Jan Alba

Hear What Others Have to Say

 
"In 2006 Jan Alba appeared on my first CD, Can I Sleep Here Tonight.  The CD was already completed but after hearing her play at a function I decided to reopen the recording session to add her flute. It was the right decision. Itʼs a pleasure today to put on that recording and listen to her make the songs I wrote sound so beautiful  and melodic. I appreciate that Jan is professional and comes prepared to play. I know I can trust her to write her own melody lines.  I also admire that even when she is unfamiliar with a tunehow fast she is able to 'wing it' .”
 
"As I am now recording my 2nd CD, I didnʼt hesitate to call upon Jan once again to lend her talents to this new effort. She appears on 5 songs this time around and I couldnʼt be happier with her work." 

"Jan has just made her first live appearance with my band here in New York at the Every Thing Goes Cafe. The audience feedback was to say the least very positive. It was a pleasure to share the stage with such a talented musician. She adds an element of flair that blends so effortlessly with our music."

"As I sit here writing this I anticipate and look forward to having Jan Alba join us once again on stage at the 4th Annual Westerleigh Folk Festival, September 2011."

Jim Indell
 
 
"Jan Alba is not only a talented flautist, she is also a fine musician.  She has an absolutely beautiful tone, is a great listener and has great taste for melody, texture  and what serves a song.  She played on 3 songs for my new CD, The Field.  I found her to be a very responsive soloist and accompanist, and easy to work with. She also made me sound better, which is all you can really ask for in an collaborator!" 

Michael London

 
"Jan Alba has accompanied me on flute for many of my shows, and has also recorded tracks on my upcoming CD. Not only is she extremely versatile and professional, but she is also a delight to work with. " 

Terry Rivel



"Jan has the innate ability to make any performer sound his or her best. She's amazing in rehearsal and exceeds expectations in performance. Jan is reliable and a truly consistent player. She is a well-trained talent who shines in front of an audience."

Megan Rios


"I am a singer/songwriter musician and I had commissioned the lovely Jan Alba to accompany me with her flute on my album. She was amazing, her breath carried the tune with pure perfection. She was able to find the space and put the wind-song in like angel voices from deep within the canyons. She was a delight to work with and was able to co-create as well as truly listen and hear and emulate the style of music I was going for. She is mightily diverse and with over 20 years experience, an outstanding professional. She comes highly recommended and I was blessed to have her on my album."

Kai'Lee Botak

 
"I brought Jan aboard as a singer for a video and found she was a real trouper and a real pro!  We wound up using her on flute on a second video and it was a long and grueling day, but Jan turned out to be our Rock of Gibraltar.  She sang beautifully on a song with a close harmony that could lead a lot of singers off the melody."

"Her flute playing on “John Barleycorn Must Die” was haunting and absolutely gorgeous. She laid back during the singing and jumped in at just the right spots with just the right touch. Later, I listened to the iconic Traffic recording of that song, and I honestly prefer Jan’s playing to the flute playing of Chris Wood, who was an experienced session player."

"Later that night, Jan and I did a song on a live TV show on Princeton public TV. She was so poised and confident that the hosts directed their banter at her after our song."

Bob Kelley

 
"Jan recently came up to our studio for a session with Mara Levine. I had a great time working with her as she is an educated musician able to play most anything you throw in front of her. There were also a couple of times that we wanted her to improvise- no problem- she was able to do that over the music without a hitch. Most musicians can either read or improvise- Jan's able to do both! To me, her performance on that particular song made the whole arrangement come together."

Bob Harris,  Ampersand Records USA 


"I recently hired Jan Alba to provide flute accompaniment for two songs on my upcoming CD Jewels and Harmony: "By My Side" by Peggy Gordon and Jay Hamburger, and "Killing The Blues" by Rowland Salley."

"Jan was on time for the sessions, came prepared, and even played a different type of flute, silver and wood, on each song to enhance the sound. Jan is incredibly skilled at improvising flute parts and she was also able to read sheet music and follow an arrangement provided as well. Jan was so easy to work with, and her playing is so beautiful, that I would recommend her to anyone in need of flute on their recordings."

Mara Levine

 

Just a few words about Jan. I am the lead guitarist and musical director for Stu and The Gurus. We were working on our second album “This Time Around” and we needed some flute for our song “Be Patient.” At that point, there was only one thought in my mind: “Jan!” Her musicality and especially her beautiful tone were exactly what the track needed. And I had to fight myself in the final mixdown to keep from jacking up her volume, just because it was so magical. It was only a few notes, but it was exactly what the track needed. Jan was a pleasure to work with, arriving on time, and getting down to the job at hand, including helping me find the ideal position for the mic.


Millard Brown 

 

So it’s 3am at some folk festival and I stroll up on Rusty and Jan for some end-of-the-night jamming.  That’s what we do. After breezing through some simple stuff, I throw a shuffling jazz tune at Jan that I wrote a few years back, you know, just to see what she’d do with it.  It was magic.  But you know how that magic of the moment can be; wonderful, but fleeting.

A few months later, I’m finishing up another genre-defiant collection of rock, folk, and whatever tunes, and I bring Jan into Kawari Sound to dub flute on the same number.  I'd sent her my elementary charts and an MP3 of the track, and she was very prepared. My engineer was blown away.  I was blown away. She not only recaptured the magic of our by chance, summer jam, she took direction on what I was looking for. Efficient.  Professional. It may be my favorite song on the record.

Jan Alba is a key member of our musical community.  Whether it’s hosting open mikes, rolling in the mud with the rest of us at festivus, cutting it within an orchestra or selflessly supporting songwriter projects like mine, Jan is special. 

Jefferson Berry



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