Norma Winstone with “A” Band and NiteCap, part of the Cap Jazz Series, Friday, April 1 at 8 p.m., at the BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts at Capilano University. Tickets: $35/$32, visit capilanou.ca/centre.
A veteran British jazz vocalist and lyricist is gearing up to share the stage with, as well as impart some wisdom gleaned from her more than four-decade-long career to, Capilano University Jazz Studies program students next week.
Norma Winstone is slated to perform Friday, April 1 at the BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts at Capilano University. For the concert, she’ll be joined by Capilano University’s own NiteCap (vocal) and “A” Band (instrumental) jazz ensembles. The show will mark the first time the jazz singer has worked with the students and faculty at the North Vancouver educational institution.
“I’m really looking forward to meeting the singers and the students and doing something with them. It’s exciting,” says the London-born and Dover area-based musician, reached Monday from Philadelphia where she was visiting friends during a break between public appearances in Toronto and her upcoming North Shore performance.
“It’s just great to feel that the music is going on and it’s being appreciated by a younger generation. I love that. It’s so unusual for young people to get into this kind of music. I think it’s wonderful and it has to be nurtured because they don’t get to exactly hear very much of it on the radio, so it’s wonderful if they’re studying it at university. I feel quite privileged to be able to help with that in some way.”
Winstone says her driving force has long been her love for the genre.
“I don’t really need anything else,” she says, explaining she was introduced to jazz by her parents.
She remembers when they went to see Frank Sinatra in London in the 1950s.
“They didn’t take me unfortunately, but I was brought up listening to him and my dad loved Fats Waller, he loved jazz piano. I just fell into it. I heard Ella Fitzgerald and thought she was wonderful, and scat singing, and I just tried to learn all the things that she did,” she says.
Winstone also started studying piano at a young age.
“It helped me in my career, being able to read music, because at the time I came along there was no jazz education, you just had to learn it, if you like, on the streets, or learn it by listening to recordings,” she says.
“I just always knew that I wanted to somehow be involved in that music,” she adds.
Over the years she has amassed countless experiences and awards, for example, most recently she was named Jazz Vocalist of the Year at the United Kingdom’s 2015 Parliamentary Jazz Awards.
In addition to maintaining a solo career, Winstone has had many opportunities to collaborate with a range of musicians. When asked what memories stand out, she says, “I’m proud of the work with Azimuth with (pianist) John Taylor and (trumpeter) Kenny Wheeler. I’m proud of those CDs.”
Winstone is currently active with a trio, singing alongside Italy-based pianist Glauco Venier and saxophonist and bass clarinet player Klaus Gesing. The ensemble’s last record, 2013’s Dance Without Answer features original works and adaptations, as well as covers, including of Madonna’s “Live To Tell,” Nick Drake’s “A Time of No Reply,” Tom Waits’ “San Diego Serenade” and “Bein’ Green,” popularized by Kermit the Frog.
“I’m open to trying any kind of music really, as long as we can make it into our own,” she says.
The trio is currently working on some new material for a future recording project, potentially focused on film themes.
Another ensemble Winstone is active with at present is jazz pianist and composer Nikki Iles’ group The Printmakers. The group recently released an album, entitled Westerly, and has some upcoming concert dates in England. Members are also working on new material for a future album.
In addition to rehearsing and performing with the members of NiteCap and “A” Band, Winstone will interact with the students in a question and answer session and lead a vocal masterclass.
“Whenever our students have an opportunity to interact with someone of Norma’s artistic stature, the learning opportunities are huge,” says Jared Burrows, academic co-ordinator of Capilano University’s Jazz Studies program. “Every student will take away something different from the experience whether it be specific musical ideas, new understanding of what it means to be an artist, or simply inspiration to continue on their chosen path. I think all of the faculty members feel the same about this experience.”
For the performance, Winstone and NiteCap will perform movements from the “Sweet Time Suite,” composed by Kenny Wheeler, as well as pieces from Mirrors, an album by Winstone, Wheeler and the London Vocal Project.
“Norma is a big vocal jazz icon for all the members of the group. This concert is an opportunity they will never forget. I can say that they are really looking forward to talking and working with her,” says Réjean Marois, NiteCap conductor and Capilano Jazz Studies program faculty member.
“A” Band’s repertoire for the April 1 concert with Winstone includes “Moondance,” arranged by Steve Gray, and Cole Porter’s “So In Love” and Nick Drake’s “River Man,” both arranged by Michael Gibbs, among other selections.
“As with any opportunity like this, I hope that my students really take advantage of the chance they will have to perform with Norma on stage,” says Brad Turner, “A” Band leader and fellow Cap jazz faculty member. “There is nothing for a young musician like being inspired in real time.”
