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Take Five With Janis Siegel

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By AAJ Staff
October 3, 2013
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Meet Janis Siegel:
Over the past four decades, the voice of Janis Siegel, a nine-time Grammy winner and a seventeen-time Grammy nominee, has been an undeniable force in

The Manhattan Transfer

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">The Manhattan Transfer's diverse musical catalog. Alongside her career as a founding member of this musical institution, Siegel has also sustained a solo career that has spawned almost a dozen finely-crafted solo albums and numerous collaborative projects, amassed a large international fan base and garnered consistently high critical praise. Janis continues to tour with The Manhattan Transfer, her own band, and teach master classes while she gears up for NightSongs, her newest solo release on Palmetto Records in September of 2013. This latest project, her first self-produced venture, is a collection of late night love songs and features some of NY's most inventive musicians including pianist/arranger

John di Martino

piano
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">John di Martino,

Steve Khan

guitar
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Khan,

Dominick Farinacci

trumpet
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">Dominick Farinacci,

Joel Frahm

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Joel Frahm,

Luisito Quintero

percussion

" data-original-title="" title="">Luisito Quintero, and

Christian McBride

bass
b.1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Christian McBride. The record continues to explore various fusions of Latin rhythm coupled with contemporary songs and a jazz/pop vocal sensibility. There are also three original songs. "Love Saves" (Salvapantallas) with music by

Jorge Drexler

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Jorge Drexler, has an original English lyric by Janis. "Sweet September Rain" and "As You Leave My Nest," which only appears on the Japanese release contains lyrics by Rabbi Harry Levin and Janis.

Instrument(s):
Voice.

Teachers and/or influences?

Ella Fitzgerald

vocals
1917 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Ella Fitzgerald,

Aretha Franklin

vocals
1942 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Aretha Franklin, Motown,

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Laura Nyro,

Joni Mitchell

vocals
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Joni Mitchell,

Clifford Brown

trumpet
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Clifford Brown, and

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane.

My teachers: Roland Wyatt, Joan Lader,

Jon Hendricks

vocals
1921 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Jon Hendricks, and

Gene Puerling

vocals
1929 - 2008

" data-original-title="" title="">Gene Puerling.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when...
I heard Janis Joplin.

Your sound and approach to music:
My approach is to try and present the whole package with emotion, phrasing, enunciation, swing, stylistic mastery, sex, communication, and great pitch. I embrace my eclecticism and also my respect for the past.

Your teaching approach:
Be yourself, be unique, listen, listen, listen, and work hard.

Your dream band:
Would love to work with

Herbie Hancock

piano
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Herbie Hancock,

Brian Blade

drums
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Brian Blade,

Michael League

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Michael League and

Snarky Puppy

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Snarky Puppy, Chris Thile and The Punch Brothers,

Esperanza Spalding

bass
b.1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Esperanza Spalding, Renee Fleming, Brad Paisley,

Venissa Santi

vocals
b.1978

" data-original-title="" title="">Venissa Santi, Santi Ibarretxe, and Primital.

Your favorite recording in your discography and why?
Short Stories (WEA, 1989) with

Fred Hersch

piano
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Fred Hersch. This was the beginning of our partnership as a duo and we were still discovering each other. That, as well as the intimacy of the piano/voice setting and the material that we made our own, is what makes this my favorite recording.

The first Jazz album I bought was:

Kenny Burrell

guitar, electric
b.1931

" data-original-title="" title="">Kenny Burrell and

Jimmy Smith

organ, Hammond B3
1925 - 2005

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Smith, Blue Bash (Verve, 1963)

Did you know...
I have a morbid fascination with skin diseases.

CDs you are listening to now:
Daft Punk, Random Access Memories (Columbia, 2013)
The Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lauridsen: Lux Aeterna (Rubedo Canis Musica, 1998)
Snarky Puppy, Ground UP (Rope A Dope/Ryko, 2012)
Steve Khan, Borrowed Time (Tone Center, 2007)

Monika Borzym

" data-original-title="" title="">Monika Borzym, Girl Talk (Sony, 2011)

Joshua Redman

saxophone
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">Joshua Redman, Walking Shadows (Nonesuch, 2013)

Trijntje Oosterhuis

" data-original-title="" title="">Trijntje Oosterhuis, Never Can Say Goodbye (EMI/Blue Note, 2011)
Abigail Washburn and The Sparrow Quartet.

Desert Island picks:
Herbie Hancock, Maiden Voyage (Blue Note, 1965)
The Institutional Church of God in Christ, Grace (Atlantic, 1968)
Mozart, Jupiter Symphony

Aretha Franklin

vocals
1942 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Aretha Franklin, I Never Loved A Man (Atlantic, 1967)

Vi Redd

saxophone, alto
b.1928

" data-original-title="" title="">Vi Redd, Lady Soul (Atco, 1962).

How would you describe the state of jazz today?
In flux and conflicted.

What is in the near future?
My 10th solo recording, NightSongs on Palmetto Records, I'll be touring with my group in the States, a project called "Spirit Voices" with Cuban singer

David Oquendo

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">David Oquendo and

John di Martino

piano
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">John di Martino, a CD project with Australian flautist Jane Rutter scheduled for next summer, and a new Manhattan Transfer CD in 2013-2014.

What's your greatest fear when you perform?
Forgetting words.

What is your favorite song to whistle or sing in the shower?
Whatever I am working on.

If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a:
Emergency room nurse, a chef, or a marine biologist.

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