"Michelle Amador is a new breed of musician…” San Jose Mercury News “The sophisticated soul of early jazz singers such as Etta James with the restraint of more contemporary vocalists like Cassandra Wilson…” East Bay Express Initially trained in classical piano from age 6-16 by her father, Peruvian composer and pianist Augusto Amador, Michelle Amador became a composer in her own right at the early age of 12. Michelle was also greatly influenced by the work of her uncle, Ezequiel Amador, classical violinist for the San Francisco Symphony. By age 20 she had already composed and written a script for a musical theatre drama and by age 21 she had begun composing and performing music for graduate theatre and film projects at the University of Southern California. After graduating from USC in 1998, Amador continued to pursue music, studying piano under the tutelage of late pianist/composer/arranger Don Haas of the Stan Getz Orchestra. Michelle’s works have been reviewed by legendary jazz greats such as bassist Buster Williams who premiered her composition "Peace Prayer" at Yoshi's Jazz Club in Oakland, CA in 2002. Continuing to reach out to the artistic community, Michelle composed and performed experimental mixed medium productions that same year with Huckabay McAllister Dance Company. In 2004, she was asked to compose a piece for their 10 year anniversary performance at ODC Theatre in San Francisco. The San Francisco Chronicle complimented her expressive performance as "silken-voiced." In October 2004, The Red Bull Music Academy brought Amador together with fellow instrumentalists, vocalists, DJs, and producers all keen to explore the future of modern music-making. It was at the Academy that Michelle first hooked up with Phuturistix. Collaborations under the guise “Roma All Stars”, with DJ Eurok, DJ Short-e, DJ Tabu, Om’Mas of Sa-Ra Creative Partners and Dave Jones led to tracks that were broadcast immediately on BBC Radio 1 Xtra under the group name ‘Roma All-Stars’. In August of 2005, Michelle served as creator and artistic director of Jazz Beyond at the San Jose Jazz Festival. In 2005 Michelle was asked to record as a solo artist, developing melodies and lyrics and performing vocals to music produced by Zed Bias. "He and She" and "Higher," from the session have been released on the Phuture Lounge compilation RAINBOW SOUL VOL 1 released in March of 2006. The full forthcoming album, Higher, is due for release Sick Trumpet records in late 2007/early 2008. Michelle has also collaborated with renowned electronic duo, Karma, for their 2006 folktronic release LATENIGHT DREAMING on track "We Are?" and "Home." With PopMatters praising Michelle's lyric writing, "If this can't convince you that everything's OK, nothing will. It's bliss with heart." In October of 2007, Michelle released a 12" single & digital mp3s 'Because of You' with remixes by Osunlade, Atjazz, and Daco, available through Juno: http://www.juno.co.uk/ppps/products/282969-01.htm The track sold 500 vinyl before the official release date and more are being pressed. The track has also been featured in NY's Dancetracks.com Top 20 for 3 weeks as well as Juno's Top 50. For more information on Michelle, visit http://www.michelleamador.com.