Veronica Martell Since her earliest childhood Veronica Martell has had the drive and determination to become a professional vocalist; starting her singing career in church as many other singers have done before her. Later she took up vocal education at the Katie Agresta Vocal Studio in New York City. Here internationally well-known artists such as Cyndi Lauper, Annie Lennox, Phoebe Snow, Steven Tyler and Bernadette Peters have been educated. Though she grew up listening to the pop music of the 70's and 80's she was also influenced by the music of her parents. When she discovered the great jazz artists of the 40's and beyond, her love of jazz music blossomed. Today her artistic ideals are Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Nancy Wilson, Etta James, Sarah Vaughn and the contemporary jazz of Diana Krall. Veronica also enjoys listening to such great singers as Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Anita Baker and Luther Vandross. In her opinion, there are many great singers which she can learn from. Veronica Martell's talent is versatile and she has been diverse in her career. She has written and arranged her own songs, has composed and performed several jingles for television as well as radio broadcasting. Her genre has been diverse as well - she has performed pop, country, and dance music before she began singing jazz. She once even landed a performance on TNN's Nashville Network. In addition to television and radio she has worked in the film industry. In the early 1990's, under the name "Veronica Monet" she performed two songs on the soundtrack of the motion picture "She's Back" starring Carrie Fischer and has performed in several off Broadway productions including a show called "Drinking Games" in which Veronica Martell held the lead role. Veronica and her band, Big City Swing, are a fixture on the New York Nightclub scene performing at The Carnegie Club, The Supper Club, Swing 46 and Nell's. She also gives private performances at some of the best known places in New York City, including The Plaza Hotel, The Waldorf Astoria and The St. Regis Hotels. Next to her musical career Veronica Martell was once one of the top-ranked fitness competitors in the United States-winning the Ms. Fitness New York State and Ms. Fitness USA "Image Of Fitness" titles. Her success in this field led her to a part on the television series Baywatch and she has been a successful fitness model seen on the covers of several health and fitness magazines and starring in a television commercial for Men's Health Magazine. Her first CD was released in the Fall of 1999 and titled "Big City Swing." A neo-swing recording the CD was highly praised in the United States and abroad. The well-known Jazz Review said that Veronica "is one of the hottest new talents in jazz." In Denmark, Jyllands-Posten, the largest newspaper in the country praised her voluminous voice and talent. Big City Swing did not go away unnoticed. Veronica was featured on MP3.com where she was chosen for the special segment, "Women of MP3.com" which highlighted the careers of women in independent music. One of the CD's songs was also chosen to appear on the MP3 compilaton CD, "The 100 Best Songs You've Never Heard." Veronica was also chosen by "Beauty in Jazz" to appear on their website focusing on the most beautiful women in jazz music. Her eagerly awaited second Jazz release entitled, "Lucky" arrived in 2002. With the help of arranger Allen Farnham, her second release "revealed to listeners several new dimensions of her remarkable vocal talent" according to another rave review from the acclaimed Jazz Review. "Lucky" soon made its way up the charts of Jazz Radio and Veronica Martell was slowly becoming a well-known artist in the jazz community. Her version of "Romancing the Blues" made several top 100 countdowns across jazz radio for the year 2002. "Lucky" brought her performances across Europe and extensive touring in Scandinavia. Her 2002 European Tour culminated with a performance at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in Tivoli Gardens. In July 2003 Ms. Martell performed once again in Copenhagen with the Tivoli Big Band. In 2003, Veronica's single "Too Young For the Blues" was featured on the jazz compilation album Jazz- In Celebration of Life to benefit the American-Italian Cancer Society. The album features Tony Bennett, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughn and Charlie Parker among others. Veronica's duet with Kevin Mahogany "It's Alright" will also appear on his new CD scheduled for Fall 2003 release. Currently Ms. Martell is working on her third release scheduled for Spring of 2004. Once again Allen Farnham will be in the arranger seat and the CD will feature some wonderful performances by well known jazz artists and some big surprise guests as well! The CD is being recording at Bennett Studios in Englewood, New Jersey. For more information on Veronica Martell visit her website www.veronicamartell.com.