Vonda Shepard could be described as many things: angelic, ambitious, determined, sincere, sensitive, and an artist in the truest sense. Anyone who has met her or even just heard her sing, will tell you of a gentle soul that radiates spirit, a spirit that is carried into her records. If you doubt this at all, just watch her lips when she sings.

At the age of 14, Vonda Shepard began performing original material at small venues on the L.A. club scene. Having released five of her own studio albums of original material since then and four soundtracks for the series “Ally McBeal”, as well as having sold over 12 million albums worldwide, Vonda Shepard is without any doubt among today’s very best singer/songwriters.

Born in New York City, Vonda moved to California with her family as a child and began piano lessons at age six. By 21, she was working as a keyboardist, backup vocalist and dancer with Rickie Lee Jones. She also toured in the same capacity with Al Jarreau and eventually with Jackson Browne as a backup vocalist. In 1987, Vonda secured her first solo recording contract with Reprise Records and two years later; the eponymously titled album was released. The Top 10 A.C. and VH1 single “Don’t Cry Ilene” brought her outstanding and unmistakably bluesy voice to a wide audience and caught the attention of the critics. In 1992, the follow-up, The Radical Light was released (The original version of "Searchin’ My Soul", the theme song for “Ally McBeal”, was on this album).

In 1996, no longer with Reprise, Vonda borrowed money to fund her third LP, It’s Good, Eve and released it independently on her manager, Gail Gellman’s label. Shepard says, "Jackson Browne was incredibly generous with me and said that if I finished my album by the next summer, I could open for him and sing with him". Not only did he keep his promise, but he also let Vonda use his studio for a month to record the album, It’s Good, Eve. She has since paid him (and everyone) back!

It’s Good Eve was the album of material Vonda and her band were playing that fateful, rainy night at a club in L.A. when her pals, David E. Kelley and Michelle Pfeiffer were in the audience. Although the couple had been Vonda’s friends and fans for many years, it wasn’t until David heard these songs that the proverbial light bulb went off just at the right moment. He was in search of a voice for his new show “Ally McBeal”.

Vonda’s involvement in the show not only included her singing and playing original and cover tunes in the local bar frequented by the cast, but her role also entailed being the musical producer of the show. Ninety percent of Vonda’s work was done behind the scenes, producing almost every guest artist that appeared on “Ally McBeal”, including Al Green, Gladys Knight, Sting, Robert Downey Jr., Randy Newman, Barry Manilow, Chubby Checker, the cast of the show and many more. Shepard recorded almost 500 songs during her 5-year stint on the show and though you may sometimes only hear 30 seconds of a song, they were recorded in their entirety for more flexibility in postproduction.

Vonda Shepard went on to record and produce four soundtracks from the show including, Songs from Ally McBeal featuring Vonda Shepard, Heart and Soul: New Songs from Ally McBeal, A Very Ally Christmas and For Once In My Life featuring Vonda Shepard. Shepard, along with the cast, won two Golden Globes, two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actor’s Guild awards and a Billboard award for selling the most T.V. soundtrack records in history. (Vonda still holds the record).

Some of Vonda’s richest material can be found in her 1999 album, By 7:30, produced by her husband Mitchell Froom, which was released independently on Jacket Records. The two went on to record the effervescent release Chinatown, which features the great Jerry Morrata, Tony Levin, Val McCallum, Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher. Chinatown is a favorite of Vonda’s.

Vonda’s 10th release, Vonda Shepard Live: A Retrospective, celebrated her accomplishments as a great live performer and singer/songwriter, and featured selections from each of her nine albums. "It’s not exactly a greatest hits album," Shepard said, "I went with songs that captured that indescribable spark when we played them live…you really get a feel for the energy in the room". She poured over tapes from about 40 of her concerts before choosing songs from what she thought were her five best shows, recorded in Europe and Los Angeles. Vonda Shepard Live came with a companion DVD that featured performances, humorous moments, behind the scenes and cameos from Shepard’s friends, including David E. Kelley, Emily Saliers (Indigo Girls), Al Jarreau and Jackson Browne, among others.

Shepard and Froom have just completed production on Vonda’s 11th album, From The Sun, which leans in a stripped down R&B singer/songwriter direction. Infusing her singer/songwriter style with splashes of powerful, stacked vocal parts, Froom describes the album as having a “modern-day soul feel” with Vonda’s solid piano playing and bluesy, soulful voice driving the tracks. From the Sun also boasts guitarist James Ralston (Tina Turner, The Del Fuegos), bassist Jim Hanson (Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, Bruce Springsteen), and drummer Matt Chamberlain (David Bowie, Tori Amos, John Mayer), as well as mixer/engineer David Boucher (Daniel Powter, Indigo Girls, Andrew Bird).

“I love performing live so much I wanted to write songs that I could really wail on. I am content to record and release my own records exactly the way I envision them, then go on the road, get the music out there any way I can and have a blast doing it all!” However, she is the first to tell you that she’s ready for a “come-back.” “I have a massive amount of energy for music and life”.

Plans are already underway for Vonda to support From the Sun with a full national promotional campaign that features live performances, TV appearances (including a round of Fox morning shows), in-store appearances, Triple-A radio, and a nationwide publicity blitz. The CD will also be released in Europe via Kontext Records with an extensive European tour on tap for Fall.

In a time when pop stars come and go in the flash of an eye, From the Sun is yet another chapter in the ever-expanding tale of a singer/songwriter whose talent and substance continue to define her as an artist who is here to stay.