Elana Stone

Elana Stone
Elana Stone, February 2016
Background information
Origin	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres	Jazz, country
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Vocals, piano, accordion
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Jazzgroove, MGM
Associated acts	Elana Stone Quartet/Quintet Rhino Factory Elana Stone Band
Website	elanastoneband.com

Elana Stone is an Australian jazz vocalist, songwriter, pianist, accordion player, and band leader. Described by John Bailey from Sunday Age as 'One of the most impressive singing voices in the country', her album In the Garden of Wild Things was released in 2006 on the Jazzgroove label. Her album, Your Anniversary, was released in 2009.

Elana Stone is the elder daughter of Harry Stone, an architect, and Judy, a palliative care nurse. She grew up in Sydney with her older brother, Jake Stone (lead singer of Bluejuice) and her younger sister, Yael Stone, an actress. She undertook piano lessons while attending Balmain Public School. Stone studied music at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and completed a Bachelor of Music at the Australian National University's School of Music in Canberra.

While at university Stone met several musicians who worked with her later. She formed the Elana Stone Quartet (sometimes expanded to Elana Stone Quintet) as a jazz ensemble. In 2004 she was named Best Jazz Artist at the Musicoz Awards. She won a National Jazz Award at the 2005 Wangaratta Jazz Festival. Her debut album, In the Garden of Wild Things, was issued via Jazzgroove Records, which John Shand of The Sydney Morning Herald described her singing as "sensational – imaginative, deft, accurate, tonally beautiful – but the songwriting doesn't match up."

For the album the Elana Stone Band line-up was Brett Hirst on bass guitar, Evan Mannell on drums, James Muller on guitar and Sean Wayland on piano, rhodes and organ. Assisting in the studio were Jeremy Borthwick and John Hibbard on trombone, Simon Ferenci on trumpet, Aaron Flower on guitar, James Hauptmann on atmospheric sounds, Zoe Hauptmann on bass guitar, Steve Marin on conga and a choir from Newtown High School of the Performing Arts.

By 2008 the Elana Stone Band comprised Stone on lead vocals and keyboards, Flower on guitar, Zoe Hauptmann on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Mannell on drums. Stone described their backgrounds, "Me and Zoe went to jazz school in Canberra and Ev and Baz went to jazz school in Sydney. But officially Zo and I met at a party in Congo down the South coast. She's a crazy talented hot tall blonde bass player – how could I not know her? Evan and Bazzy were in a band with Zoe's brother Ben. We've been a band for 6 years. Zoe and Evan are now married!"