Pamela Hart

Artist Information

Biography

Pamela Hart is highly regarded as Austin, Texas’ finest jazz vocalist. Noted by Austin Women’s Magazine as “Austin’s First Lady of Jazz,” audiences rave about Pamela’s excellent pitch, clarity and soothing vocal quality. “Her warm, clear tones and meticulously controlled pitch carry an illusion of effortlessness”--Tribeza Magazine. Her sultry rendition of classic jazz standards and contemporary music wins immediate acceptance by any audience. Born in Los Angeles, California, Pamela moved to Austin, Texas in 1982.

In addition to regular appearances at Austin clubs, restaurants, live music broadcasts, weddings, banquets/parties and festivals, Pamela and her husband Kevin Hart have produced (and she has performed in) the semi-annual Women in Jazz Concert Series—the greatest events for female jazz musicians in Texas—1994 through 2011. The series also includes a Vocal Performance Workshop where Pamela and other professional vocalists and musicians share performance techniques, communicating with musicians and many other aspects of jazz singing. Pamela is a complete package, bringing excellent vocals, professionalism and a great attitude to her audience.

Throughout her singing career, Pamela has repeatedly opened shows for, and shared stages with, many popular artists including Miss Nancy Wilson (2000, 2001), David ‘Fathead’ Newman (1997, 2008), Dianne Reeves (1999, 2001), Kirk Whalum (1998), Rachelle Ferrell (2005), Patrice Rushen and Teri Lyn Carrington (2007).

In addition to regular appearances in local venues, live music broadcasts, weddings, and banquets, Pamela and her husband Kevin Hart have produced (and she performed in) the annual Women in Jazz Concert Series in Austin, 1994-2011.

- July 23, 2011, performed at the Paramount Theeatre as opening act for "Summer Jam featuring Norman Brown and Richard Elliot", in Austin, TX with Charmin Greene, Fredrick Sander, Nick Lewis, Kevin Scott, Jake Langley, Cynthia Lewis, and Shenice McKissick

- August 15, 2010, performed at the One World Theatre on June 13, 2010, "It's Ella: A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald" in Austin, TX, with the William Menefield James Polk Quartert, Karan Chavis and Willie Niocholson.

- June 13, 2010, performed at the One World Theatre on June 13, 2010, "Lady Day: A Tribute to Billie Holiday" in Austin, TX, with the James Polk Sextet.

- June 2009, Pamela Hart performed in the "Sax, Strings, & Scats Concert", which also featured Joyce Cooling, Pamela Williams, and Althea Rene.

- June 2008, Pamela was featured in A Tribute to Damita Jo DeBlanc, a crowd-pleasing performance.

- May 2004, Pamela performed in another solo concert The Great American Songbook.

- May 2003 the Women in Jazz concert consisted of a solo performance by Pamela Hart of Blue Gardenia: A Tribute to Billie Holiday. In addition to singing an outstanding tribute to Billie Holiday, Pamela had them on their feet again in Encore Performances in September 2003.

- November 2008, Pamela opened the Jazz at St James’ Concert Series for David ‘Fathead’ Newman, and had the audience raving after her performance, including a standing ovation after she sang “Angelitos Negros” in Spanish.

- July 2001, Pamela completed a European jazz festival tour, including the Montreaux, Vienne, and Juan des Pins Jazz festivals, with the Texas State University Jazz Band, directed by the legendary Dr. James Polk.

Pamela became a usual IAJE attendee and performer with the African American Jazz Caucus Band in New York City, Long Beach, CA, and Toronto, Canada. Earlier in her career, Pamela completed European jazz festival tours including the Montreaux, Vienne, and Juan des Pins Jazz festivals, with the Texas State University Jazz Band, directed by the legendary Dr. James Polk.

With her performances, the Women in Jazz Concerts and Vocal Performance Workshops, Pamela is making a difference in the jazz scene in Austin. Her debut CD, “May I Come In?” released under the HartBeat Productions label was reviewed in the June 1999 JAZZIZ Magazine. In addition, Ever Blue, a track from the CD is included on the JAZZIZ June 1999 CD and "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" on the July 2000 CD. She is currently recording her next CD project to be released soon.

