HOW DOES AN ARTIST CARVE OUT A CAREER? BY FOLLOWIN THE TRIED AND TRUE, OR GOING OUT INTO UNCHARTED WATERS?
VERONICA SWIFT HAS ALL THE CREDENTIALS FOR BEING A STRAIGHT-AHEAD JAZZ VOCALIST IN THE LINE OF AN ANITA O’DAY. SHE GREW UP IN A FAMILY THAT PLAYED BEBOP, AND HER EARLY ALBUMS WERE LOGICAL PRODUCTS OF THAT PATH.
BUT SINCE THOSE DAYS, MS. SWIFT HAS DECIDED TO FORGE A JOURNEY OF HER OWN, MELDING INFLUENCES OF HER OWN GENERATION.
GROWING UP AS A FAN OF THE ROCK GROUP QUEEN, SHE WAS ENTHRALLED BY THE OPERATIC MUSICALITY OF THE BAND, AND LATELY HAS BEEN WORKING ON BRINGING THT INTO NOT ONLY HER OWN SONGWRITING AND PERFORMANCE, BUT IN HER INTERPRETATION OF JAZZ MATERIAL, SUCH AS DUKE ELLINGTON’S “CARAVAN” AS DEMONSTRATED ON HER LATEST EPONYMOUS ALBUM
PERFORMING AT THE JAZZ CLUB CATALINA’S LAST YEAR, SWIFT WAS IN FORM AS A BOPPING ARTIST, KNOWING THE AUDIENCE AND VENUE. BUT A FEW MONTHS LATER AT PEPPERDINE, SHE BROUGHT OUT A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BAND THAT FELT LIKE HINTS OF A QUEEN CONCERT CIRCA A NIGHT AT THE OPERA.
THE CHANGE WAS THRILLING AND INSPIRING, SO WE WANTED TO HAVE A CHAT WITH MS. SWIFT BEFORE SHE COMES BACK TO LOS ANGELES IN MAY WHERE SHE WILL PERFORM WEEKLY AT THE SUN ROOM
IT’S INTRIGUING THAT YOUR CAREER BEGAN WITH YOU PLAYING WITH YOUR FAMILY. WHAT’S THE BIGGEST THING THAT YOU GLEANED FROM YOUR DAD?
It wasn’t like a “music teacher” education system; it was more through osmosis and the experiences from being on the road and absorbing everything naturally. My parents were never “teachers” to me.
I think the thing that I take away the most from them is that they weren’t like “mega stars” or anything. They lived very humble lives and there was a lot of humility in their playing
My mom’s story is interesting; she was a banker on Wall Street, went to a jazz club one night and heard my dad ***playing. They started dating , playing together, she quit her job on Wall Street and became a jazz singer
My mom and dad played purely for the love of it
My dad was adopted. He didn’t know “his people”, so his people were jazz musicians, beboppers. It’s all about ***finding your tribe
I would watch nights when they weren’t making a lot of money; they were road dogs
Just witnessing their approach to their career, and how the love of the music was always the most important thing. For anything else, it was like “what’s the point?”
DID YOU EVER MAKE A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO BECOME A SINGER AS OPPOSED TO ANYTHING ELSE?
Good question. It was something that just naturally happened. There was no “aha” moment for me until after I had already been performing with my parents. It was just something that expressed our relationship; it was something that we could do together, and spend time together. It was our way of communicating
When I sang with my parents, it was like singing English or going skiing with your family. It was just something that you do.
It wasn’t until I was 13-14 that I really got into Queen and Freddie Mercury, and watching him do his thing, when I said “I want to do that”. Something larger than life and theatrical rock and roll, putting all of these genres together to create one’s own artistry. That’s what I wanted to do
WAS THERE ANY REASON YOU DIDN’T INITIALLY START OUR IN ROCK AS OPPOSED TO JAZZ?
Sometimes I look back and think “what if?”
Did you ever watch the TV show The Crown?
It’s exactly like that. I was born into a royal family situation with bebop. I felt pressures, not from my parents, but from the industry and people that I was surrounded by. People that booked me; I was being booked at a very young age
I had been on that path and trajectory for so long, that I felt that I was squandering opportunities to go far in any capacity in other genres if I started from the beginning again. I was starting from the age of 15 and was 6 years into my career
The farther down I’d gone down this road, the more I saw this dream to do rock and roll and original music sitting on the shelf. I’d kind of dust it off once in awhile, waiting for the right moment to put my worlds together, which is now.
