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Dominique Eade - Interview |
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by Rick Holland
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Dominique Eade-Vocalist-Composer
Dominique Eade has been a featured vocalist and composer in the Boston Globe Jazz Festival, the Jazz in Toulon Festival in France, the Molde International Jazz Festival in Norway, the What Is Jazz? Festival in New York, and the Iowa City Jazz Festival, and an artist-in-residence, clinician, and performer at the Wichita and Litchfield jazz festivals. Eade performs regularly in the U.S. and Europe. A frequent nominee for outstanding jazz vocalist in the Boston Music Awards since 1988, and the 1997 and 1999 winner in this category, Eade was also designated “best jazz singer” in Entertainment Weekly’s Regional Raves in 1997 and nominated for best new artist by the First Annual Jazz Awards (New York) in 1998. She was recognized in the 1998 Down Beat critics poll as “talent deserving wider recognition.” Her debut CD on RCA Victor, When the Wind Was Cool, appeared in 1998 Top Ten lists in the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Boston Phoenix, and in Jazz Times and Jazziz magazines; her second RCA Victor CD, The Long Way Home, was released in 1999, with contributions by Dave Holland, Victor Lewis, Mick Goodrick, and Bruce Barth. Her earlier CD, My Resistance Is Low, was voted one of the top ten jazz CDs of 1995 by Billboard. Eade has recorded with Bruce Barth, Stanley Cowell, Alan Dawson, Benny Golson, Fred Hersch, Dave Holland, George Mraz, Lewis Nash, and Steve Nelson, and has performed with Anthony Braxton, Bill Frisell, Mark Helias, Gene Bertoncini, Peter Leitch, Donald Brown, Butch Morris, Mick Goodrick, Ran Blake, and a number of contemporary ensembles
Rick Holland, JR247: - Dominique it is a pleasure to have you take part in our interview forums here at JR247. I've been listening to your new disc, “Open”. It is so refreshing and beautiful. I really love your writing on this disc as well, so tasteful, and lovely melodies. My first question, I have always loved your compositions. They're so harmonically rich. Can you give us some insight to your method to composition?
Dominique Eade: My ears seem to gravitate toward instrumental music as well a vocal music, so I guess I end up drawing from both. I grew up hearing jazz from the 30's and 40's, and a lot of classical music, too. Later, when I heard more modern jazz composers like Wayne Shorter, the sonorities sounded familiar because of some of the classical composers I had heard, but the rhythmic language was new. By the time I heard this music, I had already began performing in my high school years as a singer/songwriter in the pop/folk idiom with some standards thrown in. I wanted to make use of the rich harmonic palette of instrumental jazz that was catching my ear without losing the sense of song and the emotional impact of the lyric. It seemed to me that the more complex harmonic language could actually bring out the lyric, and I feel I've been investigating this balance in my writing ever since. Duke Ellington accomplished this as an orchestrator, Ran Blake did it spontaneously as an accompanist, the show tune writers had played with it within the boundaries of the standard song form, and other songwriters, like Jobim, were stretching the forms themselves. Meanwhile, non-jazz songwriters, like Joni Mitchell, were bringing some of these sonorities into their writing in their own way. These were just a few of the songwriters who inspired me.
JR247: How important do you feel (if you're an aspiring vocalist) the need to study harmony and/or piano?
DM: I know I couldn't do what I do without it. Even though singers from other eras may not have had formalized jazz education as it exists today, lot of jazz singers have played piano. Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae, for instance, were both very good pianists, and Sarah Vaughan attended one of the first Arts High Schools in New Jersey. It's pretty important for most kinds of singers in the jazz idiom, I think, to have some kind of music training, but of course there are exceptions. If you can't take down chord changes, play piano and arrange a bit, you still have to build your listening skills in some way or another to be able to communicate what you are hearing to the other musicians you work with. Even singers who rely on the musical skills of accompanists or a musical director still have to have great ears to guide them. Studying harmony and piano is a good way to build your ears.
JR247: Dom, you have such a natural approach to improvisational music. How did this process evolve for you?
