Natural Selection

Joannamelas.com Infusing smooth jazz with latin, pop, funk and soul and influenced by her gospel music background, talented singer-songwriter-entertainer, Joanna Melas, has now released her debut album 'A Natural Selection' featuring her three new originals, 'Danca Da Chuva', 'We Had No Cares' and 'Such As These' plus seven cleverly arranged covers. The variety of tunes alone on this album will convince anyone of her ability to adapt. From the dance floor of 'Danca Da Chuva' and 'We Had No Cares' (originals by Joanna) to the smoky jazz club in 'The Look of Love', to the hauntingly beautiful spiritual folk tune 'Such as These' (another original by Joanna), the heart stopping brassy shuffle of 'Fly Too High' and the straight blues/rock of 'First We Take Manhattan' - Joanna eases through this 'A Natural Selection' with poise and flair. With a beautiful blend of passion, excitement and technical brilliance her rich soulful voice soars effortlessly over complex and mature arrangements transporting you from one song to the next on a journey of musical landscapes. If this first offering is anything to go by, buyers will be eagerly awaiting any future recording by Joanna Melas. Having cultivated a successful career as an accomplished singer and entertainer, one of the busiest on the Sydney circuit, Joanna arrived at the recording studio with plans to release an album of the covers most requested at her gigs. However working on the album unleashed the songwriter within and Joanna revisited some of her earlier compositions, including Such As These. Creative energies taking over, she was inspired to write again and Joanna wrote Danca da Chuva and We Had No Cares. Recording took place over three months, with around 113 hours spent at Style Music Studios in The Hunter Valley. Programming and mixing by the very gifted Phil Tweed. Guitars were played by Phil Tweed, Dieter Kleemann and Joanna Melas. Phil also played piano, keys, bass, drums and percussion. Craig Walters was on tenor saxaphone, Stewart Kirwan on muted trumpet and flugelhorn, Leigh Sherringham on trombone. Each track was co-produced and co-arranged by Joanna and Phil and then mastered by Oscar Gaona at Studios 301 in Sydney. Zack Daggy (Music Journalist) writes: quot;Joanna Melas is a singer with a voice that is made for the stage. Her album A Natural Selection features an eclectic collection of stage favorites and originals. The sounds range from Latin beats to a sweet serenades, from reggae rhythms to sultry blues. There is something for everyone on this album. It is a vacation for the ears. First and foremost, Melas's voice is utterly amazing. With her cover of the song quot;Love Letters,quot; her vocals are as smooth as velvet. It's sexy, it's sultry and most of all it's captivating. Melas radiates with charisma. To be a great singer on stage, it takes more than just hitting all the right notes. To use a cliché, you have to have quot;it,quot; and Melas definitely has it! Just give one listening to her original song quot;We Had No Caresquot; and you will see. It's Latin flair and Melas's rich vocals complement each other beautifully. It has the perfect blend of relaxing melodies and energizing rhythms. Her song quot;Danca Da Chuvaquot; could very well be described the same. Melas seems the most in her element when singing songs that are rich with a Latin influence. In fact, Melas at times sounds quite a bit like Gloria Estefan. She has the same instant likability. She is a star in the making. Since the majority of this