I am going into the studio again this week to re listen to my new EP and the new five songs that will be on it. I think it will just be these five but i’m not sure yet. They sound really great so far so i’m hoping to finalize everything soon and then send it off to get mixed and mastered. I always like to sit in on all my sessions so that I can see the project through from the beginning to the end. The sound is very soul hip hop and the subject is very honest and real. It will be about heartache, moving on from a relationship that ended and being stronger because of it so I think a lot of people will be able to relate to it.

Its so gorgeous outside so I hope all of you go outside and enjoy the weather!

Love,
Amy Serrata
myspace.com/amyserrata
twitter.com/amyserrata
soundcloud.com/amyserrata
bandcamp.com/amyserrata
facebook.com/amyserrata
reverbnation.com/amyserrata

Review by Noah Massey organizer and promoter of Jazz Tonic a soul jazz party in Hollywood at Broadway Bar

Phonical # 2 – Amy Serrata

Please allow Jazz Tonic to introduce to you, Amy Serrata – a San Francisco Bay Area jazz singer who swung into Jazz Tonic for an impromptu set in August where she blew us all away. She’s Andrews Sisters meets St. Germain, with a cool vibe all her own. And we’re hoping to have her back at Jazz Tonic soon.

Who is Amy Serrata?

Singer-songwriter, Amy Serrata creates music intended to heal and bring people together. Amy grew up listening to the sounds of Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, and Louis Armstrong – to name a few. She sang in a choir as a child and started taking formal lessons at the age of ten. She continued singing in gospel choirs, an experience which she says helped hone her vocal improvisational skills. In 2006 Amy started singing with the Stanford University Gospel Choir. Several years later a friend encouraged her to start writing her own music. She simmered on the thought for while and soon began using her own original poetry to write songs. The melodies followed naturally. Working with producers like Hyp, HMD & Nyambezi, and Willie Norwood, she released her first album, self-titled “Amy Serrata”.

Amy is currently working on her second album and plans to release it later this year. The line-up of producers includes: Block Cheddar (an LA production company), Bedrock (Goapele), Apple Juice Kid (YahZarah, Wale, 9th Wonder, The Foreign Exchange), Ski (Jay Z, Mos Def ), and Bay Area producer Yung Mars.

Amy answered a few questions for Jazz Tonic below…

JT (Jazz Tonic): What are some of your career highlights?

AS (Amy Serrata): During an interview with Audio Dive I heard the news that Questlove had found me on twitter and was a big fan. We met on twitter and tweeted into the wee hours. Later we saw each other at one of his gigs in the Bay Area and he told me he’d been spinning my album in his sets. I felt honored.

Another highlight was meeting Brandy Norwood and Ray J’s father, Willie Norwood, and working with him on my debut album. He’s become a close friend and mentor, and I’m looking forward to working with him again especially on harmonies and adlibs.

JT: What are your top five in Jazz – songs, albums, and/or artists?

AS: Some of my favorite artists are Esperanza Spalding, Corrine Bailey Rae, Norah Jones, Ledisi, Maxwell, Alice Russell, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Jazmine Sullivan, Alicia Keys, John Legend, D’Angelo, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Holiday and Louis Armstrong. But really there are so many more.

JT: When did you discover Jazz?

AS: I discovered it when I was young. I loved how free flowing it was. I used to listen to Ella Fitzgerald for hours – listening to how she would be bop and free style. I wanted to take some of those sounds and make them mine – twist it in a way that was original. I later fell in love with Soul, Gospel, RnB and Pop, so all of these things, along with jazz, have been formed and molded into my sound.

JT: What, in your opinion, is the state of Jazz music in 2010 and where do you see it going?

AS: I love how jazz has become a fusion of so many different other kinds of sounds, and when I see some very influential artists like Esperanza Spalding taking risks, it really inspires me. She just came out with a new album, and I watched a youtube video of her talking about the process of how it was to create that album for her. On the other side of the spectrum I am completely in love with so many different kinds of music, so when I see someone like Janelle Monae fusing jazz, soul, funk and hip hop together it’s like music to my ears as well. There isn’t such a heavy importance on genres anymore in music, and that is so exciting to me because it allows the artist to not have to worry about categorizing themselves, and just feel free to be able to sound the best that they do. There are so many artists out there now so it’s important to find your own voice and dare to be unique.

JT: Any upcoming projects or shows you want to talk about?

AS: Yes! I am currently working on my new EP, which should be releasing this October if all goes well. It has three tracks on it – one from Block Cheddar and two from Apple Juice Kid and Ski from Camp Lo. These songs are heavy and dark and show a different side of me. They all have a very throwback sound, but the tracks are faster and have a very deep soulful hip hop vibe to them that I can’t wait to share with everyone. I’ve shared and given my heart to my listeners on this project. It’s about love, loss, and survival. I am in the mixing and mastering process now, which will be done by this month. I am working on getting new photos done and I’m hoping I will be having some music videos as well. So stay tuned for that!

