Mandy forged her musical niche by pulling classical vocal training, and the influential Jazz and R&B of her childhood together. She was raised listening to greats like Sade, Nat King Cole, and Peggy Lee. On her own, she discovered Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley, and Ani DiFranco.
Discovering her own style on guitar produced a nuanced, bass-driven playing style that now ranges from beautifully minimalist, to swampy, to jazzy and complex. She can create a whole atmosphere to live and listen within, with simply her gut string guitar and her voice.
In the early-spring of 2013 she recorded her first solo release- a 12-Song, acoustic album, captured by a single microphone. It stands as a brave and intimate sampling of her artistry, and a true representation of her live sound. It meanders through a stylistic spectrum of Gypsy Jazz, Retro-Soul, Bossa Nova, Indie Folk.
Mandy's sophomore release, "See", was a step away from the sparse acoustic sound. It welcomed a fuller sound with decorations of Rhodes, B3, upright bass, or electric guitar licks on many tracks, but leaves ample room always for the voice and the song to stand foreground.
"One of the striking things about Cook is how totally unreliant she is of effects, orchestration, studio gadgetry, or frills of any sort. Few singers have her ability to totally captivate an audience to the point of musical thralldom without sonic legerdemain or aural fireworks using nothing but her unadorned voice." -The Independent
