Lady blues

Ana Popovic

Ana Popovic (13 mei 1976 Belgrado) is een Servisch-Amerikaanse blues- en jazzgitarist en singer-songwriter. Popovic speelt sinds haar vijftiende gitaar. Vanaf 1995 vormde zij met drie anderen de band Hush. In 1998 ging ze in Nederland Jazz studeren en ging de band uit elkaar. Vanaf 1999 trad ze solo op. Sinds 2012 woont ze in het Amerikaanse Memphis.
Early life
Popović was born in 1976 in Belgrade. Her father (Milton Popović) introduced her to the blues, and she started to play the guitar when she was fifteen.
Hush (1995–1998)
In 1995, she formed the band Hush with Rade Popović (guitar, vocals), Milan Sarić (bass guitar) and Bojan Ivković (drums). Hush performed rhythm and blues, but also incorporated elements of funk and soul into their sound. The band had their first performance in the club Vox in Belgrade. During 1996, Hush performed across Serbia, also performing in Greece. Thanks to their performance at the Marsoni Blues Festival in Senta, Hush got the invitation to perform at the Fifth International Blues, Jazz, Rock and Gastronomic Festival in Hungary.
A part of their performance was released on a live album which featured recordings from the festival. In 1996, Popović played slide guitar on Piloti album Dan koji prolazi zauvek (The Day that Is Passing Forever). During 1998, Hush had over 100 performances, playing in blues clubs and blues festivals. During the same year, they released their debut album, Hometown, through PGP-RTS. The album was produced by Aleksandar Radosavljević, and featured Vojno Dizdar (electric piano and Hammond organ), Petar "Pera Joe" Miladinović (harmonica), Aleksandar Tomić (tenor saxophone) and Predrag Krstić (trumpet) as guests. Beside the band's own songs, Hometown also featured covers of blues standards. In 1998, Popović went to the Netherlands to study jazz guitar, and Hush disbanded.
Solo career (1999 – present)
In 1999, Popović formed the Ana Popović Band in the Netherlands. In 2000, she appeared, alongside Eric Burdon, Taj Mahal, Buddy Miles, Double Trouble, Eric Gales and others, on the Jimi Hendrix tribute album Blue Haze: Songs of Jimi Hendrix with a cover of the song "Belly Button Window".
In 2001, she released her solo debut, Hush!, through the German label Ruf Records. The album was recorded in Memphis, with the members of Ana Popović Band, as well as studio musicians. It was produced by Jim Gaines, who previously worked with Carlos Santana, John Lee Hooker, Alexis Korner and others. The album featured Bernard Allison as guest. The album saw large success, so Popović left her guitar studies, and dedicated herself to performing. In 2003, Popović released her second album, Comfort to the Soul. The album, recorded in Memphis and produced by Gaines, featured a fusion of blues, rock, soul and jazz. During the same year, on the Rhythm & Blues Festival in Belgium, she was invited by Solomon Burke to join him on stage, after which she joined him on the rest of the tour as a guest. In 2005, Popović released a live album and DVD entitled Ana! Live in Amsterdam, recorded on January 30, 2005, on her concert in Amsterdam club Melkweg.

website

Cindy Peress

website

Laura Cox


website Laura Cox
HvD home