Vocalist Mandy Kemp To Release Debut EP, Produced By Jazz Icon Jane Monheit Singer Igniting A Second Career With “Firecracker” Release

(Press release)

Los Angeles, California, March 13, 2019 – Emerging L.A. vocalist Mandy Kemp will make her recording debut later this month, with an album produced by Grammy-nominated jazz singer, Jane Monheit. Kemp’s 6-song EP will be available for streaming and download beginning March 29, 2019 on all major music sites, including iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify, and Bandcamp, as well as on her website, www.mandykemp.com. Pre-orders of the album can be placed through iTunes or Bandcamp beginning March 18, 2019.  

After generating funding for the album through a successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, Kemp recorded her album earlier this year at Big City Studios in Granada Hills, CA, with a band comprised of some of the best players in the L.A. jazz scene: pianist Andy Langham, bassist Jonathan Flaugher, guitarist Will Brahm, vibraphonist Nick Mancini, and drummer Rick Montalbano.

The Jazz-centric album covers songs from both in and outside the genre, in fresh arrangements that are infused with flavors of R&B, Soul, Funk, and Pop. Listeners can expect the smooth, soulful, sultry and refined vocals that Sheryl Aronson of The Hollywood 360 described as “gorgeous”, and bold interpretations that showcase Kemp’s dynamic, “firecracker” personality and passion for the craft.

The singer’s story endears her to her audience as much as her vocals. Though she received training and accolades in multiple genres of music through her teenage years, she abandoned plans for a career in the arts at 18, choosing instead to pursue what she felt to be a “more practical” career in corporate marketing. 17 years later, unsatisfied by life in the corporate world, she decided to revisit the creative “path-not-taken” and moved to Los Angeles to build a new career in the music industry. As she began to forge her new career in the Los Angeles music scene, Kemp discovered a passion for one of the few genres she had not yet explored: Jazz. She sought training from some of the artists she most admired, including lauded Seattle vocalist Greta Matassa and her now-mentor and album’s producer, jazz icon Jane Monheit.

Recognizing the powerful combination of passion, drive, and talent in Kemp, Monheit was enthusiastic about producing the emerging artist’s first album.  “It’s going to be a great introduction to the recording world for her,” Monheit says. She confidently adds, “Mandy is going to make her dream come true.” For anyone who longs to take the leap of a career change, start a new chapter, and/or revisit an abandoned creative pursuit, Mandy Kemp’s rapidly growing success and joyful presence provide heartwarming inspiration.

Kemp will celebrate the release of her debut EP in a dynamic album release show at Upstairs at Vitello’s in Studio City, CA on Thursday, March 21 at 7:30 pm. The show will feature genre-bending arrangements from the album and will include appearances by special guest performers. Tickets to the “Firecracker” Album Release concert are on sale now at: http://www.vitellosrestaurant.com/supperclub