At an early age, she had an unusual fascination with music -- listening intently to classical, jazz and folk. Her mother said she was "glued to the radio" as a child. Influences were Ahmad Jamal, Miles Davis, Theloneous Monk and John Coltrane.
Around the age of five, she was in New England and started playing a chord organ at her grandparents house. She got the hang of it immediately. She took the chord organ home with her and shortly thereafter moved with her family to Elmhurst, IL in suburban Chicago.
A couple years later, her parents began to nurture her abilities and got her a larger keyboard and started her on lessons. She always added more to the music than was written and began composing her own pieces. Some of her teachers discouraged this because they preferred a more traditional approach. How could they teach what wasn't written? During this time, many rock bands influenced her, including Steely Dan, early 70's Chicago, Doobie Brothers and Santana.
As a teenager, she tried other musical instruments but stuck with the piano. She was further influenced by Keith Jarrett, Dave Grusin and Earl Klugh, Lee Ritenour during her high school years. She got involved in a youth rock band at Church on weekends for fun.
After high school she attended the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, IL (which since has relocated to Hammond, IN). She also attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. Piano was her major though she switched back and forth between jazz and music education. During this time she learned to play several instruments. She did some gigs in the late 80's, playing for music theatre and wedding receptions.
Meg wrote some of the music to her own wedding in 1988, a classical piece written for flute, violin and cello called ,"A Celebration of Love".
Following her husband's job, she moved to Louisville, KY in 1989 where she still resides. She joined a rock band called "Twice on Sunday" and was with the group from 1991-93. During this time the group published its first and only album (same name as the band) of all original songs in a classic rock style. They performed several indoor and outdoor concerts to growing local acclaim. She took a break from the band with the birth of her first of three children, all girls.
In 2002 she joined a ensemble at her Church which took traditional songs and pushed them into new genres with a sometimes jazz/fusion and sometimes classical flair. Over the next few years Meg also played solo gigs for dinners at her country club -- mostly cover songs both new and old across all genres, all which she adapted for piano.
Meg excels at improv and has been a prolific writer/composer of original music. Finally in 2009 she began work in earnest on her debut smooth jazz/fusion album "Break of Dawn". Meg loves all the songs on the album but her favorites are "Monaco", "The Road to Amalfi", "The Romance of Señor Pepé", and "Lily". Meg got help with her album from Bobby Falk (on drums), Rob Payne (engineering and mixing) and her daughter Kirsten (photography).
A note about her album cover......... The bird pictured in different poses on the album is her beloved cockatoo, Stormy. The setting reminded Meg of a trip she took to Australia in 1992 when while walking in the park in Sydney, a flock of wild cockatoo's descended in her midst. For a bird lover, it was like heaven had arrived!
Meg Anderson born August 8, 1965 in Park Ridge, IL a suburb of Chicago.
Relax with this fresh, new smooth jazz/fusion artist.
Meg Anderson's debut album, Break of Dawn is available now on iTunes , Amazon, CDBaby, Digstation & IndieRhythm
Check it out!
MegAndersonMusic.com
I'd love to hear from you! Email your questions or comments to Meg@MegAndersonMusic.com