Pamela Hart is a beautiful woman who steals the heart of any jazz aficionado. Be prepared to shout “encore!” You can learn more about Pamela by visiting her web sites at http://www.pamelahart.com, http://www.myspace.com/pamelahart, and www.YouTube.com/hartbeat07, http://www.facebook.com - search Pamela Hart

Instrumentation
Pamela Hart - Lead Vocals
James Polk - Piano/Keys
William Menefield - Piano/Keys/Vocals
Aaron Allen - Upright Bass
Nick Lewis - Electric Bass
Kevin Scott - Drums/Vocals
Mike Malone - Sax
Jake Langley - Guitar

Instrumentation

James Polk - Keyboard and Piano
William Menefield - Keyboards and Piano
Nick Lewis - Electric Bass
Aaron Allen - Upright Bass
Jake Langley - Electric Guitar
Mike Malone - Tenor & Soprano Sax
Kevin Scott - Drums & Vocals

Discography

"May I Come In?" HartBeat - 1998 - (full CD)
"Pamela Hart In-Context" - PBS TV 2009 DVD
"Pamela Hart Live on Smooth" - ME TV 2008 DVD
"Pamela Hart Live - Great American Songbook 2004 HartBeat/AMN
"Merry Christmas" - 4-song Demo - HartBeat 2005
"The Sweetest Sound" 4-Song Demo- HartBeat 2004
"Women in Jazz" - Compilation CD - Jazziz 2000
"I'll Be Home For Kwanzaa - Complilation CD (Bagel Label) 1997
"Songs from the Hart" - 4-song Demo - (Hartbeat) 1993

Links

• Pamela Hart Videos on You Tube.com

Audio

• You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To - full
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• That's the Way of Love
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• Catch Yourself
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• Mr. Ugly
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• You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To - shortened
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• The Sweetest Sounds
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• May I Come In? - full version
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• Mr. Ugly - full version
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• That's What I Want for Christmas
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Lyrics

• Ever Blue
• Catch Yourself
• What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?

Video

Pamela Hart samples a mixture of tunes.

Pamela Hart - You Send Me - In context.tv

Photo Gallery

Press

• KUT's Views and Brews: Women in the Jazz Conversation, July 7, 2011 [+ Show ]
  

  There are many ways to approach the topic of women in the jazz conversation. It would be easy to sta...There are many ways to approach the topic of women in the jazz conversation. It would be easy to start with the great female jazz vocalists whose names are now synonymous with the genre, like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, but the truth is that women have never been strangers on the jazz stage in any element of performance. Think of saxophonists like Vi Burnside and Margaret Backstrom or, more recently, pianists like Hazel Scott and Eliane Elias.
  
  At our Views and Brews discussion on the topic of Women in the Jazz Conversation our wonderful panel tried to hit all the right notes in an hour that flew by all too quickly. KUT’s Jay Trachtenberg and Laurie Gallardo were joined on stage by the incredible talents of singers Akina Adderley and Pamela Hart along with the amazing Dr. James Polk on keys for an evening of conversation and music that left everyone wanting more.
  
  Dr. James Polk is both a master keyboardist and storyteller. He talked of Cab Calloway’s older sister Blanche, who actually was an accomplished bandleader before her younger brother Cab, who often credited her as his inspiration for entering show business. Cab become a jazz legend in part thanks to the jazz arrangements, “the book,” that Blanche used with her band. Dr. Polk also entertained the audience in the Cactus Cafe with his stories about the lessons he learned while playing for Marla Gibbs in Los Angeles.
  
  Akina Adderley, grand-niece of the legendary Cannonball Adderly, told us of a conversation she had with a family friend by the name of Nancy Wilson, (yes! that Nancy Wilson) who told her that it wasn’t all that tough for her to break into the business as a jazz vocalist because “she just showed up and could play.” The point being, that in jazz it never seemed to be whether you were a woman or a man but whether or not you “could hang.”
  
