Anna Montan

Voice and appearance!

…… that manages to touch many listeners.
In Duo, Trio and 5-tet she performs successfully her blues & jazz repertoire for many years now.

Originally she got her inspiration out of the blues, touched by the emotions within. And although she grew up with grandfather’s violin and his old jazz-records, Anna’s first performing is as a singer and percussionist in pop-, soul- and salsaband.
Gradually she reveals herself as a jazz singer, with a classically trained voice.
She forms her first band and starts to experiment in jazz and soul. Later on she performs with several of her jazzformations, in trio – septet.

Passionately she turned into the
versatile singer she has become.
These days she performs with the Anna Montan Jazz 6-tet,
with  jazzpianist Rob Agerbeek and with
bassplayer/composer Patrick Lauwerends in the Duo Montan & Lauwerends.

Anna considers herself to be blessed with a few very inspiring musicians who crossed her musical path. Like drummer Wytze van der Zweep, guitarist Jan Dumée and the famous jazzmusician/pianist Rob Madna (1931-2003), with whom she got to play for some years. “These musicians showed me how to develop to the next level. Marvelous steps.”
Patrick Lauwerends also is one the musicians who influenced her musical path. Since 2004 they work together intensively.

“My long-cherished desire was to combine the acoustic bass with my singing. Patrick didn’t hesitate one second and here we are.”
Both being rather substantive, creative persons, their joining leads to new directions in jazz and world music. “No borders, just horizons.”
Source: interview by Florine Koning, De Sobat, 2011

Besides jazzmusic Anna explored also the keroncong music from Indonesia, arising from her Indonesian background. Patrick already was familiar with the special rhythm and tones. This lead to a unique product: their fusion of jazz and keroncong. A dynamic mix of East and West, by how the plaiting of both styles sounds together: Keroncong from Indonesia and Jazz from the West.
The CD-release CINTA (2011) got very good reviews of the big eurasian Tong-Tong-Festival  and national Radio 6.