Sara Dowling was voted βBest Vocalistβ at the British Jazz Awards 2019 and she has now become recognised as one of the UK’s most talented jazz singers. She first trained as a cellist, before emerging as a powerful and expressive vocalist and composer. Her most important influences are Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan. With a voice rooted in the language of jazz language and in her own repertoire, Sara is emerging with a style of her own that resonates in both her own compositions and her original interpretations of American standards. Her sound is a lively fusion of nostalgic classical harmonies and intense American post-bop rhythms of the late 1960s, where interaction and improvisation are at the heart of the performance. With a sweeping, powerful and confident voice, her irresistible communicative power and her innate musicality has made Sara one of the UK’s leading jazz vocalists. Sara has performed at some of the UK’s most prestigious clubs and jazz festivals (Ronnie Scott’s, Buxton, International Festival, Swanage Jazz Festival, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Swanage Jazz Festival, Isle of Wight Festival), Italy, Spain, France, Bahrain and Hungary.
24/7 Valencia: Could you tell us something about your upbringing and musical education?
SARA DOWLING: I was born in Muscat, in the beautiful country of Oman and then grew up in Jordan until I was nine years of age. I am of Palestinian and Irish descent. My father was a pilot in the Gulf region. For educational purposes, we moved as a family to Cornwall in England where my father there ran a farm. At the age of 12, I got a scholarship to study cello in Manchester and I was there for 10 years. This included 4 years at the Royal Northern College of Music, which is a conservatoire and I had amazing teachers there too. It was tough but rewarding and my classical education gave me the discipline to apply myself with rigour and conviction when I fell in love with jazz music. I was then a teacher for 5 years in a secondary school in Bolton, which was very difficult but rewarding and taught me all about communication. I then got involved in the London jazz scene as a singer and composer and met some amazing musicians there. I had hoped to record my 3rd jazz album in the capital but then the pandemic ended that possibility. The plan now is to record a new album with my Spanish-based quartet here in Valencia, the region where I have been living for more than a year and a half now.
24/7 Valencia: Could you tell us something more about your two jazz studio albums? Your first album, βFrom Shadows into Lightβ really swings!
SARA DOWLING: Thank you! Yes, it’s a very good combination with the piano and the voice. It has good production. And I think my debut album βFrom Shadows into Lightβ was very well recorded. The quality of the recording is very good actually. My second album is βTwo Sides of Saraβ and it’s actually two separate recording sessions. Hence, there are 2 sides to the album. Itβs because I wanted to have the first seven tracks to be voice with piano. And then the second seven tracksβ¦they are voice and Hammond organ, which is really unusual. If you go online and try and find albums that have that combinationβ¦ you wonβt find many!
24/7 Valencia: Can you tell us something about the new single, βLovinβ Toneβ?
SARA DOWLING: It is by Albert Sanz on piano and has myself on cello and I am doing the singing too. It is his composition and has classical influences. As a duo, we may possibly do an album with this kind of material. That project is called βSamΔ.β
24/7 Valencia: Do you have any tips for singers?
SARA DOWLING: I would say for singers studying other genresβ¦ to study jazz too! Why? Because jazz is musically and harmonically more difficult than pop music. And you can build a good ear from jazz. You then develop a confidence in what you want to hear and what you want to sing. Studying jazz singing, itβs like you become 5 steps ahead as a singer with the ability to really improvise. Itβs like an athlete doing agility exercises and working on specific muscles. You know, there’s some jazz standards like βMidnight Sunβ sung by Ella Fitzgerald that are worth checking out. It is all based on descending, chromatic phrases. Yeah, it’s super hard to sing that song! One of my students didnβt really want to learn to sing jazz standards but she now has and it has really given her βthe ability to deliver the goodsβ when it comes to singing now.
24/7 Valencia: Could you tell us something about the jazz musicians in your quartet?
SARA DOWLING: I am living in Chiva in Spain with my Italian husband, Dario Di Lecce, who is also my double bass player. He is βold schoolβ when it comes to playing bass. He doesnβt show off and heβs super-swinging. For him, itβs all about being an anchor for the music and not playing high notes on bass. He is quite happy to not be playing solos all the time. He plays a supportive role. I genuinely think he is an amazing musician too.
Interview by Will McCarthy
Article copyright ’24/7 Valencia’
Jimmy Glass Jazz Bar
C/ Baja, 28
46003
(Valencia)
LIVE JAZZ AT ‘JIMMY GLASS’ https://www.jimmyglassjazz.net/
Tuesday, August 12, 9:30 PM / Open at 9:00 PM
π¦ππ₯π ππ’πͺπππ‘π & π ππππππ πππ‘ππ‘ π°ππ²π
Sara Dowling, vocals
Michael Kanan, piano
Dario Di Lecce, double bass
Guillem Arnedo, drums
Reservation by mail / subject: reservations. Please, send an email indicating the following:/ date of the concert/ number of tickets
/ name of the person making the reservation/ Click on the address below to send the mail:Β reservasjimmyglass@gmail.
Jimmy Glass Jazz Bar
C/ Baja, 28
46003
(Valencia)
Related Post
Leave a comment