MARLENA STUDER: Breaking into the business of wine and song Over the years, I have sung in a number of venues – but it wasn’t until I spent ten years in New Orleans that a passion for jazz got into my blood. While doing my “day gig” as Sociology Professor at Tulane University, I was invited to sing with the big band, Jubilation! and I was hooked. My appetite for performing jazz standards has grown since then, and I've discovered how much I can express my soul through this music. I have had opportunities to sing with several bands such as the Jazz Barristers, a Washington D.C.-based jazz quartet. After a move to Michigan in 2001, I began to pursue my dream of producing my own musical recording. I had the great fortune of joining the Cliff Monear Trio, a terrific jazz trio headed by Cliff Monear, a superbly gifted jazz pianist, along with Nick Calandro (bass) and Scott Kretzer (drums). I poured my heart into my first CD (2004), “Crazy He Calls Me” striving to make the words count and the moods linger in a selection of timeless tunes that I am "crazy" about. Then, I went on to produce "Sip It Slowly", a collection of tunes revealing the sensuality of food and wine.