Ashley Daneman Music

Ashley Daneman, "a fine young jazz vocalist" (USA Today), crafts her music with descriptive textures and rich harmonies, taking us to autobiographical landscapes. Her lyrics, and her take on standards, reveal the coexistence of contrasting realities in life and relationships. "I hope people are quietly inspired by my music in some internal way," says Ashley.

Ashley was born in 1978 near Toledo, Ohio. A challenging childhood formed her deep introspection, and creativity was her outlet. Escaping often through the music of Barbra Streisand and Ella Fitzgerald, Ashley took piano lessons and classical vocal training to find her own musical voice and participated in theater productions. Her natural ability to write songs developed through the influence of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Tori Amos. Broadway musicals and her parent’s extensive collection of jazz standards also played a role.

After brief study at the College-Conservatory of Music (University of Cincinnati), Ashley felt she did not fit into either the opera or the jazz programs there and finished with a psychology degree. Largely self-taught at that point, she moved to Washington, DC, in 2000 to study jazz and perform with musician friends. Ashley’s concept became heavily impacted by the music of Dianne Reeves and Betty Carter. In 2003, she was recognized for her creative arrangements and unique compositional style when selected as a Betty Carter Jazz Ahead resident at The Kennedy Center.

Later that year came some life-changing personal events. Ashley became a mom, and there emerged an unforgiving battle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Despite feeling at times during the long healing process that her musical inspiration was regressing, Ashley’s work continued to mature and ultimately was enriched by the whole experience. She credits her recovery to her faith in God, or rather, God’s faith in her, which gave her the courage to keep going with her talents. Ashley then sought the tools and training at the highest level to continue developing her vision. In 2007, she moved to New York City and as a scholarship student completed a masters degree in Jazz Vocal Performance at Manhattan School of Music under the direction of Peter Eldridge, Kate McGarry, and Theo Bleckmann.

While living in New York City, Ashley and her regular band mates performed in clubs (Zinc Bar, Cornelia Street Café) and other venues (St. John the Divine, The American Folk Art Museum), and at special events working together to touch audiences with a compelling listening experience. Ashley says, "My desire is for people to feel understood or comforted through hearing my music."

After a three-week residency in the Jazz and Creative Workshop at The Banff Centre (Alberta, Canada) in 2010, Ashley relocated to Kalamazoo, Michigan where she lives with her husband and two daughters. She composes, often accompanies herself on piano while performing regularly in a variety of contexts, and runs a dynamic studio as a teacher in Level I Somatic Voicework™ - The LoVetri Method. In 2011, she released a debut album of original compositions entitled, “Harvest Town,” funded by the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo.