An enthusiastic fan once told Anandi, “If I bring a date to your show, your music will make her fall in love.” With a name that means ‘bliss’ in Sanskrit, one could easily infer that Anandi was born to create music that is capable of putting the listener in a very pleasant state indeed, conjuring sounds and images pleasing to the senses. One journalist describes “A rich, dusky voice, poignant lyricism and just a touch of sadness to make the blues go down right.” Anandi’s special brand of contemplative soul contains a mix of wisdom and poetry rarely encountered. Whether she’s singing jazz standards or her own original songs, this Portland-based vocalist projects a special mood, mesmerizing the listener with a spacious and thoughtful approach to every song.
The daughter of two musicians, Anandi began her career as a guitar-picking singer-songwriter, solidly based in the Boston and New York City acoustic scene. During this time she released her first album, Melody of Question. Her next two self-released albums, The Mirror and Forever Days received airplay at college radio across the country. In 2001 she returned to her hometown, Portland, and to her first love: jazz. Developing a repertoire of carefully picked classics, she has chosen material that demonstrates the strength of her voice, while retaining the same serenity and meaningful expression that is the mark of her original material.
On her latest album release, The Song Is You, Anandi offers a collection of jazz tunes past and present, weaving contemporary selections (Wayne Shorter’s Footprints, Esperanza Spalding’s Precious) with lesser known standards (My Buddy), old soldiers (Night In Tunisia) and her own original composition (Forgiveness). Anandi’s lovely vocals are enhanced by a generous dose of great piano-playing by longtime collaborator and co-producer Vince Frates, along with the superb saxophonist David Evans, acoustic bassist Dave Captein and drummer Dave Muldoon. Anandi’s dad, Nick Gefroh, contributes some swinging percussion on the Brazilian tune, A Felicidade. Take your time listening to Anandi and her unique approach to jazz vocals, as she draws you into her world, slowly and inevitably, her silky voice bringing you into the blissful state promised by her name.