Joanna Eden
Encyclopedia
Joanna Eden is a British jazz singer/songwriter
and pianist
.
. She performed with a popular local Indie band, Strip, as lead singer and co-writer while also continuing to write and perform solo.
Eden relocated to London
after college and started working as a singer/pianist in the bars and restaurants of Soho
. She married drummer Charlie Price in Greenwich
on 17 June 1995. Eden and Price formed a jazz trio with Dan Boutwood, and this unit worked cruises for Cunard Line
and Royal Caribbean International
. Subsequently they worked hotels in Cyprus
and the United Kingdom.
On returning to the United Kingdom in 1999, Joanna signed her first recording contract with the Black Box label, now owned by Universal Music Group
. Her first album, A Little Bird Told Me, was released in the summer of 2000 and launched at Ronnie Scott's Club, it was played on BBC
Radio and won enthusiastic reviews from Sir Michael Parkinson, Mojo
and others. Eden returned to the studio and the self-penned album My Open Eye was released independently on Eden’s Mr. Riddles Music Label in 2005. It was re-released with world-wide distribution via Universal
in 2007. The critical success of My Open Eye brought about support slots with Jamie Cullum
, Nerina Pallot
and the Buena Vista Social Club
, and BBC Radio
airplay. After tracks from the album were played by Michael Parkinson, her manager obtained support for Eden from the supermarket chains, Waitrose
and Tescos. She released her third album, Moving Shadows, an album of covers, in 2007 on the 33 Jazz label. This is a jazz
trio album, featuring Charlie and long-term bass collaborator Julie Walkington. In August 2007, the Joanna Eden trio headlined the fifth Picnic Jazz concert at the Pavilion, Orford, Suffolk
. She has since supported the Blockheads and The Blow Monkeys
at venues around the UK and continues to headline at Pizza on the Park, Pizza Express Jazzclub and The Stables
, in Wavendon
which was founded by Cleo Laine
and Johnny Dankworth
Eden and Price have a daughter, Drousha, and live in Saffron Walden
in Essex
.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
.
Biography
Eden was born into a musical family, the daughter of an RAF bass player, John, and a drama teacher, Diana. She started learning the piano at six and performed her first composition, “Happy December”, aged seven. She obtained a B.A. (Hons) in Creative Arts, majoring in music and drama, at Manchester Metropolitan UniversityManchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
. She performed with a popular local Indie band, Strip, as lead singer and co-writer while also continuing to write and perform solo.
Eden relocated to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
after college and started working as a singer/pianist in the bars and restaurants of Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
. She married drummer Charlie Price in Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
on 17 June 1995. Eden and Price formed a jazz trio with Dan Boutwood, and this unit worked cruises for Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
and Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International is a Norwegian and American cruise line brand based in Miami, Florida and owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.. With 42 ships in service under 5 different brands and one more under construction, it controls a 25.6% share of the world cruise market...
. Subsequently they worked hotels in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and the United Kingdom.
On returning to the United Kingdom in 1999, Joanna signed her first recording contract with the Black Box label, now owned by Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
. Her first album, A Little Bird Told Me, was released in the summer of 2000 and launched at Ronnie Scott's Club, it was played on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio and won enthusiastic reviews from Sir Michael Parkinson, Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
and others. Eden returned to the studio and the self-penned album My Open Eye was released independently on Eden’s Mr. Riddles Music Label in 2005. It was re-released with world-wide distribution via Universal
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
in 2007. The critical success of My Open Eye brought about support slots with Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
, Nerina Pallot
Nerina Pallot
Nerina Pallot is a platinum selling, BRIT Award and Ivor Novello Award nominated British singer and songwriter. Although born in London, Pallot was brought up in Jersey to a half-French father and mother from Allahabad, India.-Early life:Pallot played piano as a child and wrote her first song...
and the Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
The Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba that held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s...
, and BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
airplay. After tracks from the album were played by Michael Parkinson, her manager obtained support for Eden from the supermarket chains, Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
and Tescos. She released her third album, Moving Shadows, an album of covers, in 2007 on the 33 Jazz label. This is a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trio album, featuring Charlie and long-term bass collaborator Julie Walkington. In August 2007, the Joanna Eden trio headlined the fifth Picnic Jazz concert at the Pavilion, Orford, Suffolk
Orford, Suffolk
Orford is a small town in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB.Like many Suffolk coastal towns it was of some importance as a port and fishing village in the Middle Ages. It still has a fine mediaeval castle, built to dominate the River Ore.The main geographical feature of the...
. She has since supported the Blockheads and The Blow Monkeys
The Blow Monkeys
The Blow Monkeys are a British new wave band that formed in 1981 as a new wave-oriented act. The first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow" was released in 1982. They subsequently recorded more commercial pop rock hit makers, and finally became a dance group, shortly before splitting up at the...
at venues around the UK and continues to headline at Pizza on the Park, Pizza Express Jazzclub and The Stables
The Stables
The Stables is a music venue situated in Wavendon, a small village on the south-east edge of Milton Keynes....
, in Wavendon
Wavendon
Wavendon is a village and civil parish in the south east of the Borough of Milton Keynes and ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. The village name is an Old English language word, and means 'Wafa's hill'. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 969 the village was recorded as Wafandun. The...
which was founded by Cleo Laine
Cleo Laine
Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth, DBE is a jazz singer and an actress, noted for her scat singing and vocal range...
and Johnny Dankworth
John Dankworth
Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE , known in his early career as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist and clarinetist...
Eden and Price have a daughter, Drousha, and live in Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
Discography
- Eden, Joanna (2000). A Little Bird Told Me. Black Box BBJ2012.
- Eden, Joanna (2005). My Open Eyes. Mr Riddles MRM2013.
- Eden, Joanna (2007). Moving Shadow. 33 Jazz 33JAZZ149.