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Jazz Wench
Indaba Music Women's Music Summit
Teri Harllee King
Teri aka JazzWench designs fine jewelry by day and reports on women in jazz by night.Singer-songwriter Montez began her musical career at age six, joining the world renowned children's choir, El Coro de Ninos de San Juan. She studied voice and violin, and later taught herself to play guitar. Still a child, Montez even won the attention of famed producer Full Force, with whom she worked until 2000. At the age of fourteen, Montez began playing the New York City open mic scene, sharing the stage with legendary songwriter Chip Taylor, and opened shows for Matt Nathanson / Jessie Bailyn and Kaki King / The Mountain Goats. Over the years she's honed her songwriting skills and vocal style and eventually she released her debut EP, Of Tears and Honey on Radian Records.
Currently, Montez performs with a group that consists of amazing session players who dominate the late night NYC music scene. I love her Kickstart video: a rallying cry to help her prove the entrenched music establishment wrong in their judgment of her as "unmarketable." Actually, that judgment—which no doubt feels like a curse to her now—is actually a blessing, as it raises her to the ranks of many legendary artists whose platinum records were hard fought and originally denounced as unmarketable. I'd like to see her persevere. Check out her entry, "Red Moon," at Indaba Music and her own FaceBook page.
Like I said, it's good to be back at All About Jazz—without a doubt the best jazz site on the internet! I can't wait for you to hear Kaela, Allison, and Sonia—such promising talent! I hope to hear more of them in the future, and, of course, I hope to hear some of their jazzier recordings as they get the opportunity to record them, as that's where their talents will really shine to their fullest. It's a delight to hear such fresh, unspoiled talent. And kudos go out to Indaba Music for putting together this opportunity, and their sponsors for helping—especially Dean Markley for enabling at least one woman to attend this first annual Indaba Music Women's Music Summit who may not otherwise be able to. And my gratitude to the wonderful, hardworking editors of All About Jazz—Michael Ricci and John Kelman—for pushing the deadline to get news of this opportunity to AAJ readers in time to enter the scholarship contest!
My best wishes go out to all the women at AAJ who read this in time to win the scholarship, as well as to those who've already entered!
