Anna Danes in JazzEd Magazine, March 2018

Anna and Richard Shelton KSWB 12/21/17

Jazz singer Anna Danes

Reveals how she stays positive and healthy on tour.

Anna Danes is an advocate for chasing your dreams at any age. As a former lawyer and stay-at-home mom, she decided to pursue singing at age 43.

For TODAY’s One Small Thing series, she revealed how she maintains her upbeat attitude through the twists and turns of life. Anna’s key to staying positive is so simple — smiling! She starts her day with a smile, followed by a freshly pressed juice.

Danes spends most of her time working from home, and she has one simple tip for everyone else working from their living rooms: Get dressed.

“Even though I work from home most days, I always get dressed up and put on makeup so that I look like I’m ready to go places — it gives me a big psychological edge, and I feel more successful and professional.”

When Anna needs an energy boost — she turns to her high-protein diet and makes sure to keep moving.

“For me it’s eating a diet that’s lower in carbs and high (in) protein and eating three healthy meals a day. Listening to your body for what it needs is key and nothing should be off limits. When I’m really dragging, a little dark chocolate, some nuts or a walk around the block to wake me up again will do the trick.”

She stays positive by practicing gratitude every day.

“… Being grateful for everything and everyone you already DO have in your life! And I don’t sweat the small stuff,” Danes stressed.
 

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Interview with Anna Danes:Love others, love yourself, love what you do – love being alive every day!

Jazz Interview with jazz singer Anna Danes. An interview by email in writing

JazzBluesNews.Space: – First let’s start with where you grew up, and what got you interested in music?

Anna Danes: I grew up in Poland, during the communist era. Immigrated to Sweden at 10, then to Canada at 11, then to the US at 29. I got interested in music when I was 43 years old and going through a divorce. My seven year old daughter did not want to continue taking her singing lessons – flat our refused – and I didn’t want to waste the lesson she was in so I stood up…and sang! And it all came out of me and I discovered a voice I didn’t know I had – and found my life’s passion. I was singing songs from the Great American Songbook – I still do – and it was those beautiful sentiments that missing in my life exactly. Music healed me and started me on an unexpected new career path! I’ve not looked back!

JBN.S: – What got you interested in picking up the jazz vocal?

AD: – I started listening to jazz in my 20’s, working in retail while going to college. I had an immediate connection to it because it was so much more unscripted than any other genre of music and there was a real warm human factor: the music is made in the moment and everything is OK!

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Finding her voice

Anna Danes was 43 when she took up singing lessons — because her daughter had had enough of them.
“Grace told me in the car that she was done with singing: ‘Mom, I’m bored with it and I am not singing anymore!'” Danes recalls…
 

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