The incomparable Anna Danes…’Find Your Wings’
- Written by Thomas Estey
Discovering a new life, fresh purpose and her true inner voice after years of keeping up appearances in an unfulfilled existence she called a “gilded cage,” Anna Danes is truly flying high. The emerging jazz vocalist and songwriter captures the inspirational philosophy that continues to propel her forward in the opening lines from “Find Your Wings,” the gorgeous piano-vocal ballad that is the title track and centerpiece to her new full length album. Speaking both to her soul and to millions of women who seek the courage to liberate themselves and follow their deeper creative passions, she sings, “When you feel that you don’t fit/You’re not understood one bit/Find Your Wings/You can rise above the fray/Sing what you can’t seem to say/Find Your Wings.”
The Polish born, San Diego based multi-faceted artist and performer’s advocacy for passion-pursuing and dream chasing has caught on quickly. Upon its release, Find Your Wings debuted at #1 on the iTunes jazz chart. Soon thereafter, it placed on two Billboard charts, reaching #13 on the Traditional Jazz chart and in the Top 25 on the Jazz Albums chart. The collection, a follow-up to her well received 2013 debut Longing, was produced by Dave Darling (Brian Setzer, Tom Waits, Jack Johnson, Motley Crue) and recorded with top L.A. session musicians in Capitol’s Studios A, where greats like Frank Sinatra and Nat “King” Cole once held court.
A true Renaissance woman who has used music as a springboard to become a motivational speaker, budding author, noted philanthropist and live show producer in the San Diego area, Anna recently created a vision board for the way she wants her career to unfold. It includes images of her flying out of LAX to a multitude of destinations, stages with microphones and large audiences, the Hollywood Bowl, NYC skyscrapers, Grammy Awards, even the cover of Time Magazine. Bold? Yes! Yet none of these hopes and dreams seemed remotely possible just a few years ago, when her marriage was breaking down and the onetime stay at home mom was trying to literally find her wings and start over at the age of 43. Recording her second album in the place where the legends worked their timeless magic was the ultimate confirmation that she had succeeded in re-inventing herself while sharing those long latent musical gifts with the world.
“I could feel my jaw literally drop, walking in there where these icons created their magic and realizing that this was my time to make my mark,” Anna says. “It was truly an incredible trip and dream come true. Our incredible production team brought in old mics from all the greats that worked with them in the past, we used a Yamaha that Nat had played. I recorded ‘That’s All’ with Richard Shelton, one of the world’s premiere Sinatra singers, in grand Frank style, using his old mics in the middle of the Studio A, Sinatra style!
“For me,” she adds, “the moment went deeper than recording a wonderful track in a historic setting. For girl who spent the first part of her childhood in Communist Poland under a repressive regime, it was a moment that reminded me of the freedom and unlimited potential we can reach in America. It was also a connection to the classic Hollywood movies I watched in those days, growing up with big dreams and fantasies while living in a small apartment in Poland, of what it would be like to be onstage dressed in sequins.”
Annes Danes, the statuesque Baltic beauty of San Diego jazz, embodies elegance, sophistication and authenticity. She has been photographed time and time again by publications delighted to share how they capture her passion and message.
