Press
“A debut album can be a hit or miss affair, an artist can either choke from the pressure or smack a home run. In the case of Australian vocalist Pippa Hayes, the result is a grand slam.”
Click the link read the full article at - MUSIC INDUSTRY NEWS
Pippa Hayes CD reviews and articles are also featured in the following: All About Jazz, Jazz News, Top 40 Charts, INK 19 and Music Industry News.
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* Interview …
Pippa Hayes – It Had To Be You – Interview by Michael Sutton
You have to be tough to survive in the music industry – especially as a woman. Yet, writes Michael Sutton, Pippa Hayes has proven you can make it with your wit, warmth and heart intact.
… with her debut album It Had To Be You currently #1 on the All About Jazz charts Sutton chats with Pippa about her musical beginnings, the Australian jazz scene and all that jazz …
What initially fueled your interest in becoming a singer? Was it a certain singer? Was it a certain artist or artist (s)? Or something else altogether?
It was a private screening of the film “Imitation of Life”, my father owned and operated the local picture theatre, I would have been 4 or 5 years old at the time when I heard Mahalia Jackson the great gospel singer who played the part of a church choir soloist in the film … this was when I knew …” I can do this!”
I guess it wasn’t just the song (music) it was the story, the whole movie was indelibly imprinted in my mind.
Previously I had heard Louis Armstrong on the radio… to this day I can still recall that beautiful tone of Armstrong’s trumpet …pure joy, also Nat King Cole’s piano playing … it was not so much the singers of the day that made an impression on me it was mostly the instrumentalists.
How old were you when you decided to enter the musical field?
I was in my 20′s, married with 3 children, my youngest (son) was about to start pre-school when I started taking guitar lessons; it was through studying the Berklee guitar course that I discovered I could express myself through music by accompanying myself on guitar; I must have spent hundreds of hours practicing chord progressions … it was immensely satisfying.
How have your views on music changed at this stage in your life now compared to when you were starting out?
My views on music haven’t changed. Certain musical values I held as a child are still valid for me today. I listen for musicians who are strong individuals who play from the heart and can connect with their audience on an emotional level, and I’m attracted to tunes with strong storylines.
What did you feel recording a song for the first time?
I felt a huge responsibility firstly to the song writers and lyricists who wrote the songs to ensure that I presented the song in the best possible light.
It was also a thrill because you know these tunes have been recorded by so many artists and that I was in a small way acknowledging the songwriters work.
Performing in front of a crowd, your debut: Butterflies or bold self confidence?
A bit of both really … from the very first note we were all listening to each other; my band gave me the freedom to go wherever I wanted to go so that made it easy to relax and enjoy the moment, luckily I had done a lot of mental preparation … just thinking about the songs and the arrangements; that first experience taught me the importance of preparation.
Are you creating the kind of music that you’ve always loved or is it a simple matter of your voice being the most suitable for this style?
Yes, I’m in love with these songs, for some reason I’ve always had an affinity with music of the 1930′s and 1940′s … my nanna sang the old pop/standards of the day Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and Gershwin songs … so apart from being beautiful tunes I guess I like them for sentimental reasons … I was very close to my nanna and these songs always remind me of her.
I was searching for a particular way to present these songs, I wanted a certain feel and it took quite a while to work out how to create the sound I was hearing in my mind, as it turned out the rhythm section sounds like a cross between Count Basie and the McKinney’s Cotton Pickers band; there’s plenty of space for the music to breathe.
I don’t really approach what I do as a vocalist, I’m trying to vocalize what I’m hearing in my head and I’m thinking more like a horn player; it was a real treat having Bob Barnard, Trevor Rippingale, and Ron Nairn playing on the album they grew up with these tunes and they feel the same away about the music and compliment what I do vocally.
What’s the jazz music scene in Australia like? Supportive? Competitive? Negative?
The Australian jazz scene revolves around two major cities Sydney and Melbourne, there’s a healthy jazz scene in all the capital cities particularly Perth, but Sydney is where the best jazz musicians and jazz producers are.
My experience has been that the Sydney jazz muso’s are very supportive, in fact … inspirational … I mean George Golla played a huge role in the making of my album, he was instrumental in choosing the brass and woodwind personnels, he wrote the brass and woodwind charts and conducted the session as well as offering some invaluable advice … you’ve got to listen to this guy he has made hundreds of recordings.
