Laura K's guest blog!

Hey, I am an absolute failure as a blogger in the technical sense. If there isn't a button, I can't do it. There is no button to add an mp3, so you don't get to hear Laura singing. Sorry! I am going to have to buy Blogging for Dummies, I can see.

Anyway, Laura's post about jazz singing is both interesting and moving. And, if you haven't gotten a chance to see her sing, I will let you know the next opportunity. She is fantastic!

By the way, for those of you who don't know who Laura is to me - she is both my wonderful sister-in-law and was my incredible French teacher last year. In her piece below, she describes, among other things, her inspiring and confidence-building jazz teacher. All I can say is, Laura is an equally amazing teacher and, if you happen to live near DeAnza, take her class! I drove over the hill for two quarters because she is worth it! Ok, here's Laura.....

Whatever is on MY mind is jazz singing. And, by the way, if you skip this very long post, I’ll never know.

It’s funny that vocal jazz is such a focal point of my life now, because I only stumbled onto the idea of even trying it, just for the hell of it. It’s always been one of my favorite genres to listen to, but studying and performing it never crossed my mind until just a few years ago. I only wish that I had found it sooner. Although, I do have memories of frequently scat singing with my best friend in the 5th grade. There were no chord progressions in our heads. We were just screwing around on “dood-lee-ooo-BOP!” and stuff like that, two kooky 10-year-olds trying to imitate Ella. Then there was the friend in high school with whom I often sang Gershwin tunes. We would fake tap-dance while singing “I Got Rhythm”, and milked “The Man I Love” for all it was worth. But those were my only early forays into jazz singing.

Fast-forward to about 5 years ago, when the delightful conductor of my chorale (at the college where I teach) left for a full-time teaching position at another school. Her replacement was a huge disappointment, so I decided to test the waters in the college’s jazz solo voice class. It might be a fun thing to try, so why not? At least I knew that my ear and sense of rhythm were good, so I probably wouldn’t make a complete fool of myself. Well, I didn’t, but it became immediately clear that I had a LOT to learn about singing jazz. Fortunately, I was in good hands.

I’ve been inspired, sometimes deeply, by many teachers throughout my life, but the person who has coached me in vocal jazz, ever since day one of that class, is the most gifted and inspiring teacher I've ever had. What follows is mostly a tribute to him, because nearly everything I’ve learned to love about jazz singing came through his example. I’m deeply indebted to him for helping me find the greatest joy in making music that I have ever experienced. He has led me through wonderful discoveries as a solo vocalist, and invited me to join a 6-member vocal jazz ensemble for one year, which was one of the very best years of my entire life. But that’s another story. Anyway, during all of that, something came alive inside of me. It is still there, and it’s the greatest feeling.

So what is it about singing jazz that’s such a high for me? The short answer is the creativity that jazz allows. Now, at first, the idea of improvising and being free in musical expression was scary to me. “What? You mean, DON’T sing the notes on the page?! In front of all these people, are you kidding?” My teacher has continually built my confidence in that regard, and has taught me to trust that I can take these risks and be successful. Without that confidence, it would never happen. And this does not mean that I don’t ever sing clunker notes, by the way! What has changed is that I now love taking that risk, being musically playful, and trying new musical ideas, even in front of a live audience.

Vocal improvisation can be scatted, or can be done by singing the composers’ lyrics and rhythms while altering the melodic line. Either way, you have to really know the chord changes well and what each of them sounds sound like. So, as oxymoronic as it sounds, successful improvisation takes a lot of time and practice. And when it works, the payoff is incredibly satisfying.

Vocalists have something unique that instrumentalists do not: words! So much of jazz singing is about telling stories that require you to play a wide variety of roles. You get to interpret the poetry that you are singing, and can convey its emotion by varying the texture of your voice, and by playing with rhythm and phrasing. It is exhilarating to connect with the audience as you take them on a ride with you through the world you are painting. And each time you invite an audience to step into a song with you, it’s a different experience, which is another really cool thing about jazz. While singing or playing, you are truly in the moment, reacting to the other musicians or to the audience. Its improvisational nature, emotional variances, and endless possibilities of interpretation make each moment ephemeral and magical.