Biography
Born on 31 March 1949 in Evanston, Illinois, USA, Podewell first performed in school choirs and took up piano while also pursuing folk music on guitar throughout her college years. Classical and musical comedy recordings at home shaped her earliest tastes, yet after completing a sociology-psychology degree she discovered jazz via Lee Wiley’s records; the standards of the Great American Songbook drew her as well. She pressed on with formal studies and obtained a master’s degree in early childhood education from Chicago’s Erikson Institute, all the while refining her vocal skills until she turned professional in 1975. Chicago venues, above all Rick’s Café Americain, hosted her initial steady work, where she shared stages with Vic Dickenson, Red Richards and Doc Cheatham, although most engagements found her fronting local trios or accompanying herself on guitar.
A cassette that reached Benny Goodman in 1979 led to her engagement with his sextet. Once that association ended, she joined Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd in the early 1980s and also performed as a solo act across Japan and South America. Late in the decade she relocated to Los Angeles, collaborating there with Jack Sheldon, Ross Tompkins and Jake Hanna. Although firmly rooted in the city by the 1990s, family obligations—she returned to Chicago to care for ailing parents—intermittently curtailed her schedule, yet she still appeared in Los Angeles when possible, among them a 1998 engagement with Les Brown And His Band Of Renown.
Podewell’s voice is rich and mature, delivered with fluid swing; her ballad readings reflect an abiding affection for and insight into the material. By the close of the 1990s she had made Los Angeles her permanent base and was actively preparing fresh recordings while building her presence on national and international stages.
A cassette that reached Benny Goodman in 1979 led to her engagement with his sextet. Once that association ended, she joined Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd in the early 1980s and also performed as a solo act across Japan and South America. Late in the decade she relocated to Los Angeles, collaborating there with Jack Sheldon, Ross Tompkins and Jake Hanna. Although firmly rooted in the city by the 1990s, family obligations—she returned to Chicago to care for ailing parents—intermittently curtailed her schedule, yet she still appeared in Los Angeles when possible, among them a 1998 engagement with Les Brown And His Band Of Renown.
Podewell’s voice is rich and mature, delivered with fluid swing; her ballad readings reflect an abiding affection for and insight into the material. By the close of the 1990s she had made Los Angeles her permanent base and was actively preparing fresh recordings while building her presence on national and international stages.
Albums