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Melani Skybell has just signed a distribution deal with Vivid Sound Corporation, an independent jazz label in Japan. Melani's CD will be exclusively available in over 500 stores throughout Japan. Vivid Sound is based in Tokyo, and the CD's will be available with Japanese liner notes.

To buy one of Melani Skybell's cds visit www.skybell.com or to view a list of cds scroll down to view Discography

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If jazz vocalists were more in the forefront today, Melani L. Skybell would be someone who may be celebrated among the greats. She has released three albums and her fourth, Just A Chase Away, shows why she has what it takes to be a jazz singer, and what it could take to become one of the best if the music scene today had a few adjustments.

Skybell not only sings but writes, as she composed eight out of the eleven songs here, and her lyrics show a lot of strength and maturity. In other words, she could easily be someone out there offering her songs to the world, but through her voice and piano work you get a much more direct feel for what she's trying to say and accomplish. Highlights include "Let's Get Away", "The Stars In Your Eyes", "Dreamflight", and she dips into the standards with a rendition of "I'm Just A Lucky So And So", for fans of Ellingtonia. The production on this is quite nice too.

Review from The Run Off Groove

Biography:

While breakthroughability may not be a word, according to Webster, Melani L. Skybell's musical talent certainly should compel the editors of today's New World Dictionary to consider adding it to the book.

Her repertoire includes traditional jazz numbers, sultry ballads, swing standards, bossa novas, pop classics, and her original jazz-pop compositions. With a new, unique sound of her own, Ms. Skybell's style stands apart from other entertainers and their treatment of those familiar favorites.

Ms. Skybell has been playing piano and singing since she was four years old. Her formal education includes classical piano and vocal performance at Boston University. In 1984, her on-stage experience blossomed when she joined an alternative pop/rock group, Innocent Bystander, frequently backing up headliners. Innocent Bystander was a regular act in Austin's Sixth Street clubs.

In order to refine her jazz style, Ms. Skybell entered the highly reputable University of North Texas Jazz Studies Program. It took very little time for her to build a reputation of her own. Demand for Ms. Skybell's vocal work grew rapidly among many of the area's jazz orchestras, including a performance at Caravan of Dreams with the University of Texas Jazz Orchestra.

This work enabled Ms. Skybell to assemble a group of the area's most gifted musicians, with whom she now entertains at Dallas' hottest clubs, hotels and restaurants, including, The Melrose Hotel, The Mansion, The Four Seasons, and Texas Stadium. She is also in demand outside of Dallas, having recently performed at special events in Atlanta, Georgia, Jamaica, and The Chautauqua Institute in New York. The International cable station - VH1 - heard Melani's rendition of Papa Loves Mambo on her album, My Heart Sings, and used this recording on the opening scene of their movie "30 Days Until I'm Famous."

As a soloist, her unique interpretation of classic jazz uplifts her audiences with rich vocal nuances and charm. Whether she is swinging hard on her up tempos, or warming your heart with her intimate ballads, Melani L. Skybell is an exciting talent. Her musical training is extensive, as is her performance experience and multi-genre skill. Combined with her original material, Melani L. Skybell is a rising star. She possesses breakthrough qualities with crossover appeal to all generations of music lovers.

Discography