DM: I know sometimes people make a big deal about scat singing -- whether to do it, why do it, who does, who doesn't...For me, wordless improvisation has always felt like a natural continuation of what I am saying with the lyric of a song. It's like the emotional feeling of the composed song spilling over into improvisation. I think I improvised on the very first jazz gig I did at the age of 18. I didn't even think about it, I just did it. I'd imagine the process of trying to do it well is quite similar to the process that instrumentalists go through -- a study of tradition and innovation.
JR247: What are some essential things you emphasize with vocalists who want to learn how improvise on a very high musical level?
DM: That it might be a long process to really find your own voice as an improviser. There are some great young singers coming up who can really improvise within the tradition with great skill, and I just encourage them to keep going deeper and take it further than the generation before them. It shouldn't just be a novelty, or something you do to prove you can hear the changes. You should use the best improvisers on any instrument as your model.
JR247: You know, your lyrics and diction are so convincing in your music to me. It's like you are speaking and telling me your stories. How is this matured and developed in vocalists?
DM: I would like to become as natural with singing as I can, so that the effort is minimal and I can move inside the piece of music with awareness and emotional freedom. My goal is to be able to respond to the way the song is unfolding in that particular moment of performance with the least amount of distraction. I feel about this as I do about improvising: it is an endless endeavor.
JR247: Dominique, we had the hardest winter in my neck of the woods. I can't imagine what it would be like for a vocalist, fighting nature and taking care of the body and the instrument. What are some things you to take care of your instrument?
DM: I know what you mean about winter and illness. Having little kids, as I do, this is a special consideration. I have some stretching exercises that I do every morning. I can do them a little or a lot, depending how much time I have, and they work pretty well. I warm up my voice in the shower so I at least begin the day with my voice in a flexible place. I walk for exercise, because I like to, and it's free, but I love yoga and Alexander Technique, too. I've never belonged to a gym, but I wouldn't turn down a membership.
JR247: You do some unbelievable things with your voice. Can you share some of the unique things you do to create new and interesting expressions in your music? You do this as well as anyone I've ever heard.
DM: The human voice is a remarkable instrument, and I feel humbled by it every day! I have always felt compelled to explore as much of the voice's potential as possible, and I was interested in gaining a better understanding of vocal technique from the start, as one way of exploring the voice. I've had some great teachers in the classical and technical areas who have shed light on certain aspects of vocal function. At the same time, there are singers with no formal training who can convey so much music that it reminds you that technique is not the whole story. In another direction, I have done a lot of free improvisation which includes some extended techniques and unusual use of the voice which helps keep my ears open to other possibilities, though I don't really use these techniques per se when singing in a more conventional setting. Also, I listen to a pretty broad range of music. The voice is the voice the world over, and it really is amazing how different it can sound from person to person and culture to culture. In the moment of performance, I feel the sound palette depends a lot on who I am playing with. That's something we create together.
JR247: I've had Open on most of the day. I want to tell our readers and listeners what a beautiful disc this is. The thing I like is the chemistry between you and pianist Jed Wilson. Tell us how you met?
DM: Jed had been a student at NEC where I teach, but somehow our paths never crossed. I needed someone for a gig and just hired him in a moment that, in hindsight, seems serendipitous and inspired. He played my songs with so much care and depth, and humor, too. We are like-minded at heart, I think, but not without some differences, which seems to keep us in perpetual conversation.
JR247: How often do you guys perform together? Are there rehearsals? Tell us how these go and things you two work on together?
DM: We got together to play a lot right after that gig, just for the fun of it. We started the duo, basically, and began recording a month or two later. The CD is comprised of tracks from a few somewhat casual recording sessions done over a two-year period. Jed is living back in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, now, but, luckily, we still get to play. I think we developed a strong enough base, so getting together for gigs feels easy, even with the distance.
JR247: I want to ask about of a couple of your originals. But first, tell us how you pick songs to perform? I really liked that soulful version of My Secret Life? I'm not sure an old instrumentalist would ever consider such a tune? Is the lyric an important component for you?
DM: I first heard this song when Jed sang it for me in a rehearsal. I don't know if he was actually intending for me to do it, but it was very compelling. Yeah, I don't know how it works to cover something like this without the lyrics. True Cohen fans know all the words, though, so they'd probably love an instrumental version they could sing along to!
JR247: Tell us some of your performance plans in the coming year?
DM: I'll be doing some things around Boston in the next couple of months, as well as some guest workshops and performances at some schools. Then in the summer, Jed and I are planning some performances on the West Coast to celebrate the CD release out that way. I'm also hoping to perform in France, where we received a great review in Jazzman magazine. Hopefully, you will be able to find all these events listed on my website or MySpace page.
JR247: Any more recordings planned with Jed? BTW, ever consider having some of your tunes arranged for a larger ensemble? They so suited for orchestrations?
DM: No firm plans, but I definitely want to record more together. About the larger orchestrations, JC Sanford is arranging some things for me for when I visit Le Moyne College where he teaches, later this spring. The charts are for a student band, so he probably won't go full-tilt, but I'm eager to hear what he comes up with.
JR247: Tell us where you teach, and some of things your are doing with your students?
DM: I teach at New England Conservatory; private lessons, ensembles and some classes. Sometimes I teach a few private lessons when I am in New York City for performances. I have so many former students living down there now, and it's nice to connect with them, and to hear some of the other young singers.
JR247: Dom, do you believe Jazz education is working? What in your opinion are some of the positives? The negatives?
DM: People can get awfully good at many things now because the information is so much more accessible, even compared to when I was starting out. But I can wax nostalgic hearing older players talk about learning in informal settings, from Jaki Byard, for instance, when he would hold court just sitting at the piano somewhere in Boston. I think my generation got some of that, but not as much as those before. Clearly it's not just about information, but context. It's important for an institution to provide an environment that allows some of the less tangible aspects of creativity to flourish. I think NEC does that very well.
JR247: Well, I want to tell everyone to get this wonderful new disc with you and Jed Wilson. Let us know where to look and buy this wonderful music, and I where we can learn more about you on the web. Thanks again for joining us here at JR247!! (-:
DM: dominiqueeade.com and CDbaby await. Thank you, it's been a pleasure.
Jed Wilson was also able to join us for this interview. Here are some question’s Jed responded to.
Jed Wilson grew up in Gladstone, Oregon and began studying piano at a young age. As a teenager, Wilson was an active performer on the Portland jazz scene at haunts such as the Typhoon Lounge, and won prestigious awards (including Downbeat Magazine's 'Best High School Jazz Soloist' honor three years in a row). In addition to studying and performing jazz, Wilson continued his classical studies, composed songs, and accompanied choirs and vocal soloists.
Wilson came to Boston in 2000 after receiving a scholarship to study at the New England Conservatory. His wide-ranging taste and abilities were evident in his performing choices (NEC Honors Jazz Ensemble, The Wild Band of Snee, featuring Grammy-nominated cellist Rushad Eggleston, and duo and quartet work with vocalist Dominique Eade).
After graduation and a brief stint in New York City, Wilson is now living in Portland, Oregon again, where he was recently featured in the Leroy Vinnegar Jazz Institute's annual Young Artist Jazz Concert.
Collaborators now for over two years, Dominique Eade and Wilson have recorded a CD of duets, "Open (JP 3001)," to be released this fall. In a review of a recent performance he singled out as one of the year's best, Bill Beuttler of the Boston Globe writes, "Wilson's piano work, skilled and subtle, made plain why a guy so young has become Eade's duo partner of choice.
First question, when I listen to this disc, it's as if the two of your are an ensemble, not just a singer and accompanist. How do you
perceive your chemistry developed between you and Dominique?
Jed Wilson: The chemistry was there from the start, and Dominique's leadership style allowed it to develop. She has a way of keeping all the doors open, encouraging a spirit of collaborative, joyful experimentation. I think some of the chemistry is a result of the fact that both of us had to adapt ourselves to the duo sound that emerged between us, surrendering some of our treasured escape routes and polished moves. We recorded the album gradually, and the sound was taking shape before our ears, requiring a small personal transformation at every step.
JR247: I love your touch, very beautiful. Can you share some of your influences, teachers, etc?
