Biography

“The album's called SWAN FEATHERS because that’s how Jac Holzman described my songs,” says Leslie Mendelson of her debut Rykodisc release. “Jac signed The Doors, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Judy Collins. So who am I to argue?”

“Unless I've lost my bearings this is one of the tastiest pop albums of recent memory,” says Jac Holzman, founder of the iconic Elektra and Nonesuch Labels. “And I say ‘pop’ in the Carole King sense. Great melodies with wondrous curves that take you places. No album of this genre has touched me so deeply. Most important, the songs stick to you like swan feathers caught on rubber cement.”
SWAN FEATHERS marks the young artist as both an effortlessly charismatic performer and a songwriter of uncommon musical and emotional depth. In addition to being a singularly expressive singer, Mendelson is a sensitive tunesmith with an uncanny knack for infusing even her darkest lyrical insights with a sexy playfulness.

Mendelson's vivid, subtly crafted tunes—which range from the effervescent exuberance of “Hit the Spot” and “I See Myself with You” to the bittersweet introspection of “No Easy Way Out” and “If I Don't Stop Loving You”—are supported by organically soulful performances and spare, understated instrumental arrangements. The result is a timelessly resonant and emotionally honest album which often recalls the classic work of such vintage role models as Carole King and Laura Nyro.

“I'm really proud of these songs,” Mendelson states, “so it was important to me to get the feel right, and make sure that the emotion came across. To me, they're pop songs, so I wanted them to feel upbeat and to feel like they have a life, and I hope we got that.”

Thanks in part to the influence of her father, a trumpet player and music teacher, Leslie became obsessed with music during early childhood, learning to play piano by ear and coming up with original lyrics and melodies. By her teens, she was writing personally charged songs in earnest, and making her first attempts at recording demos of her compositions.

“Doing music as a career was always my dream,” she recalls. “Whether that was a realistic goal or not, I didn't care, because music was always a safe place for me to go. If anything else in life was giving me trouble, I could always just sit down and play and everything would feel OK.”

Mendelson achieved some early notoriety singing her original tunes with Mother Freedom, a popular Long Island funk-rock combo with which she recorded an album. But in the spring of 2002, Leslie relocated to New York City and her career as a songwriter began in earnest. She quickly became a fixture in Manhattan's downtown music scene, performing her own shows and participating in the famed New York Songwriters Circle, while hustling a living giving guitar and piano lessons.

In 2005, while still juggling her budding performing career and her various musical odd jobs, Mendelson self-released her first solo CD, Take It As You Will. Although a homespun, low-key indie release, the album won considerable grass-roots acclaim. Among those who took notice was legendary jazz and R&B producer Joel Dorn, who was sufficiently impressed to offer his expertise in recording Mendelson's next batch of demos. Dorn was instrumental in bringing Leslie to the attention of Rykodisc and helping her win her current recording deal.

For SWAN FEATHERS, Mendelson called upon the talents of veteran producer/arranger Rob Mounsey, whose voluminous resume includes work with the likes of Madonna, Paul Simon, Diana Krall, Steely Dan and Brian Wilson. The album's eclectic supporting cast also includes in-demand songwriter Steve McEwan, who plays guitar and co-wrote several of the album's songs with Mendelson; James Maddock, leader of the English band Wood, who also contributed guitar work; bassist Rich Hammond, who's worked with the likes of Nellie McKay and Raul Midon; and a pair of notable drummers, ex-Spin Doctors sticksman Aaron Comess and renowned freelance percussion master Ben Wittman.

The talents of mentor Joel Dorn, who passed away in December 2007, are also represented on SWAN FEATHERS with his production of the Ronettes/Phil Spector classic “Be My Baby.” Where the original was defined by Spector's epic Wall of Sound, Mendelson's stripped-down reading cuts to the elemental yearning that is the song's essence.

“The original version of ‘Be My Baby’ has always been one of my favorite records,” Mendelson notes. “When Joel suggested I cover it I thought he was crazy. But I have to admit it worked, so I put Joel’s demo on the album.”

“Life is an adventure and you shouldn't be afraid to feel everything. My lyrics are very honest, almost painful sometimes. But I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I'm just admitting everything and putting it out there, without any sense of shame or embarrassment. On the one hand it’s kind of analytical but it's also kind of lighthearted, like, ‘It doesn't have to be so hard.’ Of course, life is hard, but that doesn't mean that it can't be groovy.”