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Space-Age, Latin, Exotica,
Balladiers, and Las Vegas Lounge. Music for an
atomic age! >January 07, 2005
By Steve Lambert with Susan Getz
A remarkably new and refreshing voice has appeared on the West Coast in the form of Susan Getz. Ms. Getz’s new CD, “Jazz Boxx”, is a compilation of standard jazz mementos, original material and what I would call nuevo jazz, songs still destined to become standards.
She has a voice that is at once restrained, yet strong enough to fill one’s soul with the bittersweet vision she finds from within all the tracks on this well-balanced CD. Her original songwriting and lyrics are so poignant and personal in both scope and depth; these songs are reminiscent and well laid out. To top it off, she also pulls off a few well-known pop songs and creates new musical landscapes, evidenced in two of my favorite cuts from this polished CD, “Come Together” and “The Long and Winding Road.”
Something that really comes through on this CD is the ensemble nature of the singer and her musicians. The “Band” supports Ms. Getz with tender care and, I think, only enhances her singular voice throughout the CD. It is evident that this ensemble enjoys working together on this project.
Ms. Getz will be celebrating the release of this CD on Thursday, January 13, 2005, 9pm PST at Bruno’s in the Bay area (2389 Mission Street, San Francisco) cover $6. If you are in the area, I strongly suggest that you gander on over and take in this exciting event.
You can order the CD from Amazon.com here Susan Getz CD
Ms. Getz was kind enough to talk with the Green Lounge about her new CD, “Jazz Boxx”, via E-mail in our first such interview conducted for Outlet Radio.
This is definitely a 4 Martini CD.
Enjoy!!
GL: Welcome to the Green Lounge, Susan. I am very pleased to have you as a member of our play-list and thank you for taking the time to speak with me about your new release "Jazz Boxx".
Susan Getz: I'm happy to be here.
GL: Where did your initial interest in the Jazz genre come from? Who influenced you?
Susan: Growing up in Ohio my mother taught me the standards. She liked to play the piano after dinner, so I would stand next to the piano and sing along. My first "gig" was standing on a table in my parent’s garage playing the tambourine with my older brother's rock band. Later, when I moved to San Francisco, I befriended a dancer named Ed Mock. One day he handed me a huge bag of records --Dakota Stanton, Dinah Washington, Anita O'Day, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughn, and others. Shortly after that I discovered Bossa Nova music -- Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendez, Astrud Gilberto and others, but I wasn't working as a musician: I just loved music.
GL: You have a unique and unpretentious vocal style about you. Are you trained? Or is this just the natural you? How long have you been doing this?
Susan: Thank you. I try to keep things simple. I like a warm intimate sound. I've been singing professionally for several years. Before that I sang and composed more informally, but it has always been an important part of my life.
GL: You’ve been a part of San Francisco's Jazz scene for quite some time now. Is this your first commercial release? And how did this project come about at this time?
Susan: During early performances at San Francisco Bay Area clubs, people would ask if I had a CD that they could take home-- and I didn't. It made me realize that having one would compliment the live performance and extend the musical experience for the listeners. The attention I've received on the Internet has been amazing. It's fantastic to find that I have an international audience. Because of radio stations like the Green Lounge, I've heard from people all over the world. I'd like to encourage anyone who'd like to contact me to e-mail me through my website at www.susangetz.com. I answer every letter and e-mail.
GL: Was the studio experience a good one for you? How did it differ for you from performing with a live audience? Did you make any discoveries while recording this material that you may not have made in front of an audience?
Susan: Recording and producing the CD was a great deal of work, but it was an excellent opportunity for learning because I could listen to the playback over and over. It gave me time to think about how a piece ought to sound. I feel fortunate to have had a chance to work with the musicians on this date. In that respect it was fantastic. I love those guys and would do it again without hesitation. Next album I'd like to work with a producer. For “Jazz Boxx,” I relied not only on my own ears but also on the advice of the band members and on Dave Luke who recorded, mixed, and mastered the CD. Because of the unique dynamic with the audience, I don't think anything compares to live performance.
GL: How did you select your material? Are these from your live play-list or is some of this new material for you? If some of this is new material, what is your process of discovering how to make it your own?
Susan: Certain songs grab my attention. A melody or phrase touches me and I'm hooked, at least for a while. For example, I've listened to Carmen McCrae sing “When Sunny Gets Blue” on her “Bittersweet” album over and over for hours at a time. I'm always working through songs that I like. Sometimes it takes years to internalize a piece or find the heart of it, sometimes just a few weeks or even a day. It's not a linear process for me. Sometimes I hear and sing something a certain way for awhile and then suddenly I think of something different and change everything. The main thing is that it has to mean something special to me, something special that I want to share with whoever is listening.
