Born in Guildford, UK, Anita emigrated to Australia with her family as child. Enraptured by movie musicals on TV, she soaked up the classics by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Cole Porter. Equipped with a portable tape player, she would record the songs off the set and listen to them countless times. She often explored her father's collection of big band albums by Duke Ellington, Count Basie and many more. During her teens, works by the likes of Clifford Brown, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker exposed her to the complexities of modern jazz while she learned her vocal craft from greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Mark Murphy, Carmen McRae, Betty Carter and Jon Hendricks.
Attending Adelaide University in South Australia, Anita worked toward a performance in jazz and improvised music and worked regularly on the Australian jazz circuit. Performing with a host of local and international artists, including American saxophonist Richie Cole at the Kiama Jazz Festival and supporting the legendary Sarah Vaughan at the Sydney Opera House, her classroom studies were supplemented by real-life experience. Her recording career began when she joined the Adelaide Connection, formed in 1979-80. Founded by Adelaide native John McKenzie, who directed the group until the early 90s, the Connection enjoyed visits from distinguished guest artists and arrangers like Dr. Kirby Shaw, Phil Mattson, Don Burrows and James Morrison. Anita joined the group at its inception and credits the experience for teaching her how to "blend in with other singers and really listen!" Adelaide Connection recorded two albums (Makin' Whoopee and Nice and Easy) and toured throughout Australia.
Anita returned to London in 1989, continuing her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, completing a yearlong course in jazz and studio music. Now touring extensively throughout the UK and Europe, Anita played festival and club dates with appearances at the venerable London jazz club Ronnie Scotts, the Royal Festival Hall, National Theatre and a yearly stint at the Paradise Festival in Cyprus each September.
In 1995, Anita went into the studio with pianist Liam Noble to record an album's worth of material with the hopes of finding a label to release it. After shopping the CD around, they signed a deal with FMR Records. Why Do You Cry? was released to great praise. Pioneer Mark Murphy proclaimed Anita, "a gift from Australia", adding "what hits me is how expressive her ballad singing is. Then she has the courage to scat a ballad or two, not unlike a young lady disciple of the Ben Webster school."
Singer Norma Winstone praises her "…unexpected vulnerability, which makes her reading of the ballads both beautiful and touching. Her honesty shines in this well-chosen collection of songs…" Jazzwise Magazine called her "energetic and inventive" while The Guardian proclaimed her "a model of the Jazz singer's art." Nearly universal praise was lavished for her timing, clarity, improvisational skills and emotional resonance.
A BBC documentary for Channel Four found Anita in the company of Kurt Elling and Dee Dee Bridgewater in a salute to Ella Fitzgerald entitled "Jazz Heroes". "I really enjoyed working on the Ella Tribute," Anita says. "Having grown up listening and transcribing Ella solos, I felt so excited to be asked to talk about one of my great inspirations. Scat is a big part of what I do and so to be able to comment on scat syllables, style and phrasing was a great experience for me."
Anita continued to work throughout the UK with her trio: pianist Robin Aspland, bassist Jeremy Brown and drummer Gene Calderazzo. Aspland has worked with George Coleman, Bobby Watson, Steve Grossman, Van Morrison, Georgie Fame and is the pianist for Curtis Stigers when he tours England . Calderazzo hails from New York where he worked with legends Joe Henderson, Lionel Hampton and Michael Brecker. Moving to London in 1995, he has become one of the most demanded jazz drummers in Europe . Brown studied at the Royal Academy of Music and has become a very sought-after sideman throughout the UK .
Anita and her trio returned to the studio in 1999 and recorded Straight Ahead, released on 33 Jazz. Critics praised her "vibrant delivery," finding in her style the "sweetness of Ella, the creativity of Mark Murphy whilst using her laughter, sadness and technique to tell a story like no other (Amazon). Japan 's most popular jazz publication, Swing Journal, gave its endorsement, writing, "…she's the real thing who can fluently scat and vocalese!"
Her latest CD, Until the Stars Fade, finds Anita returning to her first love, tackling Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein and Rogers and Hart. She and her trio deftly interpret well-known standards in a fresh way, whether it's playful scatting on an energetic "Get out of Town" or a tender reading of "Make Someone Happy". Throughout the disc, her vocalese rivals the storied lyricists in its expressiveness. It's no wonder The Guardian calls her "one of Britain 's most exciting talents."
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Autumn leaves
Anita Wardell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold
Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
But I miss you most of all my darling
C'est une chanson, qui nous ressemble
Toi tu m'aimais et je t'aimais
Nous vivions tous deux ensemble
Toi qui m'aimais moi qui t'aimais
Mais la vie separe ceux qui s'aiment
Tout doucement sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable les pas des amants desunis
Anita Wardell's song "Autumn Leaves" is a bittersweet ballad that depicts the passage of time and the pain of lost love. The falling leaves outside the window are symbolic of the autumnal cycle of life, as everything inevitably comes to an end. However, the nostalgia of the past is still haunting the singer as they reminisce about the summer kisses and sunburned hands of their former lover. The days grow longer since their departure, and they dread hearing "old winter's song," which is a metaphor for the cold and desolate feeling that comes with being alone. Most of all, the singer misses their lover when autumn comes, as it symbolizes the inevitability of change and the end of things.
The second part of the song is in French, and it is a tribute to the lost love that the singer is mourning. The song speaks of how the two were happy together, but life separates those who love each other. The metaphor of the sea erasing the footprints of lovers who are now apart is a beautiful representation of how memory fades over time, no matter how strong the emotions once were.
Line by Line Meaning
The falling leaves drift by the window
I observe the leaves falling and drifting past the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
The leaves are of colors golden and red, signifying the autumn season
I see your lips, the summer kisses
I am reminded of the moments we shared in summer when I look at your lips
The sun-burned hands I used to hold
The hands that I used to hold when the sun shone outside
Since you went away the days grow long
The days seem longer since you have been away from me
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
Winter is approaching and soon its coldness will be felt
But I miss you most of all my darling
Out of everything, it is your absence that I miss the most, dear
When autumn leaves start to fall
It is the falling of the autumn leaves that reminds me of you the most
C'est une chanson, qui nous ressemble
This is a song that resembles us
Toi tu m'aimais et je t'aimais
You loved me and I loved you
Nous vivions tous deux ensemble
We lived together as a couple
Toi qui m'aimais moi qui t'aimais
You loving me and me loving you
Mais la vie separe ceux qui s'aiment
But life separates those who love each other
Tout doucement sans faire de bruit
Silently and softly
Et la mer efface sur le sable les pas des amants desunis
As a result, the ocean erases the footsteps of the divided lovers on the sand
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Springstoff GmbH, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jacques Prevert, Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind