SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH ADRIENNE WEST

ADRIENNE WEST SINGS WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012 AT THE HYATT

NBJP:  What’s the worst (non musical)  job you ever had?

AW: Hmmm… yeah…and the answer is….. a chemical factory office job in Atlanta, Georgia

NBJP: Who’s your favorite, non living jazz composer?

AW: Duke Ellington

NBJP:  What one word would your friends use to describe you?

AW:  Open

NBJP:    How old were you when you first played in front of an audience (other than family)? Do you remember what song  it was?

AW:       5 years old…”The Lords Prayer”

NBJP: What would you want to be if you weren’t a musician?

AW:     A veterinarian

NBJP: What food can’t you resist?

AW:    Great pasta

NBJP:  What musician has (thus far) influenced you the most?

AW      Sorry but I must name more than one but…I’ll ONLY refer to two 🙂 …Sarah Vaughn & Shirley Horn! 

Plus one – NBJP: When did you know you wanted to be a professional musician?

AW:     Age 6

What???  Over so soon?

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH CARRIE JACKSON

CARRIE PERFORMS WEDNESDAY JULY 11 AT THE HYATT 

NBJP: What’s the worst job you ever had?

CJ: Performing In a venue with no air conditioning. 

NBJP: Who’s your favorite jazz performer?

CJ: Sarah Vaughan

NBJP: What inspires you creatively?

CJ: Originality & Spontaneity

NBJP: If you could only own one CD, what would it be?

CJ: Sarah Vaughan’s Greatest Hits

NBJP: What’s one liquid (other than water) we’d ALWAYS find in your refrigerator?

CJ: O.J.!

NBJP: If you could live anywhere, where would that be?

CJ: In my own home state of New Jersey

NBJP: What word or phrase do you overuse?

CJ: Let’s Keep It Real!!

PLUS ONE: When did you know you wanted to be a professional jazz musician?

CJ: I knew I would be a jazz musician and singer at the young age of 5 after listening parents music albums of jazz greats: Sarah Vaughan, Ellla Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, my favorites just to name a few .

Seven Questions with Najwa Parkins

Najwa sings Wednesday June 20, at The Hyatt   

NBJP: What musician influenced you the most?

NP: I’m not sure I can say that just one musician influenced me the most, but I guess some of my biggest influences have been Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae.

NBJP :If you were about to have your last meal, what would it be?

NP:  In this moment I’d be happy to go out with jalepenos rellenos tacos, which are jalapeno peppers stuffed with Mexican cheese, deep fried and nestled in a fresh tortilla topped with diced onions (no cilantro for me).

NBJP: What’s your favorite non-musical pastime?

NP: I really enjoy reading. I love to get lost in a great story when I have a free day.

NBJP: What quality do you like least about yourself?

NP: Sometimes I think too much. My brain goes on overdrive and that can be stressful.

NBJP: What’s your favorite jazz tune?

NP: Another difficult question to answer… “Moonlight in Vermont” is one of my favorites.

NBJP:      What inspires you creatively?

NP: Nature, other musicians, a great story, positive and negative events that take place in my life…

NBJP:      What’s one thing other than milk or water we’d ALWAYS find in your refrigerator?

NP: There is almost always kale or some other leafy green vegetable in my refrigerator.

PLUS ONE: When did you know you wanted to be a professional jazz musician?

NP: I have loved performing for a very long time, but I think I really made a conscious decision to go for it when I went into the Temple University Boyer College of music and Dance to major in jazz studies/voice performance. I knew that this is what I love and I decided to put in the hard work to make a career of it.

SEVEN ?s WITH TAEKO

TAEKO SINGS WEDNESDAY MAY 16 AT THE HYATT

NBJP: What’s the worst job you ever had?

T: Real estate broker inNew York.

NBJP: Who’s your favorite jazz performer?

T: Betty Carter

NBJP: What inspires you creatively?

T: Working out

NBJP: If you could only own one CD, what would it be?

T: “Audience with Betty Carter”

NBJP: What’s one liquid (other than water) we’d ALWAYS find in your refrigerator?

T: Milk

NBJP: Who’s your favorite singer?

T: Patty Austin

NBJP: What word or phrase do you overuse?

T: “Are you sure?”

PLUS ONE: When did you know you wanted to be a jazz musician?

T: When I first leftNew York City in fall of 1998 after staying for 6 months

Seven ?s with Rachel Eckroth

Rachel performed for NBJP April 19 at Makeda

 

NBJP: Other than the instrument you play, what’s your favorite instrument to listen to?

RE: I am in love with the cello. It’s such a warm instrument, but I wish I could play the bass.

NBJP: What’s the worst job you ever had?

RE: When I first moved to the New York area, I worked at a store in the mall.  I’m not really a customer service type person.

NBJP:   If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?

RE:  My dream is to visit Tahiti, so maybe there.

NBJP:  Who’s your favorite non-jazz composer?

RE:  Astor Piazzolla is one of my favorites – innovator of modern tango.

NBJP: What’s the last book you read?

RE: A cookbook.

NBJP: What’s your favorite (“G” rated!) guilty pleasure?

RE:  I love to travel.  I am a huge fan of seeing new places, cultures, and would love to do that all the time.

NBJP:  What musician do you believe has influenced you the most? (so far)

RE:: I connect to all of the different incarnations of Miles Davis’ musical contributions the most, so I’d have to say Miles.

PLUS ONE: When did you know? (That you wanted to be a jazz musician)

RE:When I was 15. 

SEVEN ?s WITH EMILY ASHER

EMILY ASHER PERFORMS THURSDAY MARCH 30 AT MAKEDA

 

NBJP: What living musician has influenced you most?

