AVA ARENELLA began with a passion for All Things Vintage . Including, but not limited to: music, fashion, design, film...and just about anything French. Most days you could find Ava treasure-hunting in a thrift store, listening to scratchy records or curled up in front of a movie from Hollywood's Golden Era . Most nights, you could find Ava dreaming in black and white of Midcentury Manhattan : smoke-filled clubs, feet-tapping and fingers-snapping to familiar songs and unfamiliar faces all gazing at the Jazz Bird crooning on stage. Her nostalgic passion for times past only grew stronger as she grew older and Ava knew she had to find a way to bring her dreams to life.
Ava Arenella strives to entertain with a sound and style that is both nostalgic and sincere, by expressing and sharing a love for great Jazz Standards she hopes to not simply emulate but to reimagine a cherished musical era that thrives in her heart and sings from her soul.
THE BAND
SARAH 'AVA' ARENELLA: Vocalist & Creative Director. A (mostly) native of Austin, Texas, 'Ava' grew up on stage, performing in countless musicals with Austin's Kids Acting. Ava was encouraged to pursue her love of Jazz by her mentor, Art Castetter, a retired music professor and piano virtuouso from the midcentury Jazz Scene in Chicago. He often referred to 'Ava' as his "most expressive vocalist". Ava spent some time studying Vocal Jazz Performance at University of North Texas, before taking a detour into creative writing, Italian, and event planning, which eventually all led her right back where she belongs: singing.
MATTHEW WAMPLER: Guitarist & Arranger. Traveled to Austin, Texas from his hometown in Indiana with not much more than his guitar, his van, and a degree from The Atlanta Institute of Music. As half of the original Ava Arenella duo, musical arranger and band disciplinarian Matt has been instrumental in the growth and style of Ava today. More on Matt: www.MattWampler.com
AMMON TAYLOR: Pianist Extraordinaire. The third founding member of Ava Arenella, Matt and Ava were fortunate enough to meet this talented pianist at an open mic, only a few short months after he moved to Austin from his native Utah. When not swinging jazzy tunes with Ava, you can find Ammon performing alongside famed Austin musical improv troupe: Girls Girls Girls or accompanying The Paramount's Literacy to Life program. With all this, he also manages to attend The University of Texas' The Butler School of Music for Classical Composition. Whew! Keep up with Ammon here: www.AmmonTaylor.com
SEAN HOPPER: Upright Bass. Bio Coming Soon.
GARY DEVRIES: Drums. Bio Coming Soon.
HISTORY
Ava is often asked questions like "Who are your influences?" or "What kind of music do you play?" even, "Do you sing mostly covers?" Well, here's a little bit of history about the songs we sing & music we play:
THE TIME: Late1950's to mid 1960's. Jazz Standards were performed far and wide in dinner clubs, late-night establishments, hotels, parties, movies, radio...everywhere you went, people could hum along to different interpretations of songs they knew and loved.
THE SONGS: Famous American composers, such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Harold Arlen wrote many of the songs Jazz Bands and Vocalists perform then and now. At the time, they were not considered "covers", since the songs or "standards" were made to be performed and interpreted by a variety of different artists.
THE ARTISTS: Famous Jazz Performers from the past Ava looks to for inspiration: Blossom Dearie (famous for a hip feel and baby-doll voice), Peggy Lee (oh-so-sultry), Astrud Gilberto (bossanova, baby), Chet Baker (smokey, West Coast jazz), Beverly Kenney (bubbly bop), Rosemary Clooney (singing-star) and Edith Piaf (french chanteuse). Just to name a few!
