Ann Hampton Callaway Musician

Updated: January 9, 2024

Born: May 30, 1959

Ann Hampton Callaway is one America's most gifted and prolific artists. A leading champion of the great American Songbook, she's made her mark as a singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger, actress, educator, TV host and producer. Voted by Broadwayworld.com as "Performer of the Year" and two years in a row as "Best Jazz Vocalist," Ann is born entertainer. Her unique singing style that blends jazz and traditional pop, making her a mainstay in concert halls, theaters and jazz clubs as well as in the recording studio, on television, and in film. She is best known for Tony-nominated performance in the hit Broadway musical "Swing!" and for writing and singing the theme song to the hit TV series "The Nanny." Callaway is a Platinum Award winning writer whose songs are featured on seven of Barbra Streisand's recent CD's. The only composer to have collaborated with Cole Porter, she has also written songs with Carole King, Rolf Lovland, Amanda McBroom and Shelby Lynn to name a few. Callaway has shared the stage with great artists from many genres- George Shearing, Dizzy Gillespie, Stevie Wonder, Dr. John, Liza Minnelli, Betty Buckley, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Audra McDonald, Harvey Fierstein, Ramsey Lewis, Kurt Elling and Michael Feinstein.

Callaway's live performances showcase her warmth, spontaneous wit and passionate delivery of standards, jazz classics and originals. She is one of America's most gifted improvisers, taking words and phrases from her audiences and creating songs on the spot, whether alone at a piano or with a symphony orchestra. Ann has been a special guest performer with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood and has been featured at many of the Carnegie Hall tributes. She has sung with more than forty of the world's top orchestras and big bands, and has performed for President Clinton in Washington, D.C. and at President Gorbachev's Youth Peace Summit in Moscow. Callaway performed with her sister, Broadway star Liz Callaway, in their award-winning show Sibling Revelry at London's Donmar Warehouse. Their act "Boom!," a critically acclaimed celebration of the baby boomer hits of the 60's and 70's, was recorded by PS Classics which debuted in the top 25 on Billboard Jazz. Ann was featured in the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade telecast watched by 6 million people singing Emmy Award winning song "Yes, Virginia." Her symphony shows "The Streisand Songbook," "The Linda Ronstadt Songbook," "Diva to Diva," and "Broadway with the Callaways" are always in demand. Callaway's performances and recordings have garnered her The Theater World Award, 15 MAC Awards, several Bistro Awards, The Mabel Mercer Award, The Johnny Mercer Award for Songwriting and The Blanton Peale Award for Positive Thinking. Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote, "For sheer vocal beauty, no contemporary singer matches Ms. Callaway."

Ann's new CD, Jazz Goes to the Movies, featuring the Ted Rosenthal Trio with special guest Jimmy Greene, debuted at #12 on the Billboard Jazz Chart and has been in high rotation across the country, notably on Siriusly Sinatra. Her other recent recordings have also met great critical acclaim - The Sarah Vaughan Project: Live at Dizzy's, The Hope of Christmas, At Last, Blues in the Night, Slow and Signature. She has recorded two popular holiday CD's - Holiday Pops! With Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, and her solo CD, This Christmas. Ann's other recordings include Easy Living, To Ella with Love, After Ours, Bring Back Romance, Ann Hampton Callaway, and the award-winning live recording Sibling Revelry. Callaway has also been a guest performer on more than forty CD's including Kenny Barron's CD The Traveler.

Ann's dream of working in film, TV and radio has been realized in several projects. She made her feature film debut opposite Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon in the Robert De Niro film "THE GOOD SHEPHERD", performing the standard "Come Rain or Come Shine". She recorded "Isn't It Romantic?" and "The Nearness of You" in Wayne Wong's "LAST HOLIDAY", starring Queen Latifah. Ann wrote songs for the upcoming movie musical "THE MAN WHO SAVED PARIS" starring Stanley Tucci and can be heard singing her original song "Pourquoi" in the soundtrack of "BLIND" starring Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore. And, as a part of her mission to keep the American Songbook thriving, she has produced and hosted two TV specials Called "Singer's Spotlight With Ann Hampton Callaway" with guests Liza Minnelli and Christine Ebersole for WTTW National which dovetailed into her NPR radio series "This is Cabaret" with talk of an upcoming podcast.