*********
“It wasn’t until I was 13-14 that I really got into Queen and Freddie Mercury, and watching him do his thing, when I said “I want to do that”. Something larger than life and theatrical rock and roll, putting all of these genres together to create one’s own artistry. That’s what I wanted to do”
*********
YOUR LATEST ALBUM REFLECTS THIS, WITH MANY OF YOUR OWN COMPOSITIONS AS WELL AS DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENTS OF JAZZ STANDARDS.
I kind of look at it as an addition rather than a subtraction
It’s not much of a departure, because half of the record is still swinging jazz music
I tell people that the record is more about addition than subtraction. It’s the full spectrum rather than just facet, and that it includes rock and roll or jazz;. It’s just the full thing
********
“I saw this dream to do rock and roll and original music sitting on the shelf. I’d kind of dust it off once in awhile, waiting for the right moment to put my worlds together, which is now”
*********
WHO’S IDEAS WAS IT TO DO AN R&B VERSION OF DUKE ELLINGTON’S “CARAVAN”?
It’s all my arrangements
I approach everything like David Bowie: he has a vision on every record, a narrative and a story. Whether it is a concrete or abstract story
It’s the same was with (albums ) This Bitter Earth and Confessions; there was a narrative to guide the music.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GET SO INVOLVED WITH ARRANGEMENTS?
I was arranging since I was in high school, because back then I was in jazz band and the director (one of the world’s greatest educators, Greg Thomas) would have the students in the band think out of the box. He would tell them, “Trumpets, go over there together and write a Bach/baroque/bebop/fugue section soli for the trumpets” or something like that. He would try to put us in these out of the box situations.
That way of thinking came from my band director. I have Greg Thomas to thank for that
I learned that arranging is a very important tool, along with singing and performing, to express myself.
*******
“the record is more about addition than subtraction. It’s the full spectrum rather than just facet”
*********
ESPECIALLY FOR A SINGER, IT MUST BE INTIMIDATING FOR YOU TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SOUND DIFFERENT FROM EVERYONE ELSE
I’ve never had that fear, because my childhood set me apart from other kids and musicians. I didn’t even think about trying to be different. I didn’t have those concerns.
I was just doing my thing, working with other like-minded individuals that supported each other. We dig and learn from each other. It’s all about surrounding yourself with those kinds of people, not people with big egos.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM BENNY GREEN AND EMMET COHEN. DID YOU FIND THEM OR DID THEY FIND YOU?
Benny Green and I were on the same management team, and he knew my dad, and I was pretty much doing bebop. I worked with him because he was one of the best authentic beboppers alive
Emmet Cohen had a broader kind of palate in the jazz idiom: 20s stride to modern stuff. That was something that I really need to bring out in my sets. He and I had a connection with the University of Miami. We didn’t go to school together, but he saw some things in me that he liked and said “Let’s play together.” He had is own trio, so it just made sense to play with him at that time in my life. We had some great tours together.
USUALLY SINGERS ARE BACKED BY A TRADITIONAL PIANO TRIO OR QUARTET. HAS THIS RECENT ALBUM MADE YOU CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE OF A SUPPORTING BAND FOR YOUR TOUR?
This album is the product of the two years that preceded of doing this music.
Unlike like the rock bands and pop groups that put out a record and then tour with it, we toured with the music first to workshop it and play it in front of people. So actually, during COVID was when I was doing this re-imagining, just taking a step back and thinking “Am I acting with integrity with who I am with my musical vision in life and goals?”
COVID gave me the chance to rebuild and really get on the trajectory that I needed to be on to do the things that I wanted to do. That includes finding members in a band that can play all of these genres authentically.
I’m not talking about finding jazz guys . You think you can find jazz guys that can also play rock? A lot of the times they can’t”, especially the drummers.
Finding the right drummer was crucial, and I found the perfect one, Brian Viglione from the Dresden Dolls, who’s been a hero of mine for many years, since my childhood 1104
Through playing with different kinds of people, Brian and I have looked for people who can play bebop and classical music authentically and not mess up, as well as play the organ like a church organ. That’s a tall order. And then to add background vocals on top is an even taller order.
And you know what? The musicians are out there. They’re in my band!
*******
You think you can find jazz guys that can also play rock? A lot of the times they can’t”, especially the drummers….The musicians are out there. They’re in my band!”
********
IF YOU JUST HAD A BEBOP DRUMMER, WHAT WOULD BE MISSING?
There’s a certain element of energy with jazz drummers that is just not there.
