Hi all - welcome to my myspace. I am a singer and pianist working full-time on the jazz and soul scene in London as well as writing a lot of original jazz and soul-inspired material, which I perform in different musical line-ups.
The Anjali Perin Quartet features the fantastic talents of Liam Noble on piano, Amy Baldwin on double bass and Jim Hart on drums. The debut album ‘First Reflection’ was released on Jazzizit Records last year and is available on www.amazon.co.uk, iTunes and the www.jazzizit.co.uk website or contact me here if you want to buy a copy direct.
I loved working with my trio on the album and they all played beautifully. We covered a mix of my original compositions as well as my arrangements of some jazz standards, including two vocalese lyrics I wrote to Miles Davis' classic solo on 'Autumn Leaves' and Eddie Gomez's heartbreaking bass solo on 'You Must Believe in Spring'. I know scatting can scare some people, but I really love that feeling of flight that improvisation gives me and I enjoy getting into the changes on a tune and yes, I admit, I am one of those people who makes all kinds of moans and facial contortions when listening to an amazing solo...
I like to connect all the musical influences I've had from jazz, soul, funk, folk, reggae and pop to South Indian carnatic vocals and Western classical music and I have always found freedom and comfort in composing music and writing lyrics ever since I was a kid.
Right now I am finishing writing a suite of pieces for my jazz quartet, featuring a mix of different improvisatory ideas and use of vocals, which we will be playing on our quartet gigs in June and hopefully recording later this year, with some guest artists - watch this space!
I am also currently working on arranging and recording my own songs, which combine my 'song-poetry' with some dirty grooves that you can vibe to as well as a few more acoustic-sounding numbers, all of which I play keys and vocals on. Hopefully some of these tunes will be posted up on this page soon.
Being of Sri Lankan descent and raised in a community where being a musician was seen as something that women in Soho do for cash at nightime (and doesn't involve gaining an A in Pure Mathematics), I went from a life of loving music, having gained Grade 8 in both classical piano and violin and winning music awards and competitions at school, to studying Law and working at a City law firm as the more 'secure career' path.
I wasn't happy being a lawyer and the music was still calling me, so in 2004 I auditioned for and gained a place on the postgrad. jazz course at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, before quitting my legal career. This was the stepping stone to fully falling down the rabbit hole into the world of music and in 2005 I gained my Masters in Jazz Performance and Composition (Commendation) and I have been a full-time musician since - for that I feel truly privileged.
If you like some of what you hear check out one of my gigs sometime and come and say hello.
The jazz press and radio stations, particularly Jazzwise and TheJazz, gave us some great reviews and airplay.
WHAT THE PRESS SAY...
"Anjali Perin looks set to make an indelible impression on the UK jazz scene. Perin’s voice is an instrument of considerable poetic power...â€
(Jazzwise magazine, April 2007)
"Seductive vocalising marks this debut CD from rising star Anjali. Her control with fast scat or numerous words per bar... sets her above much of the competition. She is cool and soulful too and her articulation on My Romance amply demonstrates her skill with a ballad." (Musician - the MU magazine, Summer 2007)
