Raised in Montana, Atwood studied drama and musical theater at college but became interested in jazz, and at 19 she began singing locally. Although she worked as a model and an actress, Atwood has focused her attentions on singing; she made her debut in New York in 1992 and sings in a style somewhere between jazz and cabaret. She produced a high volume of material through the first half of the 90's, but stopped delivering regular material until she signed with Groove Note in the early 2000s. ~ Scott Yanow