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Joan Gannij
Since: 2010 | Position: Contributor | Location: Amsterdam | Page Views: 68,022 
About Me
Joan is a writer, photographer, and lyricist.
I've been digging jazz since I was 14 years old and got my first FM radio. I was tuned into KBCA and KLJH in LA, never realizing that less than a decade later I would be a radio DJ on pop and jazz stations in LA and San Diego, as well as a correspondent for Downbeat. When I got my first stereo set with two small box speakers (the very basic G-E model), my Uncle Sel sent me a box of LPs culled from his impressive music collection. All of Monk's recordings on Riverside, a variety of Charlie Parker, Mingus, Eric Dolphy, and a selection of Django Reinhardt. After that, it was Straight Ahead, no detours, and I would never listen to the Beach Boys again. My mother sneaked me into the jazz clubs on the Sunset Strip: Mocambo and the Interlude were my favorites: after listening to June Christy, Chris Conner, Carmen, Julie, and Abbey, I was set on being a jazz singer. But my voice was meant for late night FM radio and not smoky jazz clubs. These days I write songs for jazz and pop singers. My first was the title track of Denise Jannah's Blue Note recording (her third!), The Madness of our Love, which won the equivalent of a Dutch Grammy in 2001, and they commissioned me to write the liner notes! The jazz clubs aren't smoky these days. I don't have to lie about my age to get in, and I still have an FM radio voice.
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This page was last updated on 2025-06-07.
