# Anjani

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For other uses, see [Anjani (disambiguation)](/source/Anjani_(disambiguation)).

**Anjani Thomas** (born July 10, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist, best known for her work with singer-songwriter [Leonard Cohen](/source/Leonard_Cohen), as well as [Carl Anderson](/source/Carl_Anderson_(singer)), [Frank Gambale](/source/Frank_Gambale), and [Stanley Clarke](/source/Stanley_Clarke). She became a solo artist in 2000.

## Life

Anjani was born in [Honolulu](/source/Honolulu), Hawaii, where she trained in guitar, piano and voice. She attended [Berklee College of Music](/source/Berklee_College_of_Music) for a year then moved to New York City to a pursue a music career. She performed in jazz clubs before meeting producer [John Lissauer](/source/John_Lissauer), who hired her to provide backup vocals on [Leonard Cohen](/source/Leonard_Cohen)'s influential song "[Hallelujah](/source/Hallelujah_(Leonard_Cohen_song))" from *[Various Positions](/source/Various_Positions)*. Anjani went on to tour with Cohen in 1985, as his keyboardist and backup vocalist, and worked with Cohen for many years after, lending her talents to *[I'm Your Man](/source/I'm_Your_Man_(Leonard_Cohen_album))*, *[The Future](/source/The_Future_(Leonard_Cohen_album))*, *[Dear Heather](/source/Dear_Heather)* and *[Old Ideas](/source/Old_Ideas)*.[1]

Anjani launched a solo career with *Anjani* in 2000 followed by *The Sacred Names* in 2001 – an ode to the Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew [names of God](/source/Names_of_God).[2] In 2006, Cohen contributed lyrics and production talents to Anjani's music and arrangements for *[Blue Alert](/source/Blue_Alert_(album))* on Columbia Records. The song "Blue Alert" was used in a 2007 [Old Navy](/source/Old_Navy) TV spot.[3]

In 2011, Anjani began working on a follow-up to *[Blue Alert](/source/Blue_Alert_(album))*, which continued the collaboration with [Leonard Cohen](/source/Leonard_Cohen) on three new songs. The new record, *[I Came to Love](/source/I_Came_To_Love_(album))*, was released in download-only form in July 2014.[4]

## Discography

- *Anjani* (Little Fountain Music, 2000)
- *The Sacred Names* (Little Fountain Music, 2001)
- *[Blue Alert](/source/Blue_Alert_(album))* ([Columbia](/source/Columbia_Records), 2006)
- *I Came to Love* (2014)

## References

1. ["Anjani Biography"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140221144302/http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Anjani/Biography/). Archived from [the original](http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Anjani/Biography/) on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2010.

1. Burger, Jeff (2014-04-01). [*Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounters*](https://books.google.com/books?id=GsD0AgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Anjani%22+%22The+Sacred+Names%22+2001&pg=PA532). [Chicago Review Press](/source/Chicago_Review_Press). ISBN 978-1-61374-758-2.

1. ALAN LIGHT (May 21, 2006). ["In Anjani Thomas, Leonard Cohen Finds a New Voice"](https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/arts/music/21ligh.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*

1. ["Anjani | Musings"](https://anjani-music.com/)

## External links

- [Official site](http://www.anjani-music.com)
- ["Trusting the Force: Into the Heart of Blue Alert"](http://www.musicbox-online.com/interviews/anjani-thomas-2007.html) interview at Music Box, April 2007
- ["The Story of C"](http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/anjani.html) at Leonard Cohen's site

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Anjani](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anjani) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anjani?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.