Photo by Nadia Nespeca

Amanda Mabro & the Cabaret Band's 26-year-old front woman defies labels. She's confident yet humble, bubbly yet grounded. Naturally, her debut CD isn't easy to describe. You could call Superwoman in the Making your grandma's jazz, if your grandma is a finger-snappin', heel-kickin', hip-shakin' hottie who loves The Doors. Mabro and her band mates, keyboardist Cozmos Quazar and drummer Patrick Rizzetto, call their music "cabaret pop," a sound they'll be carting across Canada later this month.

Montréal Magazine: Why did you choose Superwoman in the Making as the album title?

Amanda Mabro: The idea is to analyze, not to judge myself and be strong, and always just try to do better. My goal is to get to a point where I'm not over-thinking everything but I'm still able to live my life in an honest way.

MM: Who are some of your influences?

AM: In the last five years, I've been influenced a great deal by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Peggy Lee, particularly because of their delivery. For modern stuff, most recently, I'd say Death Cab for Cutie because I'm listening to it so much. There's this pure, natural delivery about Death Cab that I really love.

I realized I'm doing this because I love it. I need to do it for me. That's what people will respond to in the end.

Photo by Nadia Nespeca

MM: What draws you to music?

AM: I had a realization [after some bad experiences] last summer. I said to Patrick, "Why do I keep doing this? We're not making any money. There's nobody coming. Am I crazy? Am I a masochist?" I know it's really obvious, but I realized in that moment that I'm doing it because I love it. It's for me and I need to do it for me. That's what people will respond to in the end.

MM: How did that realization affect your performance?

AM: We give a solid show regardless of who's there. It has to do with maturity. Whether we're playing to chairs or 15,000 people, it doesn't matter, because if I'm doing what I love, that's all I need.

MM: Some core band members have moved on. How have you adjusted?

AM: The three-piece we are now is a pretty big departure from the six-piece we were in the beginning. We had a few practices, just us three, and we thought it was really interesting to be doing things bass-less. Especially because it's jazzier stuff and bass is usually a big focus in jazz music. We said, "Let's just do it a little bit more bare bones." We just work really well together, it's a nice, snug fit.

MM: How would you categorize the Montreal music scene?

AM: There's something for everyone - it's very alive. Montreal's a city that makes you feel like you can experiment and try anything.

MM: What do you hope for from the upcoming tour?

AM: To see the rest of Canada, have a good time doing it, reach a lot of new people and play a lot of good shows. Hopefully when I get back, things will just continue to grow as they have been. They'll continue to move forward.