EA: it’s a three-way tie, Nancy Wilson, Nicholas Payton and Wycliffe Gordon.

NBJP: What would you want to be if you weren’t a jazz musician?

EA: a fitness and nutrition coach or a 7th grade math teacher.  

NBJP: What is your greatest fear?

EA: Being attacked by a shark.  I still get nervous jumping in swimming pools in the dark!!

NBJP: What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?

EA: Popcorn and wine for dinner.

NBJP: Dogs, cats or other?

EA:  I love animals in general but I have two cats.  They’re sweet but kind of neurotic.  My geriatric orange cat, Simon, tends to get all worked up when I practice high-range singing and bite my leg or try to climb me like a tree.

NBJP: Who’s your favorite non-jazz composer?

EA: I love Chopin and Wagner mostly because I heard a lot of them as a child.  I often fell asleep as my dad played Chopin Nocturnes on the piano beneath my bedroom.   

NBJP: What instrument would you  like to be able to play?

EA: I’m currently working on tuba and enjoying it immensely.  Maybe in my next lifetime I’ll be a great pianist.  

PLUS ONE: When did you know you wanted to be a jazz musician?

EA: I had a crush on a senior, Tim Shimotakahara, at my high school when I was a freshman.  When I asked him what music he listened to and he said jazz, I decided right then and there that I was a jazz musician.  I think he went into finance… 

SEVEN?s WITH SHAREL CASSITY

Sharel performs Thursday March 15 at Makeda

NBJP: Other than the instrument you play, what instrument would you like to be able to play?

SC: I always wanted to play the acoustic bass. Maybe that’s why I like to write for it so much, a way of living vicariously though bass players. However, now that we have one I don’t even touch it–I can’t keep up with the other eight instruments I play. 

NBJP: What’s the worst job you ever had?

SC: Any job that included cleaning a public restroom.  

NBJP:   Finish this sentence: I have too many__bills. 

NBJP:  Who’s your favorite non-jazz composer?

SC: [Alexander Nikolayevich]Scriabin

NBJP: What’s the last movie you saw and loved?

SC: Hmmm… not sure, since I usually fall asleep in them. But, I did manage to stay awake and enjoy True Grit , The Help and Star Trek recently. That might be a record. 

NBJP: What’s your favorite (“G” rated!) guilty pleasure?

SC: Dark chocolate and shoe appreciation. Not usually at the same time, but it could happen. 

NBJP:  What living musician do you believe has influenced you the most?

SC: Jimmy Heath

PLUS ONE: When did you know? (That you wanted to be a jazz musician)?

When I was 11, I told my first saxophone teacher that I wanted to be a jazz saxophonist for the rest of my life. Thinking this might not be the best thing to encourage for a young girl, he laughed and replied “so… you want to practice hard your whole life, live on a bus, bathe in public restrooms and wear polyester uniforms just to play the saxophone for a living?” To which I hastily replied “Yes!!” Oddly it sounded fantastic, which I don’t believe was the intention.  

SEVEN ?s WITH AKIKO TSURUGA

Akiko  performs Wednesday March 14 at the Hyatt New Brunswick

 NBJP: Other than the instrument you play (organ), what’s your favorite instrument to listen to?

AT: Everything

NBJP: What’s the worst job you ever had?

AT: Nothing

NBJP:   If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?

AT:I love the United States and Japan so I’ve never thought about living in another country.

NBJP:  Who’s your favorite non-jazz composer?

AT: Burt Bacharach & Bach, 

NBJP: What’s the last book you read?

AT: Japanese comic

NBJP: What’s your favorite (“G” rated!) guilty pleasure?

AT:_________________________ (no answer!) Maybe she doesn’t have one???!

NBJP:  What musician do you believe has influenced you the most?

AT: Dr. Lonnie Smith

PLUS ONE: When did you know? (That you wanted to be a jazz musician)

When I was 22 years old.

SEVEN ?’s WITH LINDA OH

LINDA LED A QUARTET AT SOPHIE’S ON FRIDAY MARCH 8

NBJP:   Other than the instrument you play, what’s your favorite  instrument to listen to?

LO: It would always depend on what’s being played and how it’s being played, but I might have to say drumset

NBJP:  Who’s your favorite non-jazz composer?

LO: Ravel

NBJP:  What inspires you creatively?

LO: Many things, but I’d have to say my sisters are a huge inspiration.

NBJP:  What’s one thing other than milk or water we’d ALWAYS find in your refrigerator?

LO: Apples

NBJP:   What’s your favorite jazz club to perform in?

LO: I have quite a few but I guess Village Vanguard

NBJP:  When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

LO: A Scientist

NBJP: If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

LO: My tendency to misplace things, namely cell phones and keys.

SEVEN ?s WITH SYLVIA CUENCA

SYLVIA PERFORMS AT MAKEDA THURSDAY MARCH 8

NBJP:  Other than being a musician what’s the best job you ever had?

SC:  Trail maintenance in the back country of Olympic National Park in Washington

NBJP:  What one word would your friends use to describe you?

SC: Humble

NBJP:   What’s the one thing about you few people know?

SC:  I used to rockclimb

NBJP:    How old were you when you first played in front of an audience (other than family)? Do you remember what song  it was?

SC: 13 yrs old ….I think it was the Theme to Peter Gunn!!!

NBJP: What’s your favorite city to visit?

SC: Internationally: Amsterdam  Domestically: San Francisco

NBJP:  What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?

SC:  Large glass of Shiraz and organic Dark Chocolate

NBJP:  What musician has (thus far) influenced you the most?

SC: Impossible to name just one…… Miles & Coltrane