  Austin’s first lady of jazz, Pamela Hart, talked about her early days as a singer. Her inspirations, her challenges and her idols, and shared stories about learning how to talk the jazz language. It’s a language she now helps teach to other aspiring performers through her Women in Jazz Concert Series every year at the Paramount Theatre here in Austin. This year’s Summer Jam is coming up July 23rd.
  
  The night of storytelling and conversation mixed with the breathtaking performances by both Akina and Pamela, who wowed the captivated crowd with Dr. Polk backing them brilliantly, was truly magical. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:
  
  “The millions, that around us are rushing into life, cannot always be fed on the sere remains of foreign harvests. Events, actions arise, that must be sung, that will sing themselves. Who can doubt, that poetry will revive and lead in a new age, as the star in the constellation Harp, which now flames in our zenith, astronomers announce, shall one day be the pole-star for a thousand years?”
  
  It was a night to remember and if you couldn’t make it, you can listen to the full audio recording here. Be sure to check back to watch highlights of the event on video soon.
  
  Coming up this month at Views and Brews we’ll touch on politics and Tennessee Williams and we have more of our jazz conversation series when rabbi Neil Blumofe returns in August with a look at the music of Miles Davis. Stay tuned!!

• AWTW Austinwoman Talks with Pamela Hart [+ Show ]
  

  Austinwoman Magazing discusses Pamela Hart's singing career and her vision of the Women in Jazz Asso...Austinwoman Magazing discusses Pamela Hart's singing career and her vision of the Women in Jazz Association, Inc. in its 14th year history.

• Enjoy Life Magazine - Pamela Hart - Nov 15, 2008 [+ Show ]
  

  http://www.enjoylifenews.com/musicbox.htm Interview with Pamela Hart published November 15, 2008 ...http://www.enjoylifenews.com/musicbox.htm
  
  Interview with Pamela Hart published November 15, 2008 Written by Lakesha Woods
  
  Pamela Hart was raised in a household that was very musical. Pamela says, "My household in my early life was very musical. My mother was very musical, if she wasn't singing while she was working she was playing music. She played Coltrane and Miles Davis but she loved the vocalist so she played Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughn and Dinah Washington. She recalls being 5 years old and learning Nancy Wilson's "I had a Ball". Pamela says once her mother heard her singing the song she encouraged her to sing whenever company would come around. She says that her talent was really developed by mimicking great singers. However, it wasn't until long after her teen years and school days that she realized singing would be her life. She rediscovered the burring desire for music after she moved to Austin, Texas at the age of 25. It was in Austin that she took an interest in a band and she wanted to work with them. Before hand many thoughts of pursuing the dream came and went but Pamela expresses that her urning to become a singer eventually out weighed years of contemplating and she was finally lead to her answer the called to Jazz. I asked Pamela if she considered Jazz as a way of life. Pamela said, It takes a certain intelligence to listen to jazz and it takes a person who get it. Jazz it chooses you". "With Jazz its a chemistry you plan on the music being correct but you can't plan on some breaks happening or jiving with somebody. You have to be willing to expose yourself so people can see who you are trying to be.
  
  
  Her impact has been great on the city of Austin. So great that she carries an enormous title which follows her and has yet to be taken. She's known as "Austin's First Lady of Jazz". Pamela, is gracious about having such an honor but she didn't hesitate to give her self just a few kudos. She's opened for contemporary artist such as Kirk Whalum, and Nancy Wilson whom she sang a duet with in 2000. Pamela giggles and gets a little giddy at the mention of Ms. Wilson's name. She said, "Nancy Wilson is one of my favorite jazz singers and when I was on stage with her I felt like I was five years old all over again". Pamela went on to say that the experience was one that she will never forget and that Ms. Wilson made her feel very comfortable on the stage.
  
  Amazing as she is as a Jazz singer she's also an amazing inspiration to aspiring women in the music industry. She inspires others to follow their dreams and to hone their crafts through an organization that call Women in Jazz. Pamela Hart established the Women in Jazz Project and along with her husband Kevin Hart they have been sponsoring the Women in Jazz Project since 1994. Each year, the producers of Women in Jazz conduct workshops that teach aspiring vocalist on how to master practical performance techniques. The workshops are very intimate and the class size is normally about the size of a grade school teacher's class (about 30 people).
  
