Sandra Michele Joseph, better known as San Michele, has blessed the world's music scene with her smooth, warm voice for more than two decades.
Performing Jazz, Latin and Soul in popular venues throughout Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast as well as in her native Sri Lanka, she shares with her fans her passionate love of all things musical, especially her innate love of Jazz.
Using her beautiful voice, San Michele exposes the intricate relationship between melody and rhythm, taking listeners on a delightful exploration of the sounds and rhythms of Jazz. She loves the rhythmical aspects of some of the songs she performs, as she also plays percussion. Her stunning improvisations give her the freedom to soar like a bird or swim to the depths of the ocean at any given moment in a song. Her singing brings out the free-flying harmonies of each tune, as she uses syncopated rhythm percussively to merge with the bass and drum – and often uses her voice as an instrument in itself.
Yet San Michele's greatest gift may be her ability to convey the story – the emotion – within the song. She pounces upon her songs, eager to bring forth their message, regardless of how much raw emotion she must employ and endure.
With her versatile, vivacious and varied style, her song list overflows with favourite songs that she covers from artists and groups that are legends in Jazz, the Blues, Latin, Soul, R&B, Reggae, Pop and Rock, Swing and Ballads. They run the gamut: Al Jarreau, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Cassandra Wilson, Mel Torme, Ray Charles, George Benson, James Taylor, Jim Croce, the Beatles, Eric Clapton, Sting, Earth Wind and Fire, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack and Bill Withers, to name a few.
She has sung backup for the R&B band The Kitchenettes, a funk band called Mr. Briefcase, and the soul/funk/jazz band Small Talk, in addition to being the lead singer of the jazz band De Já as well as her own jazz band, the San Michele Quintet, which enjoyed great success and popularity with a loyal following of jazz-loving fans.
San Michele has performed with a host of the very best musicians of Australia's vibrant jazz music scene as well as outstanding Sri Lankan musicians. In addition, her duo performance with Valentino, a brilliant flamenco guitarist, was a masterful flamenco-jazz fusion of Spanish and English songs called ‘Aire', featuring San Michele's enchanting voice blending beautifully with the flamenco guitar.
In Australia, she has performed in many venues in the vibrant Jazz music scene, including Dizzys, Manchester Lane, Limerick Arms Hotel, Matthew Flinders Hotel, Cherry Hill Hotel, Intrepid Fox Tavern, The Flower Hotel, The Inkerman Hotel, The Stage, Wayside Inn Hotel, Trappers Bar, The Rose Hotel, the National Art Gallery of Victoria, and many private functions.
In recent years, she has also performed at numerous venues in Sri Lanka, including the Hilton Hotel, Taj Samudra Hotel, Mount Lavinia Hotel, Ananthara Hotel, Tangalle and Colombo Courtyard, as well as exclusive gigs at the Foreign Ministers Residence, Swimming Club, Rowing Club, and the hip Barefoot Cafe. She has also performed regularly at Colombo’s iconic monthly Jazz Unlimited.
San Michele first began singing formally at the age of 24, comparatively late to start, but San Michele believes it is never too late to pursue one's passion. She began her career in Australia singing with her cousin in a band called ‘The Kitchenettes’. She learned much about performing from that early period with the R&B band.
Since that time, her career has blossomed, and she has learned, studied and improved her craft not only through practice and performance but also through diligent training with music masters, including William Bates Academy of Acting & Voice Production (Melbourne and South Yarra), Creenagh Dalton (Box Hill), the Jazz Vocal Workshop with Bob Sedergreen (Dizzys, Richmond), Diana Clark (Richmond), Harry Mullany (Malvern), Cosimo Ciccone at the Victorian Institute of Speech Level Singing (Footscray), Glenda Walsh (Malvern), Michelle Nicole (Brunswick), and Sello Molefi (The Lion King, Dance Through Me, Elephant Tales; Newport).
