This week I was profiled in the Women's Post, Canada's National Resource for Professional Women. In preparation for the article editor Justine Connelly sent along a set of thoughtful questions for me to answer via email. I went a little crazy and wrote a mini novel back to Justine even though it was only a 250 word profile. Rather than all those words going to waste I thought I'd post my full length answer right here!
What was your relationship to music like as a child? Neither of my parents are musicians but they both enjoy music immensely so my house was always filled with song. I was very involved with music in elementary school and early on I joined a community children's choir as well as a youth musical theatre company and took piano lessons.
Have you always wanted to be a performer? Yes, for as long as I can remember I have wanted to perform through music or theatre. Of course as a singer, because I make music with lyrics, an element of theatre is always involved in my performance. I just can't imagine my life without singing and music making. My friends and I talk about how music isn't something you "do" it's who you are.
What is the biggest challenge of being in the music business? The music business presents many challenges and with all of the current changes in technology I think the challenges are still shifting. 1) Although the piracy of music over the Internet has accounted for a decline in music sales revenue for major label artists, I feel very fortunate to be an indie musician who can call the web one of her tools of the trade. From a business perspective, marketing your music is almost as essential as the music itself and without the internet, as an independent label, I wouldn't have access to one tenth of the resources I have now. As the internet begins to level the playing field there is less of a necessity to sign with a major label to promote your music as more and more grassroots marketing websites begin to grow. 2) In Canada I think one of our biggest challenges is the small population spread out over such a vast space. So although someone can buy my CD over the internet in Lethbridge, in order for me to get music out in front of a live audience on the other side of the country I have to make a serious financial investment to set up a tour.
How do you feel about dealing with the "business" part of what you do? I am truly excited to be the head of my own company and to be promoting a product I really believe in: my music. It has also allowed me to develop a real variety of skills from accounting to marketing to employee management. Most of the time I appreciate having a 360 degree view of my career but of course there are days when I feel the business side of things takes away too much time from the creative side. I have several friends who run their own small businesses outside of music and I look to them for guidance as I deal with striking a balance with life and work. I've also dedicated a lot of time this year to developing a reliable team of support. I hope to expand that team now that my CD is released to include someone to help me manage my career so I can invest more time in the creative process.
Who are your inspirations (both in jazz, and in life)? Toronto is home to so many world-class jazz musicians so who constantly inspire me. To mention a couple by name: Holly Cole was one of my early inspirations when I was first exploring jazz and Julie Michels is a local singer; her selection of material, her killer voice and her ability to interpret a song are just outstanding. Current international artists and jazz greats: Carmen McRae, Brad Meldhau, Ella Fitzgerald, Blossom Dearie, Jamie Cullum & Frank Sinatra. But I also admire so many musicians outside of the jazz genre - Ani Difranco, Radiohead, James Taylor, Bjork. And I've be inspired by my many supportive teachers from high school, university and more recent coaches and instructors.
Where did the idea come from to do covers on your latest album? I've never been a person to like only one style of music. My CD collection is a real cross-section of genres - jazz, pop, folk, alternative, country, classical, film scores. There are some songs that you just love so much you want to sing them. What "genre" they are doesn't really matter. I think this is especially true in the world of jazz because for me jazz is limitless. Look at Herbie Hancock winning the Grammy this year for his album of Joni Mitchell songs. When you're listening to Tina Tuner sing a Joni song are you thinking "This is a really good jazz song" or are you thinking - "This is an amazing performance of a great song." For the past few years while I was performing with Swing Rosie I was also playing solo in clubs around the city and I wanted to expand my repertoire with songs I loved and songs you might not hear anyone sing in that context.
Why did you choose this approach? I chose to put the album together with mostly covers for a few reasons: 1) I genuinely care for all of those songs and I love singing them. 2) I wanted to connect with that listener who may not be familiar with jazz by using songs they would recognize from popular modern artists like Blondie, the Beatles & Aqualung (hence the title, Words We Both Could Say) 3) Jazz is a living, breathing genre - not something for a museum - so we need to continue to expand the songbook. So many of the songs that are now considered standards were borrowed by jazz musicians from their peers working on the musicale or vaudeville stages - the popular music of their time. I'm simply keeping up that tradition.
How can jazz attract a wider audience, especially among younger generations? That's a very good question. I believe jazz can encompass many styles of music but the one thing they all have in common is that the music is made in the moment. It's really about the live performance. If music recordings are supposed to be commercials for the live show - we need promote the thrill of attending a live show and create more venues where that live performance can happen. I appreciate how so many cities are developing free festivals and concert series to promote live music to our communities. My sister is in high school and her friends love jazz because their teachers have cultivated an appreciation for musicianship. But those same kids love hip hop, alternative rock, emo and country. Their hungry for music - so really they just need the music to be marketed towards them and available to them through all of their favourite media - iTunes, YouTube, Facebook. Does it matter that they recognize that Jamie Cullum is jazz or do they just need to know that they like his music? When I saw him at the Mod Club a few years ago the audience was full of teenagers and twentysomethings. I was impressed by Jamie Cullum's career choice to appear in "mainstream" music festivals like Glastonbury and South by SouthEast. We musicians just need to make good music and get it out there so people can hear it!
How do you stand out in your field? I hope my choice of repertoire, my arrangements, the attention I continue to give to developing my instrument and the direction I'm taking my music separates me from some of the other singers out there. From a business perspective, I've received recognition for creating a positive and professional work environment for my musicians.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Running, (I completed a half marathon a couple of years ago and I'd like to work up to a full marathon one day), yoga, spending time with family and friends is really important to me, getting out to see my artist friends and their shows. This summer I hope to spend time up at my family cottage.
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