Blazing Minds

Indie Artist Elza Mueller-Roemer Isn’t Just Another Pretty Voice.

This is a guest post by Lauren Salkin

Every time Elza takes the stage, she channels the music of her South Carolina roots in her songs, a mix of blues, jazz, and folk-rock she likes to call “Acoustic Soul.” Her voice, a disarming combination of strength and vulnerability, has elicited comparisons to Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt. “ . . . A voice that is unmistakable.” — The Acoustic Radio Sampler.

“ . . . You’d have to hear it to believe it. Live, she’s the second coming of Joni.” — Don Menn, founder of Guitar Magazine.

Yet, Elza’s appeal is much more than her incredible vocal range, or her southern bluesy charm, or her ability to touch people with her lyrics and melodically infectious songs. Elza is also an accomplished musician, producer, and award-winning songwriter.

Her songs have been featured in television shows, such as ABC’s Medical Documentary “Hopkins” for which she wrote the promo theme and 13 songs, CW’s “Smallville,” and the independent film “Single.” Later this month, Elza’s songs will appear in the ABC series “Boston Med” by the same producer of “Hopkins.”

Elza’s recognition continues to grow with the release of her widely acclaimed third CD, “Gettin’ Free,” and headlining debut at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center in New York City. Prior to headlining at Tribeca, Elza has appeared at such legendary clubs as the Bluebird Café-Nashville, The Sweetwater-San Francisco, Winterfolk Festival-Toronto, The Clearwater Revival-New York, The Towne Crier-New York, and The Living Room-New York City.

Elza has shared the stage with Grammy Award Winner, Charlie Colin of Train, Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, Martin Sexton, Catie Curtis, Richie Havens, Andrea Bocelli, and Andi Vargas of Santana … Touring with some of the greatest legends in the music industry and connecting with audiences one show at a time has been instrumental in shaping Elza as an artist.

“Being on the road helped me find myself artistically and define what I wanted to create on my next full length album,” Elza explained. “I teamed up with veteran producer Jeff Eyrich at Bennett Studios and the results were magical. I feel that my CD, “Gettin’ free,” really captures the struggles and the joys of finding my own artistic truth.”

A quest she would undertake time and again throughout her career. Just before a recent show at a local bistro in New York, Elza smiled. “This is my year of musical independence,” she said, then sat down at the piano. As she started to play, her music sashayed off into a different direction, heading south back to her Charleston roots where she first discovered the blues.

In addition to her own scheduled appearances, Elza recently produced Jess Turner and Melanie Bresnan’s’ first CDs, two very promising young artists who studied voice with Elza, while also mentoring high school students. Many of Elza’s students have landed scholarships, have gone on to study voice at Tanglewood, Westminster Choir College, Berklee College of Music, and Boston University, or have become professional singers.

For more about Elza, please visit www.elzamusic.com.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 at 9:03 am and is filed under Guests Posts, Music Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.