San Michele's zest for music comes out of a deep, personal appreciation for the importance of music in her life. Music has given her strength, confidence…a voice. It has helped heal her in her darkest times. Born in Sri Lanka, she has lived in Australia since she was 9. Growing up as an only child, she would have to overcome an almost crippling shyness and nervousness into adulthood. Early on, she faced a challenging battle, making sense of the differing cultural perspectives she was receiving as a child – her parents’ traditional and conservative Sri Lankan perspectives versus the new perspectives that came from settling in a new country, Australia, where a more open and freer way of thinking ultimately offered her salvation, literally music to her ears. She would later work for the Royal Australian Air Force, and for many years she worked a 9-to-5 office job… until she underwent her first brain aneurysm operation in 2003. She would have two in her lifetime.
For San Michele, the music she has heard and the music she creates has been the healing medium that has allowed her to get through anything. Having had to pull herself up from the depths of despair at times in order just to breathe, and having to find ways of believing in herself when at times she didn't receive the support she needed from those she loved, San Michele used music to overcome every adversity.
She also became a masterful jazz improvisationist – which at first she was terrified to do, being so fearful of giving of her internal self. Slowly she gained the ability to "let the 'me' out – the 'me' that had remained hidden for so much of my life."
With her music and her voice, San Michele is today able to powerfully express herself, and she devotes herself to bringing to all people the joy and release that music has given her. For her, music is a life lesson and a skills journey – a wonderful healing tool. As an artist and entertainer, she is on a quest to spread music's healing vibrations to the world.
Ultimately, San Michele uses her exquisite gift of singing and musicianship to remind everyone that "life isn’t just about getting up, eating, working and sleeping – rather it is about freeing ourselves up to experience emotions that we have been keeping locked up inside ourselves for so long." So she shares her music to bring forth and unleash the most healing emotion of all: joyfulness!
Repertoire
JAZZ:
LATIN:
â–ª A Day In The Life Of A Fool [Manha de Carnivale] (Luiz Bonfá)
â–ª Afro Blue (Mongo Santamaría)
â–ª Agua De Beber (Antônio Carlos Jobim)
â–ª All Of Me (Gerald Marks, Seymour Simons)
â–ª Besame Mucho (Consuelo Velázquez)
â–ª Corcovado [Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars] (Antônio Carlos Jobim)
â–ª Desafinado [Slightly Out of Tune] (Antônio Carlos Jobim)
â–ª Dindi (Antônio Carlos Jobim)
â–ª Mas Que Nada (Jorge Ben Jor/Sérgio Mendes)
â–ª Moliendo Café [Spanish] (Hugo Blanco/Jose Manzo Perroni)
â–ª No More Blues (Antonio Carlos Jobim/Vinícius de Moraes)
â–ª One Note Samba (Antônio Carlos Jobim)
â–ª Sabor A Mi [Spanish] (Álvaro Carrillo)
â–ª Speak Low (Kurt Weill/Ogden Nash)
â–ª The Girl From Ipanema (Antonio Carlos Jobim/Vinícius de Moraes)
â–ª The Shadow Of Your Smile (Johnny Mandel/Paul Francis Webster)
â–ªWatch What Happens (Michel Legrand/Norman Gimbel)
SWING:
â–ª A Foggy Day (George & Ira Gershwin)
â–ª All Or Nothing At All (Arthur Altman/Jack Lawrence)
