Biography
Known for her unbridled joy and relentless swing, Singaporean jazz pianist Amanda Lee has been making her mark as a torchbearer of the swing and stride piano styles of 1930/40s classic jazz. Lee trained in Kansas City under master stride pianist Bram Wijnands and was awarded the New York Hot Jazz Camp Scholarship in 2020.
She has performed around the world including UK (London’s Ronnie Scotts, Edinburgh, Birmingham), Switzerland, Paris, Milan, US, Sweden, Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan. She is a member of the Traveling Janes, an international all-female early jazz band helmed by Scottish jazz vocalist Ali Affleck and has performed with household names Dick Lee, Louis Soliano and Jeremy Monteiro, amongst others.
Her band, the Amanda Lee Swingtet, is known for their fun-loving camaraderie and playful dexterity and aim to spread the joy of jazz from its roots and beyond. They are a regular on the local jazz scene and have played at numerous festivals including Esplanade’s Jazz In July, Singapore Night Festival and overseas (Ubud Village Jazz Festival, 1st International Jazz Festival Nha Trang and Taipei).
Lee is a senior teacher and performer with Jazz Inc, a lindy hop and swing dance collective led by jazz dance specialist Sinclair Ang. She is also a passionate educator and has been conducting weekly group jazz piano workshops since 2020.
Classically trained from a young age, Lee studied under late Singaporean concert pianist Ong Lip Tat as well as the viola under Judy Tay.
Lee enjoys interdisciplinary collaborations. Notable project credits include Flamenco Meets Jazz (Spanish Dance Singapore), Textures (SingLit), Day Out!@ Esplanade (youth music outreach).
Lee is a first-class honours graduate from the London School of Economics (LSE).