Eden Atwood

Eden Atwood began singing jazz in Memphis, TN, at Shakey’s Pizza Parlor at age three years old. Singing jazz came naturally to Eden. Her father, Hub Atwood, was a writer and arranger for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Harry James, Stan Kenton and Nat King Cole. When Eden was five years old, divorce split the Atwood family and Eden moved to Montana with her mother, the daughter of Pulitzer Prize winning author, A.B. Guthrie, Jr. Eden’s mother kept her love of music alive by encouraging her participation in musicals. At 15, Eden was fronting a busy band of musicians twice her age in her hometown. Eden left two years later to attend the University of Montana's drama department. At 19, Eden's father died and Eden, keenly feeling the loss, set out for Chicago. In Chicago, Eden attended the American Conservatory of Music. Eight years of classical piano had provided her with a solid musical foundation but Eden wanted to able to write and arrange her own material. She produced a demo tape that caught the attention of Bill Allen at Chicago's legendary, now defunct, Gold Star Sardine Bar, co-owned by Bobby Short. At 21, Eden became the headliner. She would stay for eight years with breaks to accommodate her acting and modeling jobs in New York, Los Angeles and Paris. In 1992, Eden was tapped for recurring role on ABC's, "The Commish" and that same year she starred for nine months on the ABC daytime drama, "LOVING". It was during this time that Eden made her Manhattan singing debut in the famed Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel. Engagements at Tavern on the Green and Michael's Pub soon followed. A guest star role on Paramount's, "The Untouchables" brought Eden back to Chicago where she resumed her duties as headliner at the Gold Star Sardine Bar. In 1993, Marian McPartland of Piano Jazz fame heard Eden's self-produced CD, "Today" and forwarded it to Concord Records President, Carl Jefferson. He signed Eden immediately to a three record deal. Eden remains the youngest artist ever signed to the Concord label. "Today" was re-released under the new title "No One Ever Tells You", the title of a song that Eden's father had written for Frank Sinatra. Eden produced four CD’s on the Concord label, all of which enjoyed critical praise. Mark Holston of Jazziz Magazine says, "As each of her Concord CD's have confirmed in warm and swinging terms, Eden has emerged as one of the most distinctive all around talented singers to enter the crowded ranks of the female vocal tradition in years". Since the release of Eden's last Concord recording, "A Night In The Life", Eden has performed all over the world sharing bills with Gene Harris, Joshua Redman and Toshiko Akiyoshi Big Band. She has been featured on NPR's Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland and Ms. McPartland appears on three tracks of Eden’s CD ‘There Again’. Starbucks Coffee, Eddie Bauer and Brooks Brothers have all put tracks of Eden's on their compilation CD's along side Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Nancy Wilson. Most recently, Eden has been touring Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand performing for an ever-growing legion of fans worldwide. Eden headlined the first ever Bangkok Jazz Festival, performing some of His Majesty, The King of Thailand’s compositions. Mostly recently, Eden was in Shanghai, China performing at the Ritz Carlton for two months. Eden signed with Groove Note Records and made Waves, The Bossa Nova Session, a recording of bossa nova standards and Brazilian flavored standards from the Great American Songbook. Jazz Journalist Bill Kohlhasse says, “ The inviting sensitivity of singer Eden Atwood and the sensuous rhythms of Brazil make for a stirring musical marriage.” Eden now makes her home in Missoula, MT teaching private vocal students, working with attachment disordered children and touring. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.