Shana Tucker

SHANA TW is a NY-bred, NC-based artist who's set on blazing a trail for herself Down South. Transcending genre distinctions, Shana settles comfortably within the realm of SoulFolk -- a familiar pastiche of soulful, acoustic down-tempo pop culture with hints of folk.

"It’s familiar without the threat of pigeon-hole confinement...I love 80's music, I'm a sucker for jazz. I have a bossa-novian heartbeat, which comes out in my vocal phrasing...classical training inspires the cello sensibilities, but I like to channel blues & old-timey bass lines into it as well. It's like a great coffee blend: bold, robust with undertones of bittersweet chocolate," she says with a smile.

Shana's debut solo project portrays a musical journey that indeed celebrates the major influences of everyday life: relationship, laughter, love (unrequited and reciprocated), loss, rediscovery, and the never-ending journey towards heightened levels of peace, understanding, self-acceptance and satisfaction.

"The most important thing I want to take away from this process is a musical truth," she explains. "I need it to just be…allow it to breathe and thrive without the threat of one definition. If I effectively do my job as Artist, (genre) cohesion will come from the common, unique thread woven by my experiences."

Raised in Amityville, NY, Shana learned to play piano at an early age from her great-grandmother, who was herself a beginner taking community center lessons. In junior high, she traded in her violin for cello in order to stay in orchestra. In high school, Shana broadened her musical horizons by studying choral singing, performing with regional orchestras, theatre productions, and vocal groups of various sizes and winning several regional and national awards and accolades.

Shana subsequently studied cello at Howard University in Washington, DC with David Howard and continued her musical performance education at CUNY - Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music with Marion Feldman. While in DC and NYC, she won considerable regional acclaim after joining the string/piano trio, Hue. Shana's work as an arranger/composer appears on several CD recordings, theatre productions, and TV commercials. Her commissioned works include 'Nexxus' and 'Savannah', both of which were composed for The Washington Ballet (with Maritri Garrett, co-writer) and premiered at The Kennedy Center (Washington, DC). Of the two, 'Savannah' was also chosen to debut at the Joyce Theatre-NYC and also at the Witts Theater in Johannesburg, South Africa. With Hue, Shana opened for several critically-acclaimed recording artists, including jazz saxophonist Hamiett Bluett, drummer/vocalist Vinx, Sweet Honey in the Rock, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Indigo Girls.

"There's no investment like the one you make in yourself," Shana notes. "I'm taking time to learn my songs on guitar and piano, how to accompany myself... to explore vocal/cello duets and enjoy the sound of just me & Malachi (cello). At the end of the day, it's great to just let the music flow, 'do what it do' without getting in its way or taking myself too seriously."

No need to fear: Shana's music indeed speaks for itself through well-crafted lyrics, subtle, lingering melodies, and compositions that boast a unique, satisfying blend of humor and gravity. Tell somebody about it...this girl’s music is something worth sharing, worth keeping, worth hearing more of.