Last year, I gave a workshop in New York City on confidence and connecting with an audience. During that workshop, a discussion erupted about putting a spell on an audience. How does that work? I offered that I had no clue and then I remembered a pivotal moment along the way where I confronted that same question.
Back in 2000, a promoter that I’d worked with before called me up to do a German festival. He told me I couldn’t bring a whole band but an just an accompanist.   The …

Life Lesson: Anton Goudsmit.
Anton Goudsmit is a Dutch guitarist who played in my Amsterdam based group for over 3 years. We met through my husband and since he was a fixture on the Amsterdam music scene,  I had heard Anton play live a couple of times.  I loved his playing, his energy.  He exploded on stage.  When I decided to put together  a group s few years later, I booked Anton for a couple small gigs, playing mainly standards with little rehearsal. I didn’t know it then yet my whole …

This has been an amazing year for me. With the release of the FreeSong Suite and the reaction to it, suddenly everything starts to move with a flow and momentum that I haven’t experienced before.  Flowing and falling into it and somehow knowing that all is headed in the right direction.  I am so grateful to all the amazing friends, family and supporters over the years who have kept me going…letting me know that I have something to keep going.  That support has been and is priceless. It has meant …

Last week I posted this on FaceBook and wanted to share on the FV site as well.  As a musician, needing time alone is crucial if for no other reason than to have space to take in the world so you can actually say something about it.  Lonliness is something I’ve  grappled with  for a longtime.  I’m pretty comfortable being alone but sometimes feel guilty that I’m not ‘more’ social or more ‘visible’. And one of the things I’ve read along the way was an excerpt of an interview of the …

I sing slow.  I really do.  No matter what the tempo or so…my aim is to make it sound even slower. In early July,  I had a duo gig with Dom Minasi at Le Grand Dakar in Brooklyn.  Dom is a great player with a penchant for fast runs and forward propulsive rhythm.  The opposite of my way of dealing with rhythmic phrasing when I sing.  I look for weird holes to accent in the music and it’s waaaaay behind the beat usually.  It does depend on what’s happening musically …