Equally as important as the music and the musicians was finding a producer who understood the music and how we wanted to present it. Richie Belkner produced and mixed the album and I’m happpy to say it has that loose jam session feel.
What are your goals as a musician in terms of your art?
My goal is to prioritise my life so that I start off each day doing what I love to do. I love working on music projects it lifts the spirit.
I love the process of recording … it’s a lot of fun, my goal is to do more recording … it’s beautiful to watch an idea develop as the musicians interact … when you are working with jazz musicians there is no need to spell anything out …. music is the language; it’s so creative and challenging for me … because there is always room for improvement.
I’m so blessed to have Mike in my life we trade musical ideas and constantly appraising where we are headed musically and otherwise.
What are your goals as a musician in terms of it being a business?
The financial reality for musicians is that there is only a small profit margin in music; economic success therefore must come from a large volume of sales; to achieve this a musician must reach and build a relationship with an audience interested in their particular musical style.
Histroy has shown that musicians who are able to adapt and embrace new technology are able to build successful careers. Each technological advancement has brought with it new challenges and opportunities for the creative musician: the microphone, L..P records, Television and now the Internet.
Recently we started our own internet jazz radio station to promote our music and other artists that play a similar sytle of jazz; already we have an enthusiastic audience in places like: Japan,Sweden and Italy as well as the USA and Canada … I think every musician instinctively knows that radio exposure is one key way to generate sales; the challenge is getting airplay so the internet has helped us by-pass that issue.
The music marketing model has changed radically over the past ten years, today it is possible for a band to have a hit record without a major label contract, so my business goal is to use the incomming technology to enable me to reach a worldwide listening audence and build a relationship with that audience … it’s a very positive time.
Michael Sutton: Winner of two first place Washington Press Association Awards (in 1989 and 1999) and one first-place award from the Society of Professional Journalists (in 2002). Sutton’s articles for the All-Music Guide were sold to MTV, VH-1, Rolling Stone, CDNow, among a number of other top media outlets. His work would eventually appear in one of the All-Music Guide’s books.
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*CD Review …
Pippa Hayes – It Had To Be You (Sehay Records) - CD review by Michael Sutton
Even the most beloved of jazz standards cannot withstand the weight of repetition. Familiarity will eventually bring contempt, especially if the performance is lackluster or devoid of creativity. Australian jazz vocalist Pippa Hayes tempts the serrated teeth of jaded music critics by bringing out the same old same old. However, in the end, Hayes has succeeded in not only dousing the worst of expectations but in reinvigorating oft-covered material with her own electric personality and sultry charm.
Although armed with internationally recognized musicians such as trumpet player Bob Barnard, Hayes is the captain of the ship; if her vocals were in any way run-of-the-mill or simply weak, the album would immediately sink. Fortunately, Hayes wastes no time in proving her mettle. Hayes’ rendition of “Our Day Will Come” has a silky smoothness that melts into her band’s tropical heat. Her vocals ache with the longing of paradise lost; she’s caught in the haze of romantic daydreaming, swooning over lost love and the better world they once shared. There is poetry in the graceful, bittersweet way she delivers each line. On “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,” Hayes manages to escape from the indelible fingerprints that Frank Sinatra left on that timeless classic. Her voice rings of despair but quiet introspection, too. The mood is appropriately sad yet hopeful as well.
Hayes is able to balance emotional highs and lows equally; moreover, she never exceeds the right amount of feeling needed to express the content of her lyrics. In lesser hands, the title track would be awash in syrup. However, Hayes reigns in the song’s confession of profound love with a subtle, raspy sexiness, giving it power it had long lost in the karoake bars of the world. Softly melodic acoustic guitars uplift “Tea for Two” while Spanish flavors in “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars” reveal Hayes’ impressive versatility.
Track Listing: Our Day Will Come; It Had to Be You; Oh Lady Be Good; Nearness of You; Ain’t Misbehavin’; Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars; Lullaby of Birdland; Tea for Two; In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.
Personnel: Pippa Hayes: vocals; Mike Hayes: guitar; Craig Scott: bass; Dave Goodman: drums; Jess Ciampa: percussion solo (1); Ron Nairn: tenor sax; Bob Barnard: trumpet; Trevor Rippingale: alto sax; Roy Ferin: trombone; Tim Fisher: piano; Alan Turnbull: drums; John Harkins: piano; Anthony Kable: trombone; Jeremy Borthwick: trombone; Dan Barnett: trombone
