Melanie Bong

“…Melanie Bong is a tremendous singer.” (Bill Donaldson, Cadence US. jazz magazine, 2007)
PERSONAL BACKGOUND:
Born in Munich. Her mother was a baltic-prussian painter, her father a sinto (gypsy) singer and musician, both living in Germany. Melanie was singing ever she can think about. Even as a little child she was making up her own little melodies and lyrics about everything that moved her at the moment and just sang them for herself. Being raised in Tyrol, Austria, she had her first solo performance in a school choire contest at the age of 6. She kept writing her songs over the years, meanwhile on the guitar. With 15 she started out singing in a band called "Enfant Terrible", which soon changed into her first band named "Melanie Bong Crew" (MBC). With the MBC, playing only original songs, she had her first successes playing as a warm up band for several bands such as Harry Stoijka, Gilberto Gil or even Miles Davis at the 'Jazz Festival Berg Isel 1987' (Innsbruck, Austria). In 1987 she also decided to move to Graz, Austria, in order to study Jazz at the College Of Music And Performing Arts.
STUDIES:
Melanie studied under Sheila Jordan, Mark Murphy, Andy Bey, Jay Clayton, Fritz Pauer und Adelhard Roidinger at the College Of Music And Performing Arts. She attended workshops with Ray Brown, Horace Parlan, Art Farmer, Wynton Marsalis, Marilyn Crispell, Barry Harris and the singers R. A. Ramamani, Gretje Bijma, Maria Joao and Tanja Maria. Completion of studies with diploma and Master Of Arts. Various study visits in New York.
TEACHING:
Teacher for jazz singing and ensemble at the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz from January 1997 to autumn 1999, and numerous workshops and courses at home and abroad.
WORK:
"...Elis Regina had it, Billie Holiday had it, Carmen McRae had it , and now Melanie Bong has it." (William Grim in All About Jazz Online-Magazin 19. Juni 2002)
Ever since she hass been performing all over Europe as well as in Israel and Japan with musicians of the national and international jazz scene such as: Johannes Enders (GER), Fritz Pauer (AUT), Hiroshi Minami (JPN), Charly Antolini (CH), Nikolas Simion (PL), Paulo Cardoso (BRA), Wayne Darling (USA), Adelhard Roidinger (AUT), David Gazarow (RUS) etc.
..."She's got it!" so listen and enjoy - because here is, as I believe, one of the finest vocalists in Europe today." (Willie Johanns, Munich 2006)