It’s like when someone speaks with correct grammar but their accent is off, because they didn’t speak it from a young age.
It’s the same thing with rock drummers; there are plenty of them who can’t swing. So Brian is just perfect; he’s like I am, but a drummer. His heroes are Elvin Jones and Tony Williams, yet he’s a rock drummer. We’re just coming from two different worlds and meeting in the middle.
********
So Brian (Viglione) is just perfect; he’s like I am, but a drummer. His heroes are Elvin Jones and Tony Williams, yet he’s a rock drummer. We’re just coming from two different worlds and meeting in the middle”
*********
WHEN YOU WATCH A SINGER, CAN YOU JUST TAKE IN A VOCALIST, OR DO YOU GET OBJECTIVE WHEN WATCHING?
It depends on the context on which I’m watching.
If I go to see my friends because they invite me, then I just listen as a listener. It’s very rare I get to work out that part of my muscle, to just listen as an audience member.
So I have to differentiate, am I listening as an audience member or another singer?
The first step in enjoying someone’s artistry is that it’s THEIR artistry, and I know what it’s like to try to let it out.
Even if I don’t like their voice, arrangements or style of their music, when I see someone being unapologetically themselves and just letting it out for all to hear, that is something I can enjoy
DO PLAYING OTHER INSTRUMENTS HELP YOU AS A VOCALIST OPEN UP?
I’ve been playing piano and trumpet since I was 8 years old.
Sadly, my shows after the SF Jazz Festival I won’t be with a horn section. I just can’t afford it anymore. I’m looking forward to the day I can have a horn section again. I will bring out my horn and join the horn section when it is there.
Playing the trumpet is not only good for my ear, but for breath support.
*******
“I love playing dingy rock clubs because the ice has been broken and people aren’t uptight”
*******
IS THERE A PERFORMER THAT YOU WOULD PAY $1000 TO SEE?
Brian May. All the way
Compositionally, he’s my number one hero.
When I was listening to my favorite Queen songs, what I noticed was my favorite songs were not my Freddie Mercury songs, but the Brian May tunes.
I love the trans-genreness of them. It’s everything I hope to do
I modeled my recent record after A Night At The Opera in terms of how it goes here and there. It’s like you’re sitting at an opera, looking around at all of the characters in the room; not only the ones on stage but at the opera!
There’s a guy in a biker jacket, and another one in his suit and tie who just came from his law firm, and then there’s the artist on stage. That’s what Brian May and Freddie Mercury have done artistically. They showed me that it can be done.
If you break my songs down, there’s an element of each song that is like part of a relay race. There is something from each song that gets passed down to the next one. That is something I curated for this record from Queen’s albums like Sheer Heart Attack to make it work
For someone who isn’t tuned into those subtle things it may fly past them a bit, but that the fun thing about this record.
I hope people can listen to it over and over again and find something different each time. I don’t want to listen to a record just once and that’s it.
******
“when I see someone being unapologetically themselves and just letting it out for all to hear, that is something I can enjoy”
*******
IT’S INTERESTING THAT YOU SAY THAT, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT THE YOUNGER GENERATION IS THAT THEY PUT ON MUSIC TO “CHILL” AND NOT TO SERIOUSLY LISTEN.
Maybe that’s just a product of their age, but that will change as they get older.
To be fair, when I was in high school, I did not listen to lyrics at all in music.
Then when I was 20-21, it hit me. It clicked.
WHAT LYRICISTS HAVE INSPIRED YOU?
Amanda Palmer (Of the Dresden Dolls). She’s a wordsmith and has this ambiguous way of writing that yet is not cryptic. She writes songs that can be about five different things, but it’s not confusing or mysterious.
Every time I read them, there’s always something new.
********
“If you break my songs down, there’s an element of each song that is like part of a relay race. There is something from each song that gets passed down to the next one”
*********
IS THERE ANYONE IN WORLD HISTORY THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SIT DOWN WITH FOR AN EVENING AND PICK THEIR BRAIN?
I would love to sit down and have a few drinks with Mozart.
I read his journals and the letters that he writes to people. It’s amazing how these people seem so otherworldly hundreds of years ago, these composers and artists. But when you read their journals, notes and letters you see that they are going through the same problems we are.
For instance, Mozart is complaining about the court, “These people are telling me what to write and how to perform music. I don’t want to listen to anybody; I just want to write what I want to write.” He doesn’t want to teach lessons but he has to because he can’t afford things; he was a total rock star.
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO READ THESE LETTERS OF MUSICIANS?
