Melissa Collard is an excellent swing singer and guitarist based in Northern California. She grew up in Southern California and was introduced to early jazz through her grandmother, who played ragtime and stride piano. She was also interested in more modern jazz and rock as a teenager, performing as a backup singer with her brothers' rock band. Collard began playing guitar at 12, stretching from Django Reinhardt and Eddie Lang to Pat Metheny and Jimi Hendrix. She first sang regularly at a lounge on the Redondo Beach Pier when she was 14. Collard graduated from high school and studied English at Berkeley, where she met the local traditional jazz musicians. She played early jazz with such musicians as Dick Oxtot, Bob Mielke, Bob Helm, Ray Skjelbred, Leon Oakley, Jim Goodwin, and Bob Schulz. She also worked with a quartet that was inspired by Django Reinhardt's music. After moving to Sacramento in the late '80s, Collard sang more modern standards with piano trios in hotels, worked with the ghost bands of Tommy Dorsey and Nelson Riddle, sang Western swing with the Lost Weekend big band, and traveled to Europe with the Cosumnes River College Jazz Band. In 2004 she made her recording debut on Old Fashioned Love, a CD also featuring trombonist Dan Barrett and banjoist/guitarist Eddie Erickson. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
