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| ss | HOME > JINA Interview |
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| by maiko uchida | ||
Music was a part of your life from a young age. I read in your bio that you started singing solo when you were 5 years old, tell me about that.Music has always been at the center of my life. My mom is responsible for that. She is a singer and piano teacher and directed the choir at church, so our house was always filled with music. I'd hear piano lessons going on and I became familiar with all the classical pieces; that was the sound track to whatever we were doing. Growing up in a small town in rural California, my mom was my first musical influence, along with the gospel music I learned at church. Singing in church was a very important part of my musical journey because it taught me some important things early on. I learned to be prepared, my job was to set the tone and get everybody ready to hear the sermon. To do that I had to sing from my heart and that's something I've carried with me to this day.When did you become so passionate about jazz?When I started college I was feeling ambivalent about everything. I was painfully serious and studious and uptight. I was studying classical voice and piano and it was okay, fulfilling to an extent, but something was missing for me. Then a stroke of destiny, by some great synchronicity, a door opened and I met Mrs. Perla Warren. She was a wonderful teacher and she introduced me to jazz. Right away I was hooked! I loved the passion, the improvisation, the styling, I loved that I could take a song and make it my own, tell my story and become the person I wanted to be. |
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It sounds like Mrs. Warren really was an influential person for you. What about her affected you so much?Well, she is an amazing person who- much like the development of jazz- stepped out of her traditional background. She allowed herself to grow and become more. She originally was a classical concert pianist and she was asked to teach a class in jazz. She went about educating herself by listening to all the Smithsonian recordings and traveling to hear live performances of many jazz greats. She became passionate about jazz and she passed that on to all of her students. If you 're lucky, you have one person in your life like this. Because of her enthusiasm and passion for jazz and for life, I was changed forever.Who are your musical inspirations?I have many. One of the key lessons that I learned from my teacher Mrs. Warren was the importance of listening. Listen to the Masters, to the singers and the horn players. Don't copy them, but become them for a time, and then something magical happens; it all becomes you and your unique voice. So that's what I did! One of my first inspirations was Carmen McCrae. I got a hold of a record called "Carmen Sings Lover Man". It was Carmen McCrae singing Billie Holiday songs. I adored that record! I devoured it and learned every line, every inflection and every breath. And a funny thing is, on the original liner notes Carmen McCrae says, "If there wasn't a Billie, there wouldn't be a Carmen". I find that amazing, singers passing down the tradition, that's how it happens.I notice you have many original songs on your recording. I know the process is different for everyone, but how do you go about writing a song?Each song is unique, but there are two ways I write. The first is the most fun, the song writes me! I'm doing something completely other than music, like taking a shower, driving or washing the dishes and suddenly a song is pouring out of me and I have to rush to put it down. That's my favorite way; it really comes from an intuitive place, some deep emotional memory. The second way that I write songs, the initial idea comes from something I see, or read or something I hear on the radio; something that grabs my attention. It can come fairly quickly too, but then the idea needs to be worked out. I do this alone or with a partner.How does it happen? Can you give us an example of a song written in this way, from something that inspired you?A song I wrote, "No One Will Be The Wiser" is one that came the first way, in a flash. I was very inspired by Nina Simone, one of my all time favorites. I was so moved by her song, Four Women, and had it in my mind that I wanted to write something in honor of it, but had no idea what. Then one day the song literally wrote itself. The song has a life of it's own. I don't know where the lyrics came from, but I think they capture the spirit of Nina somehow. It's a matter of staying open and allowing the song to come. It's a little bit magical when it happens.Okay, how about the second way of writing? I'm curious about how you might take something from an article or story and find a song in that?"Cattle Press", the first song on my recording is a good example of this second way of writing. I co-wrote this song with my pianist and producer Jane Getz who is a very talented songwriter. One day I was listening to NPR (National Public Radio) and heard a story about an Autistic woman named Temple Grandin. In the story Temple talked about the fact that many autistic children crave physical pressure, they desire the good and comforting feeling of being hugged, but they can't tolerate being touched. She herself was a pressure seeker and as a teenager, while visiting her Aunt's farm, she saw cattle being put in a squeeze chute for vaccinations and noticed how relaxed they became. She convinced her Aunt to put her inside the cattle press and it immediately helped her to feel calm and serene. Now as an adult she has gone on to become an animal scientist and has designed cattle presses used all over the country. She designs them for use with autistic people as well. This story was so intriguing to me. I wondered what it would be like to crave that pressure and to find relief in it? It's so wild and visceral! I was a little shy at first to take the idea to Jane, it sounded a little weird even to me, but she immediately loved it and we wrote the song together. |
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Speaking of your recording and producer Jane Getz, how did your latest project come together?It seems to me that things happen for a reason, just at the right time, when I'm ready for the next step in my life. I am always striving to move forward with my music and grow as a musician. This gives me true joy in my life and honestly is the most fun I can have. This is how things have been evolving with the recording, with such synchronicity! I had been working with a wonderful saxophone player, Louis Taylor ever since we met when I was in the Masters program at USC and he was teaching some of the ensembles. (This is also where I met the wonderfully talented jazz pianist Yuko Maruyama. I have always admired her and enjoyed her playing.) Louis is not only a seasoned musician with an amazing list of credits to his name, but he is also a great friend and mentor. He is very generous and had offered to help me produce the recording. We were just getting started, recording some of the instrumental tracks when He suggested that Jane Getz, my pianist, produce some of the songs. I don't think Louis realized at the time how fortuitous this was. Jane and I turned out to be very simpatico musically. Jane not only has experience playing in the jazz world, with a who's who of jazz, most notably Charles Mingus, but also has played on many rock and pop albums including those of John Lennon, Don Henley, The Bee Gees and Dr. John. She has not only a jazz sensibility, but understands the other pop and rock influences in my music, which is very important to me. We moved the project to Jane and her husband Bob Tucker's production studio, which brought the project to a completely different level. Bob has engineered and mixed many platinum and gold records including Grammy award winning albums for the Temptations. I feel secure in the fact he really knows about recording vocals. Between Louis, Bob and Jane and my great band, I have been in good hands and I'm extremely grateful. We are busy now shopping for a record label.I hear that you've recently received a nomination from the Los Angeles Music Awards for Female Vocalist of the Year, Congratulations! How can we find out more about the awards and what the future holds for you?Thank you. I'm very excited to be recognized and honored in this way. The Los Angeles Music Awards is in its 13th year and honors independent musicians. It's a wonderful opportunity for me to reach a wider audience. The awards show will be held on Saturday, November 22 in Hollywood, is actually open to the public and should prove to be an exciting evening. You can find out all the details on the website www.lamusicawards.com and I would love to have some friends there supporting me. I'll also be appearing the Saturday before, on November 15 at Lunaria in Century City. You can always check my web site http://www.christinerosander.com to find out about upcoming events. I really enjoy performing live and Lunaria is one of the best venues in Los Angeles. I'm looking forward to being able to sing in many different kinds of venues in the future, possibly Europe and Japan. I would especially love traveling to Japan. I enjoy Japanese aesthetics and I know the culture has a great appreciation for music and jazz in particular. Who knows, I would love to do a double bill with Yuko Maruyama! |
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