My job is not just to write and sing songs; my job, like all artists and musicians is to be a historian. We have to do the homework and understand why we are here.I ’ll take my favorite composers and artists and ask “who were they influenced by?”
You talk to those people, and they’ll say “I love Ella Fitzgerald”. Okay, but who was Ella Fitzgerald listening to? What inspired her? Louis Armstrong? What about him?
********
“My job is not just to write and sing songs; my job, like all artists and musicians is to be a historian”
********
WHO INSTILLED THIS ATTITUDE IN YOU?
My parents didn’t necessarily instill an attitude, but my mom encouraged me.
I was a very curious kid. I still am. I’m very inquisitive.
My mom worked at the music library when she finished teaching. When I discover something I dive in 100%, so mom would take me to the music library and get me music scores, albums and books like biographies and autobiographies. I would sit in the library and do my homework and take home these things. My mom would facilitate it, is it’s naturally been there
IS THERE A RELIGION, PHILOSOPHY OR TEACHING THAT YOU ADHERE TO?
I’m looking. I’m in the market, as they say (chuckles)
I know that there are a lot of spiritual practices out there that focus on training your brain to be more ‘present’, and I’m actively trying to work on that because I’m so future-oriented.
For instance, I’ve had the track listing on this album planned for five years (laughs)
I have the next five records planned. That’s something that’s good, but it doesn’t allow me to really enjoy the present moment, and that’s what it’s all about.
Not in terms of enjoying one’s success, but just to have fun and enjoy the ride. That’s something I can’t do. I’d like to find some kind of spiritual practice to help anchor me. ,
*******
“I modeled my recent record after A Night At The Opera in terms of how it goes here and there. It’s like you’re sitting at an opera, looking around at all of the characters in the room; not only the ones on stage but at the opera”
********
WHAT BOOKS HAVE YOU READ THAT YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD READ?
Books are so important, yet I haven’t read one in almost a year. What I’ve been doing is listening to albums more.
I’m reading transcripts. My friend Robb Ross is a well known stage director. He wrote a play that is basically the transcripts of Andy Warhol talking about the concept of art and our purpose.
It’s a conversation between Truman Capote and Andy Warhol talking about art. It was one of the most insightful books I’ve ever read and it’s not even a book! It’s called Warhol Capote.
WHAT GIVES YOU THE MOST JOY?
Because I haven’t had children yet and have no plans in the near future, but never say “never”
My original compositions are my children. Watching them take shape and form, and then bringing them to the band and seeing them come to life. That’s what brings me the most joy.
It’s like giving birth and raising a child.
******
“I hope people can listen to it over and over again and find something different each time. I don’t want to listen to a record just once and that’s it”
*******
WHAT FUTURE GOALS DO YOU HAVE?
I have on the horizon putting out an album of originals. People will get to know me as a songwriter and composer
My long term goals are to have a full gamut of artistic mediums of a career to look upon. Whether that is writing screenplays or performing on Broadway; dancing and singing, jazz, classical and rock and roll, or it to all be symbiotic and make sense. That’s the long term goal
WHEN YOU’RE ON STAGE, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR YOU TO FIGURE OUT IF YOU’RE CONNECTING WITH THE AUDIENCE?
Sometimes you get lucky. If you’re doing your job and you’re giving to them and they’re giving back.
It depends on the venue; I love playing dingy rock clubs because the ice has been broken and people aren’t uptight. But sometimes they’re that way no matter the venue.
But the second I step on stage there’s some type of possession that takes place where actually I do connect with the audience but am not aware of it in the moment because I’m under the spell of not knowing what’s going on (laughs)
It’s the type of feeling that you get when you walk on stage and you’re sick and suddenly you’re not sick anymore. In Christendom, they call it “The Holy Ghost”
*******
“It’s the type of feeling that you get when you walk on stage and you’re sick and suddenly you’re not sick anymore. In Christendom, they call it ‘The Holy Ghost’”
*******
LIKE THE BEST OF ARTISTS, VERONICA SWIFT LETS YOU IN ON HER JOURNEY. PART OF IT IS MUSICAL, PART IS ALSO SPIRITUAL. SHE’S ON THE PATH. HAS SHE FOUND THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN YET? NO, BUT THAT IS WHAT MAKES HER CAREER SO ALLURING. SINCE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS, WE’VE ALL BEEN FANS OF THE TREK. FOLLOW VERONICA’S TRAIL AND LET’S SEE WHERE SHE TAKES US.