â–ª All Right, Okay, You Win (Mayme Watts/Sid Wyche)
â–ª Autumn Leaves (Joseph Kosma/Johnny Mercer)
â–ª Bewitched (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart)
â–ª Blue Moon (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart)
â–ª Bye Bye Blackbird (Ray Henderson/Mort Dixon)
â–ª Chanson D’Amour (Wayne Shanklin)
â–ª Days Of Wine And Roses (Henry Mancini/Johnny Mercer)
â–ª Deed I Do (Fred Rose/Walter Hirsch)
â–ª Do Nothing ‘Til You Hear From Me (Duke Ellington/Bob Russell)
â–ª Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (Duke Ellington/Bob Russell)
â–ª Falling In Love With Love (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart)
â–ª Feeling Good (Anthony Newley/Leslie Bricusse)
â–ª Fly Me To The Moon (Bart Howard)
â–ª How High The Moon (Morgan Lewis/Nancy Hamilton)
â–ª I Can’t Give You Anything But Love (Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields)
â–ª I Concentrate On You (Cole Porter)
â–ª I Could Have Danced All Nigh (Frederick Loewe/Alan Jay Lerner)
â–ª I Cried For You (Gus Arnheim/Abe Lyman/Arthur Freed)
â–ª I Want To Be Happy (Vincent Youmans/Irving Caesar)
â–ª I Wish You Love (Charles Trenet)
â–ª I’m Beginning To See The Light (Duke Ellington/Don George/Johnny Hodges/Harry James)
â–ª In A Mellow Tone (Duke Ellington/Milt Gabler)
â–ª Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t ‘Ma Baby (Louis Jordan/Billy Austin)
â–ª It Had To Be You (Isham Jones/Gus Kahn)
â–ª It’s Only A Paper Moon (Harold Arlen/E. Y. Harburg/Billy Rose)
â–ª Just In Time (Jule Styne/Betty Comden/Adolph Green)
â–ª L-O-V-E (Bert Kaempfert/Milt Gabler)
â–ª Love For Sale (Cole Porter)
â–ª Lullaby of Birdland(George Shearing/George David Weiss)
â–ªMoonglow (Will Hudson/Irving Mills/Eddie DeLange)
â–ª My Baby Just Cares For Me (Walter Donaldson/Gus Kahn)
â–ª My Favourite Things (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II)
â–ª Night & Day (Cole Porter)
â–ª On A Clear Day (Burton Lane/Alan Jay Lerner)
â–ª On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields)
â–ª Our Love Is Here To Stay (George & Ira Gershwin)
â–ª Route 66 (Bobby Troup)
â–ª Satin Doll (Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn/Johnny Mercer)
â–ª Stella By Starlight (Victor Young/Ned Washington)
â–ª Sweet Georgia Brown (Ben Bernie/Maceo Pinkard/Kenneth Casey)
â–ª The Lady Is A Tramp (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart)
â–ªThe Way You Look Tonight (Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields)
â–ªTime After Time (Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne)
â–ª Watermelon Man (Herbie Hancock)
â–ª What A Difference A Day Makes (Maria Grever/Stanley Adams)
â–ª When I Fall In Love (Victor Young/Edward Heyman)
â–ª When You’re Smiling (Larry Shay/Mark Fisher/Joe Goodwin)
â–ª Witchcraft (Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh)
BALLAD:
â–ªAlfie (Burt Bacharach/Hal David)
â–ªAll In The Game (Charles G. Dawes/Carl Sigman)
â–ªAll Of You (Cole Porter)
â–ªAm I Blue (Harry Akst/Grant Clarke)
â–ªAt Last (Mack Gordon/Harry Warren)
â–ªCome Rain Or Shine (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer)
â–ªCrazy (Willie Nelson)
â–ªCry Me A River (Arthur Hamilton)
â–ªDanny Boy (Frederic Weatherly/"Londonderry Air”)
â–ªFever (Eddie Cooley/Otis Blackwell)
â–ªGeorgia On My Mind (Hoagy Carmichael/Stuart Gorrell)
â–ªGod Bless The Child (Billie Holiday/Arthur Herzog Jr.)
