Duo Session: Lori Mechem with Mandy Barnett and Andy Reiss

Nashville Jazz Workshop is excited for the return of these talented artist to the Jazz Cave!

About the artists:

Lori Mechem-

A respected jazz pianist, composer and educator, Lori, along with her husband Roger Spencer, has lived in the Nashville area since 1988. In addition to directing production shows and conducting musical theatre, she has performed with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Red Holloway, Jimmy Smith, Cal Collins, Roy McCurdy, Terry Gibbs, Pete Christlieb, Edie Gorme, Bobby Militello, Kirk Whalum and Donna McElroy. A native of Anderson Indiana, Lori received a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Lori’s first CD, “Welcome to Brazil” was nominated for “Best Jazz Album of the Year” by the Nashville Music Awards in 1997. In 2003, Lori’s second CD, “Shiny Stockings, rose to #26 on the jazz charts. In 2005 she released a Brazilian Christmas album on Village Square Music. Since then she has released three more CD’s: “April in Paris” (a second Count Basie album), “The Dream of Life” (original meditation music), and “Return to Ipanema.”

Mandy Barnett-

Grand Ole Opry member Mandy Barnett, one of Nashville’s enduring musical treasures who has showcased her mesmerizing voice on stages across the globe, started singing at five years-old. She has been singing since.

Barnett’s style is rooted in the classic country and pop crooning of iconic singers and timeless sounds. She delves into a song with a keen interpretative sense, getting right down to its emotional core and rendering a powerhouse performance through her “pipes of steel” (Los Angeles Times). As one record executive put it, “Mandy Barnett is a song’s best friend.”

Barnett first gained national prominence as the original star of one of the first “jukebox” musicals, Always...Patsy Cline at Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium. Barnett, as Cline, performs on the original cast soundtrack album and is the only actress to have played the role on the historic Ryman stage where Cline’s legend began. The Ryman shows sold out nightly and received rave reviews, and Barnett has wowed critics and audiences ever since with her concerts and recordings.

Andy Reiss-

Andy Reiss grew up in San Francisco, Calif., playing in a wide variety of bands all through high school. Finding himself in a starving rock and roll band after high school, when given the opportunity of joining a showband and going on the road, he jumped on it. It was the beginning of a dozen years of playing in a wide variety of bands, ranging from honky tonk bands in bars and casinos to playing show tunes in theaters. He moved to Nashville in 1981, where Andy’s career took on several new dimensions.

One of Andy’s first contacts was the legendary producer/steel guitarist Pete Drake, who helped Andy understand the inner workings of the Nashville studio scene. His first Nashville session was an album for Slim Pickens, an album that had such Nashville greats as Drake, Charlie McCoy, Bob Moore, Pete Wade, Pig Robbins, the Jordanaires…talk about an education!! This led to spending the next 20 years in the Nashville studios, playing on hundreds of records including two that won Grammy awards: BJ Thomas’ “Amazing Grace”, and the Reba McEntire/Linda Davis number one hit “Does He Love You”. Andy plays with the renowned western swing band “The Time Jumpers” as well as with the Lori Mechem Quartet.

Host or Publisher Nashville Jazz Workshop