Mathilde Santing

Dutch singer Mathilde Santing (born Mathilde Eleveld) has enjoyed an unconventional career trajectory, one that took her from the confines of indie rock through jazz-based interpretations of other people's songs to mainstream musical theater work. She is perhaps best known for her coolly dispassionate takes on the work of singer/songwriters rarely covered by female singers, such as Todd Rundgren, Tom Waits, John Cale, and -- most notably -- Randy Newman, who once described her 1993 album Texas Girl and Pretty Boy as "some of the very best recordings I know of my work." In a career dating back to 1982, she has been showered with awards by the European music industry. Openly lesbian, she once recorded a version of the Jimi Hendrix classic, retitled "Hey Joan." ~ Christopher Evans