Ann devotes much of her time to philanthropic causes, both as a singer performing in numerous benefits, and as a songwriter composing songs in times of need. In September 2005, Ann performed her original composition "Let the Saints Come Marching", written to honor Hurricane Katrina victims, on a national TV broadcast on the Fox News Channel. Her song "Who Can See the Blue the Same Again?" was released earlier in 2005 as a single, paying tribute to the tsunami survivors and raising much needed money for The Tsunami Fund of The PRASAD Project. In the aftermath of September 11th, Ann composed the rousing anthem, "I Believe in America", which she performed on Larry King Live and released as a CD single. Just days after the tragedy, Ann heard an 8,000 year old prayer from the Rig Veda and composed the world renowned "Let Us Be United". Ann recorded the song with Kenny Werner, The Siddha Yoga International Choir and five-year-old Sonali Beaven, who sang in honor of her father who lost his life on Flight 93. It was released on CD and DVD and its proceeds continue to benefit Save the Children and The PRASAD Project. Ann released the single of her Platinum selling peace anthem "At the Same Time" as well as her stirring gun control anthem "Thoughts and Prayers" both available on i-Tunes, Spotify and Apple Music.

Ann's father was Chicago's legendary TV and radio journalist, John Callaway. Her mother, Shirley Callaway, was a superb singer, pianist and one of New York's most in-demand vocal coaches. Ann is married to Kari Strand and they share a historic home in Tucson where they recently relocated from New York. Show less

Ann Hampton Callaway: Finding Beauty. Originals. Volume 1

Read "Finding Beauty. Originals. Volume 1" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
January 9, 2024

"This is my most personal record," Callaway says. “Throughout my career, I've loved singing the great jazz classics and selections from the Great American Songbook, but I've always snuck my original songs on various projects. The pandemic made me think, 'I don't know if I'll live through this, but if I do, what's at the top of my bucket list?' And I realized that I wanted to tell my story and share the deepest part of me. What better way ...

Album Review

Ann Hampton Callaway: Fever: A Peggy Lee Celebration

Read "Fever: A Peggy Lee Celebration" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
January 18, 2023

Peggy Lee was a remarkable singer and songwriter, but to some listeners, deeply enigmatic. Her time, often well behind the beat, conveyed a subtle sense of irony. “Are you getting this?" she sometimes seemed to say, “or am I going too fast for you?" She could be exuberant and world weary almost in the same breath. It was seemingly up to the audience to decipher her meaning. Lee could convey expectation and experience simultaneously, as in her version of “Folks ...

Live Review

Ann Hampton Callaway at Birdland

by Tyran Grillo
November 5, 2017

Ann Hampton Callaway Birdland New York, NY November 1, 2017 In her iconic theme song for The Nanny, Ann Hampton Callaway quips: “She's the lady in red when everybody else in wearing tan." And while Callaway wasn't dressed in red when she graced Birdland on 1 November 2017, she did stand out with equal vividness at a whitewashed historical moment. Backed by Ted Rosenthal on piano, Martin Wind on bass, Tim Horner on drums, and ...

Multiple Reviews

MCG Jazz does Christmas: New Holiday Releases From Ann Hampton Callaway and the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra

by Dan Bilawsky
December 18, 2015

The inevitability of new Christmas albums often fills jazz journalists with dread. And while some may assume it's because we're a cynical breed with unreasonable standards and upturned noses, that couldn't be further from the truth (in most cases). The reason jazz journalists approach new Christmas albums with caution is simple: the number of slipshod, hastily-produced, derivative holiday albums produced in a given year always seems to significantly outweigh the number of quality Christmas projects that appear in the same ...

Live Review

Ann Hampton Callaway at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola

by Ernest Barteldes
October 28, 2014

Ann Hampton Callaway Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola October 23, 2014 New York, NY On the CD release event for her album Sarah Vaughan Project (Shanachie, 2014)--captured live at this very venue--Ann Hampton Callaway kicked off the set with a very up-tempo take on “I'm Gonna Live Till I Die" that swung hard, setting the tone for the evening. She then talked a little about what the show and album were about--honoring “the divine" ...

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New York Beat

Callaway at The Colony

by Nick Catalano
April 5, 2009

There are so many perspectives from which to view Ann Hampton Callaway's vocal arsenal that I decided that I would take advantage of a Florida book tour stop I was making and catch her appearance at the Royal room of the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach. By skipping her CD launch party at Dizzy's (from where I would normally write this review) and attend one in entirely different demographic, I thought I might get some new angles that might be ...

326

Album Review

Ann Hampton Callaway: At Last

Read "At Last" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins

by Woodrow Wilkins
February 19, 2009

It takes a certain degree of nerve to take on “At Last," Mack Gordon and Harry Warren's classic ballad. Etta James' definitive recording is the standard by which most--if not all--renderings are judged. Singer Ann Hampton Callaway has that nerve, and then some. Callaway, a performer in the Broadway musical Swing!, composed and sang the theme to the hit television series The Nanny. Her associations include Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and Keith Lockhart ...

Recording

Ann Hampton Callaway's 'The Moon Is A Kite' - New Single - Just Released!

