ROBERTA DONNAY
Q & A Session
Why jazz?
I learned to sing off the radio. Since I was a child in the Washington DC area, I have been heavily influenced by jazz (see lyrics to Harold's Rogue & Jar). The music I heard at home and in the clubs was always jazz: George Gershwin, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, and show music.
Much of my music influences have been blues based. I grew up listening to Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and groups like Rufus and Earth Wind & Fire. I listened to Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Ray Charles. Also, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. I close my eyes and just feel the intensity from both these artists. Learning blues ultimately led me back to jazz. Jazz feels like home to me.
In your career, what have been some of your creative challenges?
Finding my own voice. Finding a way to express the lyric content in a new and entirely undiscovered way. Working through an idea as a band leader has compelled me to stretch my abilities in music arrangement and composition. I don't read music, so I've had to work harder to compensate for that.
How has the music business changed since you began your career?
The recording industry has changed completely. When I started you could not put out your own record; now you can. It is now largely an indie world, and I think, even soon, in sales as the majors are losing ground. In the indie world, you can be an artist and put out quality music at any age, build your own following and book your own tour. However, indie artists have to work harder than ever to sell their sound. It is all too often more than a full time job in itself.
What in your life feeds your music?
People, ideas and other forms of art feed my music. I listen to people's conversations and have written many songs based on conversations I've heard or quotes, or ideas that stir my imagination. I've been influenced by traveling to differe n t p a r t s o f t h e w o r l d . I l o v e t o w r i t e a b o u t t h e h u m a n c o n d i t i o n . W o m e n ' s i s s u e s h a v e i n s p i r e d m e . T h e n t h e r e ' s r a c i a l i n j u s t i c e , t h e g o v e r n m e n t , a n d p e o p l e ' s i n a b i l i t y t o s e e t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f t h e i r a c t i o n s l i k e t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e e n v i r o n m e n t .
Y o u are a Buddhist. Do you blend your spiritual life with your musical life?
On a creative level, most definitely. In Buddhism we have equal respect for others no matter what their position. How this translates: If I'm on tour I know that I want the sound person to be happy, I want the musicians to be happy, I want the person cleaning my hotel room to be happy as much as I want the audience to be happy. Treating others with equal respect can create a pure environment for my own creative expression. Buddhism has allowed me to discover a deeper purpose
for being here on the planet as an artist and as a human being.
C O N T A C T I N F O :
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