I cannot actually pinpoint to when I fell in love with Jazz, but when I did, I fell madly in love. I love Jazz, I sing Jazz… I love to hear the sweet melody of blending musical instruments coming together to form an harmony that cannot be described but only to be experienced. I grew up in Nigeria and we had more of R&B at our disposal than Jazz or Funk. Maybe I’m an old soul or the fact that my Dad had all the old LP of Bing Crosby, Sinatra, Nina Simone lying around made me notice Jazz or maybe it was the fact my Mum loved the Classics Movies from Doris Day, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, that got me to love the sound of Jazz in movies.
Or maybe it was the fact I saw too much of Mo Better Blues by Spike Lee or Blue Moon and Love Boat (TV Series) or too many highlife programs in the 1980’s hosted by Rosemary Okeke with the amalgamation of all instruments.
I can’t really underline where the love stemmed from but I fell in love with Jazz; from the smooth melody of Julie London to the sensationally unusual and distinctive sound of Billie Holiday, to the throaty and loudness of Miles Davies, to the cool melody from Nina Simone, to the cockiness of Frank Sinatra, to the beauty of Dusty Springfield’s voice to the subtle gentility of Ella Filtzgerald…I fell in love with Jazz.
I suppose one cannot help, but be captivated by the fusion of so many beautiful instruments; from the Saxophone which is my favourite musical instrument (though I cannot blow the instrument to save my life but the sound just literally takes me out of whatever environment that I might be in to my own “Neverland”), or the Trumpet that parades its strength at being the loudest on the scene, yet can be quiet when required, or the Piano that just gently makes love to the soul – like cream on the tongue, or the Drums that make you automatically move to the rhythm, maybe it’s the Guitar that hits my body nerves as the pitch goes up, down, high or low, or the brashness of the Bass … the Bass the bedrock of Jazz …deep…sexy…vibrant … or the flute that leads me on like a pipe to the piper …… Or the smoky voice of whoever the vocalist is that accentuates and completes the wholesomeness of such beautiful, relaxing and soothing music like a therapy.
I’ m in love with Jazz … I’ll always be in love with Jazz…. perhaps I’m in love with the atmosphere of sophistication that Jazz eludes, I find myself drawn to the music like a moth to a flame … So drawn that When I heard Michael Buble for the first time in 2004, I embraced the new re-invention and a new audience; a new introduction, a form of music that would never go out of style or presence in our ever-changing music world. Jazz is stable as rock, eclectic, eccentric loud, yet quiet, mild, subtle, crazy yet can be as calm as a free flow of water. So I find myself drawn to Ronnie Scotts, London every time I can for an atmosphere and music that just compliments the soul, which eludes my outside environment to a safe haven where I am Peter Pan in my own Neverland. I fell in love with Jazz; I’m still in love with Jazz. Its Mind, Body and soul…. fused with a voice.