This woman is a talent! So good!

To Contact Amy:

Web – www.amyserrata.com

Myspace – www.myspace.com/amyserrata

Facebook- www.facebook.com/amyserrata

Twitter- twitter.com/amyserrata

Distribution-

Search Amy Serrata on Itunes and click on the following links to find Amy Serrata’s Music to purchase.

rhapsody

napster

amazon

cdbaby

To book Amy Serrata Contact AJ Sioson at:

ajsioson@mac.com

Do you want to hear Amy’s music?

Well she has graciously hooked up Jazz Tonic and you with here entire first album available to listen to and download for FREE! Enjoy!

soundcloud.com/amyserrata

I decided to post my debut album up for free. All I ask from you in return is that you tweet about it, facebook about it, share it with your family and friends and enjoy it!

Here is the link: soundcloud.com/amyserrata

Love,
Amy Serrata
www.amyserrata.com
facebook.com/amyserrata
twitter.com/amyserrata
itunes rhapsody emusic napster amazon cdbaby

I had an amazing photo shoot yesterday with a stylist and a makeup artist. I felt so amazing and so blessed I can’t wait till the photos are done so I can share them with all of you. I am working hard on finishing this EP as well and it looks like I will be releasing the single hopefully in October of this year. So many great things are not accomplished over night but when they are accomplished it feels amazing. I have been working on this project for the whole year and so I’m excited to release some new material.

Stay tuned!

Love,
Amy Serrata
www.amyserrata.com
facebook.com/amyserata
twitter.com/amyserrata
itunes rhapsody emusic napster amazon cdbaby

So i’m happy to say that I was in LA for a while and I just got back last night. The good news is that I finished three amazing songs which I will be releasing as an EP hopefully this September or October depending on how it goes. I was going to release an album but I decided to release a series of EPs instead so that I can pump out music consistently. I am excited to share these with you! Since i’ve been back I have been following up with people, making appointments and getting everything set for this new release. Since I self released my first album I have grown wiser and stronger for this second time around.

I can’t wait to share these new songs with you. To be continued…:)

Love,
Amy Serrata

I’m going to LA this month to work on my second album and I could not be more excited! I will be doing the final recordings for a bunch of songs that I have been working on all year long. I have been blessed to have worked with such amazing producers on this project and I am excited to see it progress and get completed. This album has so many stories and experiences that I have gone through that I want to share with all of you. I will be picking a couple of singles from the project hopefully this month so I’m hoping I will be able to share something with you very soon.

Love,
Amy Serrata

In the past week I have really learned how to trust myself in all aspects. I think sometimes we tend to over think things and analyze something to the point where it just gets exhausting. Sometimes learning how to let go and letting things happen naturally is not easy. However its so important. I have been soaking up everything that I have gone through, the pain the happiness the success the failures and putting them in my music. I know that somewhere out there someone will be able to relate to it and thats all that matters. I can’t wait to share this next album with you. I’m going to be working on it more this week and i’m excited at how its coming out.

I am working on getting a music video done for my song Hello World which I am very excited about. When I get more details about that I will def share them with all of you. I will probably have a video teaser done for it to have behind the scenes of the video that we will upload before the full video is released. I am excited about this second album because everything is falling into place. I have been blessed to find some really incredible producers who I have been collaborating with from all over. Many other incredible things are happening right now and I’m really excited. I just wanted to say to you guys keep pressing on and keep believing that anything is possible. Life is all about how you handle the ups and downs. Have a great weekend guys!

Love,
Amy Serrata
xoxoxo

I was just looking at a youtube video of me and Niamaj performing “Lets” from my album.  I can’t believe that thats been a year ago my oh my how time flys.  A lot of cool things have happened today I have a couple of people who want to interview me and I have been talking to some new producers who I might be working with.  It seems like every week lately I am in the studio at least once and its never for a short amount of time either.  I wanted to share with you guys how nothing is impossible and if you dream big and you strategically plan and follow through on things anything can happen!  Keep creating keep dreaming keep living a full life.  I love reading articles of how people have had challenges in their lives but they pull through and succeed in the end.  Hope all of you have a great week!

Love,

Amy Serrata

I had a great time this weekend chillin in the bay area.  What I love about the bay area is how close everything is.  Not to mention how amazing our beaches are!  There is nothing better than a chill relaxing weekend spent with friends going out to dinner, seeing movies, shopping and chilling at home.  I am somewhat of a homebody and I have no problem with keeping it low key since I am often quite busy during the week.  I was in the studio several times this week and each time I was there until very late.  I guess its the price we pay to create great music lol.  Anyways I just wanted to say hi really quickly to all of you.  Keep creating keep loving keep dreaming!

Love,

Amy Serrata