â–ªGood Morning Heartache (Irene Higginbotham/Ervin Drake/Dan Fisher)
â–ªI Left My Heart In San Francisco (George Cory/Douglass Cross)
â–ªI’ve Grown Accustomed To His Face (Frederick Loewe/Alan Jay Lerner)
â–ªMisty (Erroll Garner/Johnny Burke)
â–ªMoon River (Henry Mancini/Johnny Mercer)
â–ªMy Funny Valentine (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart)
â–ªNature Boy (Eden Ahbez)
â–ªNice N’ Easy (Lew Spence/Alan & Marilyn Bergman)
â–ªOle Devil Called Love (Allan Roberts/Doris Fisher)
â–ªOver The Rainbow (Harold Arlen/E.Y. Harburg)
â–ªTeach Me Tonight (Gene De Paul/Sammy Cahn)
â–ªTenderly (Walter Gross/Jack Lawrence)
â–ªThe Man I Love (George & Ira Gershwin)
â–ªThe Nearness Of You (Hoagy Carmichael/Ned Washington
â–ªUnforgettable (Irving Gordon)
â–ªWhat A Wonderful World (Bob Thiele known as "George Douglas”/George David Weiss)
OTHER:
â–ªAll In Love Is Fair (Stevie Wonder)
â–ªAnother Star (Stevie Wonder)
â–ªDon’t Know Why (Nora Jones)
â–ªDon’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing(Stevie Wonder/Incognito)
â–ªFeel Like Makin’ Love (Roberta Flack)
â–ªFor Once In My Life (Stevie Wonder)
â–ªFragile (Sting)
â–ªI Shot The Sheriff (Bob Marley)
â–ªIs This Love (Bob Marley)
â–ªIsn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder)
â–ªJust The Two Of Us(Grover Washington Jr/Bill Withers)
â–ªKilling Me Softly (Roberta Flack)
â–ªLean On Me (Bill Withers)
â–ªLovely Day (Bill Withers)
â–ªMaster Blaster (Stevie Wonder)
â–ªMe and Mr(s) Jones (Billy Paul)
â–ªOne Day I’ll Fly Away (Randy Crawford)
â–ªOverjoyed (Stevie Wonder)
â–ªRedemption Song (Bob Marley/Cassandra Wilson)
â–ªRio De Janeiro Blue (Randy Crawford)
â–ªSeptember (Earth Wind & Fire)
â–ªSir Duke (Stevie Wonder)
â–ªSmooth Operator (Sade)
â–ªSummer Breeze (Seals & Croft/Isley Bros.)
â–ªSunny (Bobby Hebb)
â–ªThis Masquerade (George Benson)
â–ªWhat’s Going On (Marvin Gaye)
â–ªWild Is The Wind (Randy Crawford/George Michael)
â–ªAin’t No Sunshine (Bill Withers)
â–ªAngel Eyes (Neil Sedaka)
â–ªAt Seventeen (Janis Ian)
â–ªBad Bad Leroy Brown (Jim Croce)
â–ªBefore You Accuse Me (Eric Clapton)
â–ªCan’t Buy Me Love (Beatles)
â–ªChange The World (Eric Clapton)
â–ªClose To You (Carpenters/Gwen Guthrie)
â–ªDaniel (Elton John)
â–ªDear Prudence (Beatles)
â–ªDock Of The Bay (Otis Redding)
â–ªEvil Ways (Santana)
â–ªFire & Rain (James Taylor)
â–ªGive Me One Reason (Tracy Chapman)
â–ªHallelujah I Love Him So (Ray Charles)
â–ªHit The Road Jack (Ray Charles)
â–ªHow Deep Is Your Love (Bee Gees/Beyonce)
â–ªHow Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You(James Taylor)
â–ªI Only Have Eyes For You (The Flamingos)
â–ªI’m Walkin’ (Fats Domino)
â–ªIf (David Gates)
â–ªImagine (John Lennon)
â–ªIt’s Too Late (Carole King)
â–ªKansas City (Fats Domino)
â–ªMac The Knife (Bobby Darin)
â–ªMiss Celie’s Blues(Quincy Jones & Rod Temperton)
â–ªMoondance (Van Morrison)
â–ªNatural Woman (Aretha Franklin)
â–ªThe Letter (Beatles)
â–ªTo Love Somebody (Bee Gees)
â–ªUnder The Boardwalk(The Drifters/Rickie Lee Jones)
â–ªUp On A Roof (James Taylor)
â–ªWhiter Shade Of Pale (Procul Harem)
â–ªWill You Still Love Me Tomorrow (Roberta Flack)
â–ªYesterday (John Lennon)
â–ªYou Send Me (Sam Cooke)
â–ªYou’ve Got A Friend (Carole King)
â–ªYour Song (Elton John)