Source: Scott Thompson Public Relations
June 28, 2021

Tony nominee and Platinum selling songwriter, Ann Hampton Callaway, releases the latest in a string of singles called “The Moon is a Kite." The song originated from a poem she wrote in her #ahcpoemaday series on June 10, 2021. Arts Angel Debra DeMartini commissioned Ann to create a song and the result was an enchanted jazz waltz celebrating the benefits of keeping an imaginative life view to support the spirit during challenging times. This song will ultimately be part of ...
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Performance / Tour

Jazz this week: Ann Hampton Callaway, Erik Friedlander's Black Phebe Trio, and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
March 15, 2017

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the return of a popular singer, the local debut of a challenging trio of improvisors, a tribute to a beloved big band trumpeter and bandleader, and more. Let's go to the highlights... Wednesday, March 15 Longtime St. Louis favorite Ann Hampton Callaway returns for the first time for the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro. Callaway was here most recently last summer to do ...
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Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Ann Hampton Callaway, Nevermore Jazz Ball, Trombone Shorty, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
November 7, 2013

This week's highlights in jazz and creative music include the return to St. Louis of a singer, songwriter and pianist who's been a longtime local favorite, and a funky New Orleans trombonist who's rapidly becoming one, plus a weekend-long event that attracts swing dancers from around the country, and more. Let's go to the highlights... On Wednesday, the aforementioned singer, songwriter and pianist Ann Hampton Callaway opens a four-night engagement continuing through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. Callaway (pictured) ...
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Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Ann Hampton Callaway, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Peter Henderson and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
March 30, 2011

This week's calendar of jazz and creative music events in St. Louis offers another varied selection of styles, from swinging jazz in a mainstream groove to eccentric, electric fusion to cabaret to contemporary avant-garde concert music. Let's go the highlights, presented as usual in chronological order: Tonight, singer, songwriter and pianist Ann Hampton Callaway (pictured) opens a four-night engagement at Jazz at the Bistro. Callaway has performed in St. Louis many times, most recently in 2009 for a benefit at ...
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Performance / Tour

LA Phil Presents Ramsey Lewis & Ann Hampton Callaway

Source: All About Jazz
October 11, 2009

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Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ann Hampton Callaway, Eric Person, Frank Catalano, Frank Rosaly, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
October 1, 2009

You might say this week's menu of jazz and creative music events in St. Louis has a sort of Noah's Ark vibe to it. The performances are coming in pairs, including two female vocalists, two versatile saxophonists, and two shows with an experimental/free improv bent.It all gets started on Thursday, when Chicago percussionist Frank Rosaly does a solo show of music from his new recording Milkwork at Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. Rosaly uses both acoustic and electric instruments, ...
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Performance / Tour

Ann Hampton Callaway to Perform Friday, October 2 at the Contemporary Art Museum

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
September 19, 2009

Singer, pianist and songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway (pictured) is returning to St. Louis to perform on Friday, October 2, 2009 at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, 3750 Washington Blvd in Grand Center.The event, entitled “Queens of Jazz," will serve as a kick-off for the 2009 U.S. Women's Chess Championship, which begins the next day and continues through October 14 with events in various locations around town. St. Louis' own Denise Thimes will open the show at 7:30 ...
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Performance / Tour

Ann Hampton Callaway at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola.

Source: Michael Ricci
February 19, 2009

Ann Hampton Callaway’s self-reinvention from a lachrymose piano-bar chanteuse into a jazz swinger progressed a step further on Tuesday evening at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, where she added a new pose to her arsenal of attitudinal stances: pugilistic bossiness.

Punching out “The Best Is Yet to Come,” that optimistic swinger by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, she bore down heavily on the phrase “Come the day you’re mine,” as if aggressively asserting her claim in a romantic gold rush.

“Comes ...
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Event

Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and Ann Hampton Callaway March 14

Source: All About Jazz
February 4, 2007

ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY to perform with CLEVELAND JAZZ ORCHESTRA (CLEVELAND, OH) - Presented by local non-profit arts organization, Cleveland Jazz Orchestra (CJO) will present jazz headliner, vocalist and pianist, Ann Hampton Callaway in a one show only, family appropriate, musical event. Ms. Callaway will perform this show with the CJO. Co-beneficiary of the proceeds will go to Rainbow Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Ohio Theatre at Playhouse Square Center Wednesday, March 14, 2007, 8:00 PM Ticket Prices: $25, $35, ...
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Education

Ann Hampton Callaway, Laurel Masse and Janis Siegel to teach Jazz Master Class at Singers Forum NYC

Source: All About Jazz
May 10, 2006

Tony-nominated singer/songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway and Grammy winners Laurel Masse and Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer will come together for the first time to teach a master class in jazz vocals for Singers Forum, New York's premiere vocal academy.

The class, “Sing the Swing," will take place on July 10th and 11th, from 7-10 pm in The Dorothy Jones Theater at Singers Forum. Participating students will be chosen by auditions on May 31 and June 1, but auditors are ...
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