For “Jazz Boxx” I had a list of songs I had been singing, songs that people responded to or songs that I love to sing. I'll sing a song just to be able to sing a certain phrase or to sing three little words that I find poetic. For “Jazz Boxx” I had the songs I'd written -- although I didn't write anything especially for the recording. I only write songs because I know if I don't write them they will never be heard. Other people's songs will be heard, but I'm the only one who can write my songs and I feel a responsibility to get them out. I don't mean to be arrogant. I find it intimidating to perform my songs or admit authorship. It's so scary, like jumping off the high dive. So I tell myself that I have to do it. Then, I make myself jump. For “Jazz Boxx” some of songs were planned and rehearsed, but some were spontaneous. "Come Together" was spontaneous. On our second (and last!) day in the studio Leonard and David and Jemal were warming up for the session. They were jamming and the sound that they created was so incredible that it struck me that we had to get that sound on the record. I had always wanted to record "Come Together" and happened to have a ‘lead sheet’ (a rough sketch to tell musicians what the melody is and guide the harmonic changes) in my box of music. I pulled it out and told them that if they wanted to play like that then we ought to do THIS--"Come Together" was born, again. Truly one of our favorites on the CD.
GL: When writing your own material, are you taking from your own experiences or from others, and what is the process for you? Words first, Music later or vice versa? Does writing come easily to you or is it a painstaking process?
Susan: My own material...hmmn...It's everything from the soup of my life. People often ask me "Who did you write this or that song for?" Some I have written for family or friends, like "Say Goodbye To Love" which was written for Leonard Thompson who is on the date, or "The Birthday Song For Caroline". I wonder to what extent art can be anything other than a self-portrait or a mirror that we hold up for ourselves and others? I always work out the melody first, then I play with the words. Neither easy nor difficult -- it's more of a compelling feeling that something wants to be expressed and I might as well give it a crack. Sometimes I try to write everything down in a hurry so I don't miss the inspiration. I really love the creativity. Like live performance, it feels good when it's right, really good. I've recently written several pieces that I'm adding to my repertoire, but there are plenty of songs that never get finished or that I wouldn't feel good about playing and singing.
GL: Tell me a little about the track, "Say Goodbye to Love"? What is the story behind that and what was the inspiration?
Susan: As I said a moment ago, I wrote "Say Goodbye To Love" for my friend the pianist Leonard Thompson. I had been listening to the Bill Evans song "Turn Out The Stars" at about the same time that I found out that Leonard was going through a rough period with a girlfriend. I wrote the song because that was something I had experienced. I say I wrote it for Leonard, but really it's a universal and bittersweet theme. The song is so sad, so full of regret. Leonard once asked me after we played it on a gig if that was supposed to make him feel better. Well, maybe not better, just not alone. "Say Goodbye To Love" was originally written as a piano-vocal ballad but during a rehearsal Jemal Ramirez changed it by inventing the drum part that we recorded on the album. Then, hearing Jemal, Leonard came up with that wonderful piano that I love. After recording it I dreamed up the background vocals and that changed the sound even more, really pulled everything together. That piece has certainly changed since I first wrote it. Who knows what is going to happen when we play it at the “Jazz Boxx” CD party that we're having at Bruno's in San Francisco on January 13th because no one is going to stick to a script!
This is a little off the subject but I'd like to acknowledge Joel Ryan, who plays the trumpet on "Peace Dream". That song was conceived during many sleepless nights following the attack on the World Trade Center in New York. That recording needed something to tie it together and add variety to the CD. I love horns. The not quite military rhythm Jemal played with his hands and Taps in D Flat with the Country Ballad isn't jazz, but it has jazz colors. Joel did just what I asked him to do -- and he did it in less than an hour.
GL: You sing two tracks of Lennon/McCartney material, "The Long and Winding Road" and the aforementioned “Come Together", both, in my opinion, very brave of you. Yet, you pull it off and really make these songs your own. After listening, I almost felt that these were long lost jazz standards. Are you a Beatles fan? Tell me how you chose these two songs?
Susan: Of course I'm a Beatles fan, who isn't? Beatles Unlimited in The Netherlands picked up the Jazz Boxx CD versions and will be reviewing both "Come Together" and "The Long And Winding Road" but I'm not certain which issue will have the review. I've already told you about "Come Together" – a song I wanted to sing for a long time. The same holds true for "The Long And Winding Road" -- one of my older brother's favorites. Again, that arrangement was a group effort. David Ewell simplified the changes, and I sang an economic melody that I think speaks to the heart of the song. I think Leonard thought up the key change in the instrumental section. I asked Jemal to set the mood with the drums. He came up with a desert feel and we got into a groove that everyone seems to love.
GL: After listening to your CD, the words "melancholy sweetness" kept resounding in my head. There seems to be a bitter-sweetness to almost all the tracks on this CD. Is that intentional?
Susan: I agree that there is a bitter-sweetness present. That's how so much of what I create resonates with me. Beautiful and terrible, never the rose without the thorn.
GL: You are playing some pretty hot jazz spots in the Bay Area. How does it feel to be a part of some these renowned establishments such as the Purple Onion?
Susan: I like playing all the different venues. As long as one person is listening I'm there. The band members I work with are great listeners, so I'm covered even if the room is empty. If there were no one listening? It would be me and the music -- and that would be reason enough to sing.
GL: Thank you kindly for your time, Susan. You have a remarkable voice and a delightful CD.
The Green Lounge will be featuring Ms. Getz’s CD in 3-song “blocks” at 12pm and 4pm EST starting January 8th and running through the week and her CD will be on high rotation for the next several weeks.
We wish Ms. Getz the best on her release and are very proud to be featuring this artist in our play-list.
Permission to reprint this interview in part or its entirety is granted by all parties with inclusion of the byline and reference to www.outletradio.com.
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