Although my road into jazz has been a winding one, in some way, it’s also come to something of a full circle.  

While my parents were not pure jazz listeners per se, they enjoyed Motown and Latin jazz, and I sang along to some of that music.  Yet, once I heard Nat King Cole for the first time, I was touched forever by his jazzy vocals.  Around the same time, after listening to me sing in my teens, a gentleman encouraged me to sing more bossa nova.  So I explored that and discovered that I really liked it.  

Despite my singing heart, I have persisted in piano playing and have gone farther than I ever thought I would with it.  It has only been with time that I have come to enjoy accompanying my singing with music beyond my originals, such as jazzy classics, movie tunes, and more.

I’ve sung all kinds of songs, pop, folk songs, hymns, and art songs, but singing jazz feels like something of a homecoming to me.  One summer evening, I found myself really getting into “Ain’t Misbehavin” at my banjolele, and now this sweet-sounding, unassuming instrument is part of my instrumental rotation.

So I am eagerly looking forward to my upcoming show, a jazz program in honor of spring and National Jazz Appreciation Month, at the Springfield City Library this month.  What I really like about this next show is that it will give me a chance to sometimes take a break from the piano and sing jazzy songs on other instruments as well, which I think would really place the focus on the songs themselves, their sound and sense, their sassy moments, their rhythm and groove, rather than only on the jazz harmonics.

Featured for the evening is a program of music by Ira Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Antonio Carlos Jobim, gypsy jazz, and more.  Please join me for a great evening of jazzy musical magic!