Meredith d'Ambrosio and I have been pals for nearly 15 years, when I first interviewed her for JazzWax. Truth be told, we go back even further, to the days when I was in Boston at college in the 1970s and she was performing around town. Though we never crossed paths in Boston, sadly, I knew from the moment I heard her voice on It's Your Dance that we must have met. Today, only albums by Meredith and Steely Dan take me back to my college years. But while Steely Dan stirs up memories of campus friends, Meredith reminds me of me, alone, on blustery fall afternoons, my thick pea-coat collar up-turned emerging from the "T" subway in Harvard Square to buy jazz records at the Harvard Coop. [Photo above of Meredith D’Ambrosio at Boston's Scullers in 1996 by Alan Nahigian]
I can't tell you why Meredith's voice is like Proust's madeleines for me. Meredith would tell you it's because we've always known each other. I would tend to agree. For me, hearing Meredith's voice on albums transports me back in time to solitary walks on Boston's Fenway, sitting on a bench along the Charles River, a snowy trek along Charles Street in Beacon Hill, or just staring at the John Hancock Tower, which is best viewed on days when an emotional sky is reflected on the building's highly reflective, massive glass facade. It's something in her voice.
A month or so ago, Meredith sent me a French TV segment on her from 1988 that was taped in Collias, France, after a 1988 performance in Avignon, which also is featured in the video. She asked if I would post it to my YouTube channel so all could enjoy. By the way, if you're in Boston in June, Meredith will be giving a rare vocal performance on Sunday, June 12, at the Zuzu Music Room in Cambridge, Mass., from 7 to 9:30 p.m. She'll be backed only by Chris Taylor on piano. I'm hoping someone will video her and put it up on YouTube. For ticket information, send an email to [email protected]. More info appears on this site here. And don't forget, Meredith has a new album out—Sometime Ago (Sunnyside) here. [Album cover painting above by Meredith d'Ambrosio]
Here's the mini-doc of Meredith in 1988. If someone out there can clean up the image and sound a bit with software, please email me...
To read my 2009 JazzWax interview with Meredith, go here (Remember, this is Part 1 of five parts; the link to subsequent parts can be found by scrolling up above the red date.)
