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Take Five with Myriam Phiro
Myriam Phiro is an internationally-recognized French-Canadian actress, jazz singer, dancer and cabaret chanteuse who has performed on stages and in theaters worldwide. Her recent performances include sold-out concerts at world-famous the Rainbow Room, 54 Below, the Iridium Jazz club & Metropolitan Room in NYC as well as at Montreal's International Jazz Festival & Montreux Jazz Festival. Her performing endeavors brought her to collaborate and share the stage with renowned artists such as
Harry Connick, Jr.
pianob.1967
Janis Siegel
vocalsb.1952
Nicki Parrott
bass
Frank Vignola
guitarb.1965
Vince Giordano
composer / conductorb.1952
Instrument(s):
I am a vocalist. I'm currently learning how to play upright bass too but I wouldn't say I'm a bassist yet...
Teachers and/or influences?
I studied musical theatre performance at AMDA and then studied jazz with
Barry Harris
piano1929 - 2021
Ella Fitzgerald
vocals1917 - 1996
Frank Sinatra
vocals1915 - 1998
Edith Piaf
vocals1915 - 1963
Jane Monheit
vocalsb.1977
Madeleine Peyroux
vocals
Chet Baker
trumpet and vocals1929 - 1988
Norah Jones
pianob.1979
The Manhattan Transfer
vocals
Ray Brown
bass, acoustic1926 - 2002
Esperanza Spalding
bassb.1984
John Clayton
bassb.1952
Cecile McLorin Salvant
vocalsb.1989
Cyrille Aimée
vocalsb.1984
Jazzmeia Horn
vocalsI knew I wanted to be a musician when...
I first touched a piano when I was 7 years old. It was very special; I was super introverted and the piano was like a friend who really understood me.
Your sound and approach to music.
The music has to make me want to dance! No matter what style... It has to carry the soul and the emotion the songwriter wanted to transmit by writing it in the first place. The story is always the center-point for me: that's what will dictate the sound, vibe and interpretation of the song. It's also one of the main things that differentiates a song from another. I often get weary of young players who don't pay attention to that and crank up the tempos for every song... While I am impressed with fast-playing, cool licks and tricks, I also wanna feel something and let the music take me somewhere. A flurry of notes of 6-7 songs all starting to sound alike rarely do that for me!!
Your teaching approach
I'm not a very good teacher... I'm not patient! All I can say about my favorite teachers are those who really knew how to pull from my strengths and use it to push me forward in the things I needed to work on, while to keeping me motivated. A good teacher also isn't lax about technique —that's very important.
Your dream band
My band: MARIPOSA! Talented players with a good chemistry, carrying an empowering message; that, for me is a dream come true.
Road story: Your best or worst experience
From time to time, I work with a French wine company and provide musical entertainment for their events. One day, they were hosting a wine-tasting event at a Whole Foods... You know you've made it when you're performing for a fridge full of chicken, right?!
Favorite venue
I'm happy to be going back to the Iridium Jazz Club in NYC on March 6th!
Your favorite recording in your discography and why?
Buena Vista Social Club. I think I'll never get tired of listening to it, no matter what mood I'm in.
What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?
Music with a mission for my all-female band MARIPOSA.
Did you know...
I like sailing a lot. Even if 9 years ago, I survived a near-death experience being carried away on the tail of a tropical storm aboard a catamaran. It was the wildest experience of my entire life!
The first jazz album I bought was:
Lady in Satin' by
Billie Holiday
vocals1915 - 1959
Music you are listening to now:
Alys Robi: L'Anthologie 1943-1966 by Alys Robi
Nothing but the blues by
Joe Williams
vocals1918 - 1999
Sounds of Red by Rene Marie
Ele ? Johnny Alf by Johnny Alf
Desert Island picks:
The Essential Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra by Frank Sinatra
Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife by Ella Fitzgerald
Strong Coffee by The Cat Empire
Hey Eugene by Pink Martini
Best of Brassens (Remastered) by Georges Brassens
How would you describe the state of jazz today?
It is changing. The whole music industry is changing. With the digitization, the quick access to streaming, sharing, etc. it does affect musicians for better and for worse. No matter what though, we need to be conscious of one thing: Jazz used to be the pop music of an era. This has changed too! Jazz is now often considered an intellectual interpretation, almost belonging to a certain elite. That also brings its sorrows: on one end for the audience (or absence thereof) and also between players: it can tend to become a little snobbish. Too often, the public and the players will lean on rewarding the power-performance ability of a musician rather than the interpretation/soul. We need to remember what the essence of this music is about.
What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing?
We need to keep Jazz accessible for all and to be open.
What is in the near future?
Mariposa's show at the Iridium on March 6th; which I'm very excited about. I also will be performing a tribute to all the great French divas I grew up listening to on March 24th in Montreal; so that's pretty thrilling too.
What is your greatest fear when you perform?
I'm not really ''afraid'' of anything... I get nervous because I wanna do a good job and feel a connection with the audience. I guess if I had to pick something it would be if the audience was unresponsive. That would really throw me off!
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Upbeat music! I would want people to remember the positive moments/celebrate my life in its entirety (including death, which is a part of it) as opposed to dwell on the heaviness of death itself.
What is your favorite song to whistle or sing in the shower?
"S'il suffisait d'aimer" by Jean-Jacques Goldman. Beautiful poetry, melody and message.
By Day:
Yogi.
If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a:
Club owner... Maybe one day.
If I could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be and why?
Either Queen Elizabeth I or Audrey Hepburn: two amazingly fierce women, human rights inclined and very talented in their respectful profession despite evolving in a "man's world."
What's your fantasy super-power?
I'd really like to be able to read people's mind, or communicate telepathically. I bet it would make everything so much simpler sometimes! :)
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