MySpace is a new endeavor for Ann, so while she learns more about this internet "place" and decides how much personal involvement she is going to have here, please continue to e-mail her through her official web site, annhamptoncallaway.com. However, you may prefer to leave a comment on the profile instead so Ann can read it when she checks in on the page.
Ann Hampton Callaway is one of the finest singer/songwriters of our time. The statuesque performer dazzles music lovers as a singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger, actress, and educator. Her talents have made her equally at home in jazz and pop as well as on stage, in the recording studio, on TV and in film. She is best known for starring in the hit Broadway musical Swing! and for writing and singing the theme to the internationally successful TV series, The Nanny. Ann is a devoted keeper-of-the-flame of the great American songbook. She brings fresh and original interpretations to these timeless classics and works to uphold the canon by writing songs with Cole Porter, Carole King, Barbara Carroll and others. Her spontaneity, intelligence, and soulful charisma have won her a diverse fan-base including such notables as Barbra Streisand, Clive Davis, Carly Simon and Wynton Marsalis.
On February 3rd, Ann released her most powerful recording to date called At Last on Telarc Records. Ann's latest CDs, Blues In the Night (Telarc) and Slow (Shanachie Entertainment), garnered high critical acclaim. Ann has recorded two popular holiday CDs- Holiday Pops! with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops and her solo CD, This Christmas (Angel/After 9). Her recording Signataure (After 9) features the signature songs of the great jazz legends of the 20th century, performed with pianist Kenny Barron and guest artist Wynton Marsalis. Other CD recordings include Easy Living (After 9), To Ella With Love (After 9), After Ours (Denon), Bring Back Romance (DRG), Ann Hampton Callaway (DRG) and the award winning live recording, Sibling Revelry (DRG). She has also been a guest artist on over forty CDs.
Ann's dream of working in film has been realized in several recent projects. She made her feature film debut opposite Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon in the Robert DeNiro film The Good Shepherd, performing the standard "Come Rain or Come Shine". She recorded "Isn't It Romantic?" and "The Nearness of You" in Wayne Wong's Last Holiday, starring Queen Latifah. Both films were released internationally in 2006. In 2004, Ann was featured in the role of Mrs. White in the award winning film Volare for Jim Henson Productions, directed by Tamela D'Amico. Ann is currently writing songs for the upcoming movie musical State of Affairs, directed by Philip McKinley. And, as a part of her mission to keep the American Songbook thriving, she has produced and hosted two TV specials with guests Liza Minnelli and Christine Ebersole for WTTW National to lead up to her PBS series "Singer's Spotlight With Ann Hampton Callaway" still in the fundraising stages.
Ms. Callaway's honors include receiving a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her work in Swing! and winning the Theatre World Award for "Outstanding Broadway Debut." She has garnered an unsurpassed fourteen awards from The Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs, two Backstage Bistro Awards, The 2005 Nightlife Award, The Johnny Mercer Songwriter Award and The Norman Vincent Peale Award For Positive Thinking.
Ann devotes much of her time to philanthropic causes, both as a singer performing in numerous benefits, and as a songwriter composing songs in times of need. In September 2005, Ann performed her original composition "Let the Saints Come Marching", written to honor Hurricane Katrina victims, on a national TV broadcast on the Fox News Channel. Her song "Who Can See the Blue the Same Again?" was released earlier in 2005 as a single, paying tribute to the tsunami survivors and raising much needed money for The Tsunami Fund of The PRASAD Project. In the aftermath of September 11th, Ann composed the stirring anthem, "I Believe in America", which she performed on Larry King Live and released as a CD single. Just days after the tragedy, Ann heard an 8,000 year old prayer from the Rig Veda and composed the world renowned "Let Us Be United". Ann recorded the song with Kenny Werner, The Siddha Yoga International Choir and five-year-old Sonali Beaven, who sang in honor of her father who lost his life on Flight 93. It was released on CD and DVD and its proceeds continue to benefit Save the Children and The PRASAD Project.
For a more comprehensive bio, visit Ann's web site, annhamptoncallaway.com.
