty Linen Review"

Melissa Sigler Secrets [Louisiana Red Hot Records LRHR 1148 ] It's easy to see Melissa Sigler eventually joining the class of Louisiana's bawdy mamas. The smoky alto's pipes are gutsy enough to pin ya' against the wall, and she can outgrowl the mangiest pit bull. With Sigler pumping away on the keys, her sophomore album finds her extending her jazzy-bluesy material and taking a few chances along the way. Gina Forsyth adds some arty fiddle ("Back to the Bayou," "Zydeco"); the instrumental "2000 Blues" is a torching closer featuring Lucille Ridges' fiery guitar passages and Sigler's capable accompaniment. Still, Sigler's strength lies in her ability to cast whatever mood she wills upon her audience, whether it's beckoning seduction or tranquil harmony. Her songs can be funny, with lines like "I don't have to be nice when your parents call" ("Poor Me"), or simply rollickingly enjoyable, such as "Save a Place for Me in Texas." Here the loungy live feeling is never lost. (Dan Willging) - Dirty Linen


"Blues Matters! UK"

Louisiana Red Hot Records. 12 tracks. Playing time 53.02.
I think a bit of lady lust is needed on these pages. Well here’s ‘Melissa Sigler’ coming to seduce you with her sultry and sexy vocals. Melissa is a Blues pianist from Louisiana, producing enchanting ‘pop’ tracks with a firm footing in the Blues and a jazzy/swing edge.
A singer/songwriter the songs throughout this album exude sex, lust and wanting through the lyrics, Melissa’s enchanting and rich voice, and the soft gentle playing from her band. This is particularly evident on tracks like, ‘Be Happy Blues’ and ‘Light On In The Kitchen’. There’s a lot of ‘Christine McVie’ (Fleetwood Mac) in Melissa’s songs, think ‘Rumours’-era ‘Songbird’, ‘Oh Daddy’ and you get a good idea of Melissa Sigler’s style and output. The album is packed full of emotion and feeling and when Melissa hits the right buttons she can be very hard to resist...... A red Hot Mama with an album that sizzles. D.Howells
- Blues Matters!


"Blues In Britian"

BLUES IN BRITAIN Magazine April/May 2004

Melissa Sigler is a blues/soul/jazz chanteuse and keyboard player from Lake Charles, Louisiana, whose simmering talent is worthy of exposure to a global blues market, something that her latest release, given the right distribution channels, has the ability to do.

Ratings 8/8
Mick Rainsford

- Blues In Britain Magazine


"RootsTown"

Translated quotes:

“Her music is easily comparable to that of Maria Muldaur, Marcia Ball and Tracy Nelson.”

“She has a good and strong voice, probably sparking when heard live.”

“Anybody that loves New Orleans music, comes to the right address with Melissa Sigler”


Melissa Sigler – Secrets – Louisiana Red Hot LRHR 1148
Melissa Sigler is afkomstig uit New Orleans, dit is haar tweede cd en ze speelt piano blues, jazzy blues en New Orleans getinte funky music. Haar muziek zit in het verlengde van Maria Muldaur, Marcia Ball en Tracy Nelson. Het nummer Zydeco doet me aan Lisa Haley denken, pure New Orleans en één van de hoogtepunten van deze cd. Andere knappe songs zijn Light On In The Kitchen en Freight Train Blues, beide trage ‘late night’ blues, maar ze kan eveneens een gemene boogie uit haar piano schudden. Luister maar naar I Know When I’m Left. Ze beschikt over een zeer goede en krachtige stem, die live nogal wat vonken moet geven. De muzikanten die op deze cd meespelen zijn mij volslagen onbekend, maar mogen uitgebreid hun ding doen waarbij vooral gitarist Bob Henderson me uitstekend is bevallen. Wie van New Orleans muziek houdt, zit bij deze Melissa Sigler aan het juiste adres. (Ben Van-hoegaerden)
- RootsTown Free Music e-zine


Discography

CHANGE MY HEART - 13 originals. released 2007.
THE PAINT SISTERS - scheduled release early 2007,
produced by John Carter Cash.
FOUR ACES Blues Compilation - released 2002 on Wild Oats Records
SECRETS - released 2001 on Louisiana Red Hot Records;
EASY WAY OUT - released 1999 on PenWoman Records

Photos

Bio

Melissa Sigler ignited the Bayou Country of Louisiana releasing EASY WAY OUT in 1999, winning “Best Emerging Blues Artist” Award from OffBeat Magazine's Best of the Beat Awards 2001 in New Orleans, and receiving numerous songwriting awards in Blues and Jazz categories. She released SECRETS on Louisiana Red Hot Records and expanded her touring from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest US and Europe, Australia, Japan, Singapore and Guam. A regular performer at the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans and Bayou Blues Fest in SW LA, she has opened for Louisiana Blues Women Marva Wright and Marcia Ball. Melissa's powerful, sultry vocals highlight her blues performance with her piano playing and songwriting.

Career Achievements
• Recipient of the Best Emerging Blues Artist award from OffBeat Magazine’s Best of the Beat Awards.
• Winner of Music City Blues Society Regional Blues Competition in the solo category to compete at the 2007 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN.
• Nominated for Best Female Blues Vocalist and Best Blues Keyboard by Music City Blues Society.
• Secrets produced by the Grammy award winner and multi-platinum bassist Harold Cowart at Bluff Road Recording Studio in Baton Rouge, LA.
• Six tracks produced by John Carter Cash at The Cabin preparing for the next album release.

International Performances
• Armed Forces Entertainment Tour of Japan, Singapore, Guam and Diego Garcia, 2006
• Blues At Bridgetown Festival & Street Party, Bridgetown, Australia, 2005 four solo performances on keyboard
• International Blues Nights Festival, Olsztyn, Poland, 2003 (The Red Hot Blues Mamas )

National Festival Performances in Primary Markets :
• International Blues Challenge, Memphis TN
• Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival, Helena, Arkansas (King Bisquit)
• Featured Artist at Virginia Highlands Festival, Abingdon, VA
• Featured performer at LEGENDS OF THE BLUES festival in Nashville, TN
• Music City Blues Society Spring Blues Festival, Nashville, Tennessee
• French Quarter Festival, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Bayou Blues & Zydeco Festival; Krewe of Illusions Mardi Gras Ball; Contraband Days; Lake Charles, Louisiana
• Recreation Plantation Music Festival; Texas Pride Festival; Hill Country Music Festival; Austin, Texas
• Houston Downtown Street Festival, Houston, Texas
• Mississippi Gulf Coast Blues & Heritage Festival, Pascagoula, Mississippi
• Blue Crab Festival, Palatka, Florida
• Krewe de Charlie Sioux Mardi Gras Festival, Sioux City, Iowa

many more....