Mood Indigo

Take a simple idea: two-part harmony and an acoustic guitar. Add the sophistication of Ellington, the Gershwins and Cole Porter, the rhythmic complexity of Jobim and the playful spirit of Bobby McFerrin, Al Jarreau and Stevie Wonder, and you have Mood Indigo. Dubbed, “a glass of champagne in a room full of beer” by artist David Adickes, this popular Houston duo blends the simplicity and lyricism of the folk idiom with the harmonic complexity of jazz to create a wholly unique and engaging sound. 



Performing together as Mood Indigo since 1984, Susan Elliott and Joe Romano are noted for their unique arrangements of classic, contemporary, and Latin jazz melodies and beautiful, close harmony, accompanied by acoustic guitar, harmonicas and hand percussion. Voted “Best Vocal Ensemble” in the 1992 Public News Readers Poll, and named one of "Houston's 10 Best Bands With Only Two Members" by the Houston Press in June of 2014, these Houston natives have delighted audiences from New York to Newport Beach and across their home state of Texas.

The duo’s repertoire includes popular songs from the 1920’s to the present, as well as some little-known gems and an extensive collection of Christmas and holiday music.

Over the past thirty years, Mood Indigo has performed at many of Houston’s finest restaurants and nightclubs, including long-term engagements at The Four Season’s Deville, Annabelle’s, The Savoy Room, The Daily Review Café, and Moody Gardens Hotel in Galveston. They are equally at home giving large public concerts and intimate house concerts, playing for weddings, festivals, and private parties. Some of their most memorable performances include the Trinity Jazz Festival, DStv Performing Arts Festival in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a 75^th birthday celebration for former President George H. W. Bush, at the home of his friend, Robert Mosbacher, the opening night of Vice President Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth book tour at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, A Prairie Home Companion’s “Great American Duet Sing-Off” at Town Hall in New York, and six years of Sunday nights with friends on the back patio of the Daily Review Café.

“Both low key and impossibly wonderful… It's like Bobby McFerrin meets Paul Simon, but with just enough rhythm to keep it moving like a dance. Mood Indigo approaches what they do with moderation and an eye for whimsy, and that's what makes them so engaging.”

                                                Jef With One F – The Houston Press

The duo's music tends toward the organic "Hot Club" type: largely acoustic, and elegantly wrought. …Romano's robust acoustic guitar and harmonica play perfect foil to Elliott's joyful alto.”

                                                C. Michael Bailey – All About Jazz

“Great singing and playing. Great Brazilian feel. …Thanks for taking such care with your material, including my songs.”  

Dave Frishberg - Pianist, Composer and Lyricist

“Susan Elliott and Joe Romano are Mood Indigo, a fantastic duo singing and playing some of the greatest tunes in American music with grace, proficiency and talent galore.”

                                                Ray Benson – Asleep at the Wheel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG2pbeItkG8

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