Sony Holland Bio

email sony@sonyholland.com

SONY HOLLAND BIO: From busking to big bands, Sony Holland has given her heart and soul to audiences large and small... with thanks to those who have dropped a buck in the bucket or paid top dollar for a cushioned seat in a sold-out showplace.

Listening to her upcoming release, SANSSCOUCI, is akin to discovering a complex wine in a deceptively simple carafe. Crafted on an artists’ budget this smooth collection is gently intoxicating. It features the standout tracks, "Sanssouci," the heartfelt original, "When I Find You," and the gorgeous standard, "Les Feuilles Mortes." From the opening notes it is clear that Sony is a singer of many special qualities. The unpretentious arrangements give her voice the freedom to glide from whisper to gale which she does with surprising subtlety. About the title track she says, “It is a wonderful song written by Rufus Wainwright. Sanssouci refers to a summer palace built by King Frederick of Prussia in 1745. Both the song and the palace bring to mind a certain glorious despair, a sense of grandness and loss at the same time...I certainly have an understanding of those dual emotions."

At home in a sparse downtown Los Angeles loft, the straight-talking diva confesses that her path has not been painless, easy or fast. “I spent six wonderful, difficult, successful and challenging years paying my dues in San Francisco,” Sony explains. “I eeked out a living by busking at Pier 39 & Ghirardelli Square. After a while I had a decent fan base and started playing clubs like Yoshi’s, the Plush Room, Jazz at Pearl’s, the Rrazz Room and other Bay Area clubs. Then I began to get gigs in Asia and NYC. I felt ready to take the next logical step by diving into the L.A. music scene. The good thing is that LA is still close to San Francisco so I can get back there every few months.”

The new disc started out as a guitar/vocal demo in the garage studio of engineer and jazz trumpet maven Nolan Shaheed. It is produced by Sony and her guitarist/composer/husband, Jerry Holland. “The plan was to make a recording that sounded like us playing in our apartment,” she reveals. “Slowly, it evolved into something more.” They invited cellist Wolf Sebastian to join them on a few tracks. “Wolf has performed with us at several house concerts so it felt natural to include him,” Ms. Holland continues. “We moved to another studio and added djembe and bass. Then Jerry found out that his old friend, Robbie Kondor, was in town playing piano on the Troubador tour with James Taylor and Carol King. They hadn’t seen each other for some 20 years. Robbie agreed to run over and overdub some keyboards in between shows at the Hollywood Bowl. It was an excellent reunion.”

Sony started singing at her Dad’s little Protestant church in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota. “My mom is a coloratura and we always had music in the house,” she recalls. In her teens she took voice lessons and sang Italian Arias. She continued with voice studies until the end of her first year at Concordia College when she joined a traveling rock band. She laughs about it now. “These were some of my rebellious years...I wanted to rock out, have a good time and forget about classical music for a while.” But a funny thing happened as Sony saw more of the world. She was heavily drawn to the sophistication of jazz and the Great American Songbook. “I fell in love…that’s the best way to put it. I fell in love with Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Cole Porter, Harry Warren, etc… Sometimes I feel as if I was born out of time.”

She went through a phase of emulating her favorite performers. “I wasn’t very good when I first started in this genre. Playing in jazz combos is very different than being part of a choir or a rock band. The ground is always shifting beneath your feet…but after thousands of gigs from grungy to glamorous I can really be myself on stage now. I know my own voice and what emotions I can wring out of a song. I feel like I can sing a standard, a Dylan song or an original and bring enough of the same qualities to them to hold a set together really well.” SANSSOUCI is a potent reflection of that. “I would love to free myself from labels like jazz, pop and cabaret. Labels are limiting,” she says. "I am a song stylist," something I heard Nancy Wilson say when someone asked her, "Is it jazz you sing?" Pulling together the diverse musical influences that have shaped her has been a challenge. “I’ve loved to sing all of my life,” she clarifies, “but I am much happier now with where I am artistically.”

It has helped Sony on her journey to have her husband, Jerry, as a musical confidante. “Contrary to what people may think, the most wonderful thing Jerry does for me is to let me know when I’m missing the mark. He always encourages me to keep improving.” Mr. Holland has had his own successes as a staff songwriter for Warner/Chappell Music and Mike Curb Music in Nashville. His song, “Friends,” was a #1 Billboard Country Hit for Atlantic recording artist Jon Michael Montgomery and was also Music Row Magazine Song Of The Year. The couple frequently perform together as a duo.

Though Ms. Holland has previously released three critically acclaimed CDs she believes that her best work is still ahead of her. She gives no credence to praise or criticism in the press even if most of it has been extremely favorable. Dr. Mike Metheny of Radio IO Jazz says, “Sony Holland delivers passion and elegance through every phrase...The voice is warm, full and engaging. Sony is becoming a favorite request from our world wide listening audience." Paul Freeman of the Daily News Group adds, "If there were any justice, Sony Holland would be enjoying the same sort of international acclaim accorded Diana Krall." Veteran jazz promoter Dick LaPalm had this to say after a recent concert at L.A.’s Catalina Jazz Club, “She has perfect intonation, can float a lyric without losing her grip on it, and is always completely locked into the spirit of the song. She made every song fresh, full-faced, and personal, as if she was telling me a story. I believed every word! Whatever you call this rare and special quality, Sony has it - big time.”

The lady demurs, "All I am concerned with is the opportunity to continue to strive to get better at my craft...my passion."

SHORT BIO:

Sony Holland is a warm, inviting performer whose unaffected style has endeared her to a growing circle of fans. As Dr. Mike Metheny of Radio IO Jazz says, “Sony Holland delivers passion and elegance through every phrase...The voice is warm, full and engaging. Sony is becoming a favorite request from our world wide listening audience." Born in a tiny town north of Minneapolis, Ms. Holland has toured Asia, performed in prestigious jazz festivals and in premier nightclubs such as the Blue Note, Yoshi’s, Catalina’s, the Dakota, the Rrazz Room and many more. Yet catching one of her live performances one gets a feeling that the best is yet to come. Her upcoming CD ‘Sanssouci’ features Sony backed by an organic trio of acoustic guitar, upright bass and djembe drum. About the title track she says, “It is a wonderful song written by Rufus Wainwright. Sanssouci refers to a summer palace built by King Frederick of Prussia in 1745. Both the song and the palace bring to mind a certain glorious despair, a sense of grandness and loss at the same time...I certainly have an understanding of those dual emotions."