JW: The influences and teachers are so numerous that it's impossible to compile a comprehensive list, but I would credit my first and most important jazz teacher, Randy Porter, with instilling in me a love of this music and a commitment to my highest potential within it.
JR247: Dominique's song writing has a very unique voice, and you seem to fit perfectly. Talk about how you feel these tunes 'fit' you, and do you feel the two of you will ever expand these sounds to more pieces in an ensemble setting? Or is this duo setting something the two of you want to develop more?
JW: Recently we played a gig with percussion and saxophone, and it felt like a compelling approach to these songs. It seems that the trick is to keep the landscape as open as possible.
JR247: You're very comfortable in straight 1/8th style. You also improvise very well within the musical phrases. For example, when listening to "You Fascinate Me So", your rubato within the improvisations 'fit' perfectly. One has to so comfortable with musical phrasing to pull this off so musically. What do you attribute to adapting so well to this music?
JW: I think that the rubato you mention was probably not as intentional as it sounds. It was most likely the only way out of a trap that I had created for myself!
JR247: I understand it was you who brought in 'My Secret Life' for Dominique. What was it about this tune that made you 'know' it was a great fit for her? You two sound remarkable on this tune.
JW: When I started playing with Dominique, I was in a period of my life dominated by singer/songwriters. I was immersed in song, and devoted to the ideal of Song (as the highest form of musical communication). Leonard Cohen was my closest musical companion in that time, and I often found a better way to express my own feelings through learning his lyrics. I'm not sure that I actually suggested this particular song, though I remember making a Cohen mix-tape for Dominique. I believe she listened and found her own level of connection with this music. 'In My Secret Life' was the song that she was most drawn to, as I remember.
JR247: Do you have some other things in mind for the two of you?
JW: These days we aren't able to perform as often because we live on opposite coasts (since the recording of this album I have moved to Portland, Oregon). This band is one of the few areas of my life where I feel that I don't need to have plans. When a gig materializes, I feel I can show up without expectations, and I'm not letting anybody down. I don't even have to prepare. The best preparation for this gig is living heartily.
JR247: Jed, tell s some other things you're involved with musically? And what may be some musical goals of yours in particular?
JW: I'm a member of an adventurous jazz band called the Bill Athens Unit, and I work semi-regularly with a remarkable vocalist named Johnny Martin. Both of these acts perform in Portland, Oregon. I'm also the music director at Bethel Lutheran Church in Portland. One personal goal is to help foster community among musicians in my hometown.
JR247: This may be redundant, but one of the things I've always loved about Dominique, is her ability to communicate a lyric. She's a master at this. How did you conceive contributing musically with someone like this who has this special ability?
JW: She certainly does possess the gift you mention. She can communicate the lyric with such credible emotion and never sing it the same way again. It will come true in her telling the next time, but will sound utterly different. As an accompanist, I try to match Dominique's energy, employing an element of mischief where necessary, and even inciting a friendly power struggle on occasion. I don't think she wants to be politely chauffeured through these songs. Bumper cars would be a better analogy.
JR247: How unique is it to work a vocalist who can compose like Dominique? What kind of impact has it had on you musically, playing and compositionally?
JW: It has been inspiring to watch the flow of song continue without pause since I've known her. She breathes melodies and lyrics. She writes anywhere and anytime, incorporating every possible piece of the story. She has inspired me, through awe and jealousy alike, to be as relentlessly musical.
JR247: Tell us some about you, your hobbies and some of the things you really enjoy in life?
JW: Above all I enjoy learning - through reading, through doing, but mostly through relating to others in meaningful conversation.
JR247: Thanks Jed, you have a bright future in thus business, and I
look forward to hearing more from you.
JW: Thank you!
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Rick Holland |
| About the author: |
| A versatile musician and veteran performer in organizations such as the Louie Bellson Big Band (Chicago Based Band), Jimmy Dorsey, Mike Pendowski, Rob Parton , Buddy De Franco, Buselli-Wallrab and Terry Gibbs Bands, Rick Holland brings a wealth of experience and musicality to each performance. |
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