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Molly Ringwald

Long before she became known as a Golden Globe-nominated actress, Ringwald was singing. She started performing with her pianist father’s jazz band when she was three and she has never stopped.

“I had quite the musical repertoire,” she recalls with a laugh. “It was pretty much traditional jazz but there was some Bessie Smith and Helen Kane, the original Betty Boop.” Talk with Ringwald for even a short amount of time and it’s clear her grasp of jazz and its history comes from a lifelong study of the form and the great singers who inspired her, including Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Blossom Dearie and Susannah McCorkle.

“Blossom Dearie was the only one I got to see live. Susannah’s recordings have really influenced me. I think she was really special in her gifts of interpretation and how much humanity she brought to the songs.” However, the time wasn’t right until now. Paul Mazursky cast the then 13-year old in “Tempest,” and for the next few decades, her public focus was on acting, as she starred in such films as “Fresh Horses,” “Betsy’s Wedding,” “King Lear,” “The Pick-Up Artist,” and, of course, her trio of films with John Hughes, “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Pretty In Pink.” “Once I started to act I felt like I had to make that decision,” she says. Plus, during the ‘80s, “I didn’t think there was a place for the music that I was interested in,” she says. “There was no Madeline Peyroux, Diana Krall, Norah Jones… I didn’t feel like anybody was going to listen to the kind of music that I wanted to sing. I thought, I’ll just keep singing with my dad and focus on my acting.”

Ringwald recorded Except Sometimes with Peter Smith, who also produced, on piano, Clayton Cameron on drums, Allen Mezquida on alto saxophone, and Trevor Ware on bass. Together, they put a new spin on such jazz and musical standards as “The Very Thought of You,” “I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes),” “I’ll Take Romance,” “Sooner or Later,” and “Where Is Love.” “It was really hard to narrow it down,” she says, of selecting the album’s 10 tracks. “It was basically songs that I felt connected to and songs that I felt we played together well as a band. As much as I love traditional jazz, my real interest is more modern, more from the Great American Song Book.”

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Molly Ringwald: Redefining Her Roots In Jazz

Read "Molly Ringwald: Redefining Her Roots In Jazz" reviewed by Belinda Ware


Molly Ringwald currently stars in the role of Anne Juergens on The Secret Life of the American Teenager on the ABC Family Channel. Her role is a nice fit for the Golden Globe -nominated actress, who became a household name as a teen film actress referred to as “your favorite teenage crush."Her popularity attained to star status as the result of several memorable film roles starring as one of the “brat pack" stars alongside Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, ...

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Event

Molly Ringwald Joins The Columbus Jazz Orchestra In "Don't You Forget About Me" (feb. 6-9)

Molly Ringwald Joins The Columbus Jazz Orchestra In "Don't You Forget About Me" (feb. 6-9)

Source: Scott Vezdos

Columbus, OH: Under the direction of world-renowned band leader and trumpet virtuoso Byron Stripling, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra (CJO) continues to break new ground while honoring the rich heritage of America’s classical music – jazz. In “Don’t You Forget About Me” (February 6-9 at the Southern Theatre), everyone’s favorite former teenager joins the CJO in a salute to the Great American Songbook. From the big screen to the stage, Molly Ringwald has done it all. Making a name for herself ...

Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Molly Ringwald, Grand Marquis, "Great Guitars 2013," Hot Club of Cowtown, Bob Sheppard, Reunion Jazz Band, and More

Jazz This Week: Molly Ringwald, Grand Marquis, "Great Guitars 2013," Hot Club of Cowtown, Bob Sheppard, Reunion Jazz Band, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

In this slightly early edition of StLJN's weekly highlights post, we find a lineup of jazz and creative music performances that includes a movie star-turned-singer, plus a variety of musical styles ranging from jump blues and Western swing to straight-ahead jazz to fusion, both electric and acoustic. Let's see what's happening in the next few days.... Tonight, the aforementioned movie star, singer and actress Molly Ringwald (pictured), comes to town for the first of two evening at Jazz at the ...

Performance / Tour

Molly Ringwald to Perform Tuesday, May 14 and Wednesday, May 15 at Jazz at the Bistro

Molly Ringwald to Perform Tuesday, May 14 and Wednesday, May 15 at Jazz at the Bistro

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Actress, author, and now singer Molly Ringwald is coming to St. Louis to perform on Tuesday, May 14 and Wednesday, May 15 at Jazz at the Bistro. The star of hit films including The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Sixteen Candles, Ringwald (pictured) has just released her first album as a jazz vocalist, Except Sometimes, on Concord Records. Except Sometimes includes Ringwald's takes on standards such as “The Very Thought Of You," “I Get Along Without You Very Well," ...

Recording

Actress, Author And Singer Molly Ringwald To Release Jazz CD

Source: Muse Media

CELEBRATED ACTRESS AND AUTHOR MOLLY RINGWALD TO RELEASE DEBUT CD, “EXCEPT...SOMETIMES,” APRIL 9th_VIA CONCORD RECORDS Critically-Acclaimed Actress, Author and Singer Signs To Concord Records Los Angeles, California. “Except...Sometimes,” the debut CD from actress and author Molly Ringwald, will be released by Concord Records on April 9th, 2013. An homage to the Great American Songbook, Ringwald has crafted a carefully chosen selection of nine standards which she caps off with her take on The Breakfast Club classic, “Don’t You (Forget About ...

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Career

Molly Ringwald Joins Gail Boyd Artist Management

Molly Ringwald Joins Gail Boyd Artist Management

Source: Michael Ricci

Gail Boyd Artist Management is very pleased to announce the addition of singer/songwriter/actress Molly Ringwald to it's roster. Molly Ringwald has always surrounded herself with a love of culture and good taste. A true renaissance woman, she has been surrounded by music, theater, film, and literary pursuits her whole life. She was introduced to jazz by her father, a jazz pianist in Northern California. In fact, she sang on an album that he produced when she was three years old. ...

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