  I asked Pamela what would she like Enjoy Life Readers and her fans to know and she said, "I want them to know that I'm coming their way. It took years to get over some fears about getting out but I want them to know that Jazz is alive and well. I want them to hear how Pam Hart delivers".
  

• Austin's First Lady of Jazz Takes The Cover! Nov 2008 [+ Show ]
  

  Austin's First Lady of Jazz Takes The Cover! http://www.jazzreview.com/article/review-6632.html ...Austin's First Lady of Jazz Takes The Cover!
  
  http://www.jazzreview.com/article/review-6632.html
  
  Recently, Austin's First Lady of Jazz, Ms. Pamela Hart had the wonderful pleasure to "sit down" with Ms. Lakesha S. Woods, Editor of Enjoy Life Magazine for an engaging and enlightening conversation. Ms. Woods was able to accurately and sincerely capture the essence of the amazing Pamela Hart and the results of the "sit down" are featured in the latest edition of Enjoy Life Magazine. We invite you to read Pamela's feature in the monthly Music Box Feature at http://www.enjoylifenews.com/musicbox.htm. Pamela said, It takes a certain intelligence to listen to jazz and it takes a person who get it. Jazz it chooses you". "With Jazz its a chemistry you plan on the music being correct but you can't plan on some breaks happening or jiving with somebody. You have to be willing to expose yourself so people can see who you are trying to be. After enjoying the Feature on Pamela, enjoy the other Features available in the Magazine (http://www.enjoylifenews.com/index.htm). With a title like “Enjoy Life Magazine” this automatically prepares the unconscious mind to expect entertainment! Enjoy Life certainly has that part covered with columns like “Music Box” which features celebrities. Unsigned Hype – featuring the aspiring artist. “Relate to Love” addresses relationship issues and offers solutions. Literary Box News delivers community events. “Poets Pad” and “Creatively Written” features poetry and short stories from aspiring writers. The magezine’s latest edition “Game Point” allows readers to transform into viewers by means of a media player which automatically updates and delivers Sports News from well established stations like NBC, FOX & CNN.
  
  Visit other Official Websites dedicated to Pamela at www.PamelaHart.com, www.Myspace.com/PamelaHart and www.CDBaby.com/CD/PamelaHart.
  Enjoy The Gift of Music! William Jackson W. Jackson & Associates, LLC Publicity for Ms. Pamela Hart P.O. Box 1307 Round Rock, TX 78680 512-786-2364 (CST) WJacksonAssociates@excite.com
  

• Artist First World Radio Interview - June 2008 (link) [+ Show ]
  

  Artist First World Radio - June 2008 (link to Audio byte. http://66.49.193.35/Music_Special_2008-06...Artist First World Radio - June 2008 (link to Audio byte.
  http://66.49.193.35/Music_Special_2008-06-28_Pamela_Hart.mp3

• Interview & Performance by Pamela Hart on METV - March 2008 (link)
  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIjElvqabBg

• Pamela Hart: Austin's First Lady of Jazz [+ Show ]
  

  "Pamela Hart's performances are the epitome of grace and style. From the minute she begins to sing,..."Pamela Hart's performances are the epitome of grace and style. From the minute she begins to sing, her perfect pitch and soothing, clear vocals transport her audience into a relaxed space where time and outside worries are forgotten. It is all about the music from that moment on."
  
  --Deborah Hamilton-Lynne
  
  http://www.pamelahart.com/press_files/AWM2005.pdf
  

• Villager Newspaper Article - September 2005
  

  http://www.pamelahart.com/press_files/Vill2005.pdf

• Music That's Close to Hart's Heart - May 22, 2004
  

  Austin-American Statesman - 2004 http://www.pamelahart.com/press_files/AAS2004.pdf

• Pamela Hart Album Review
  

  Unlock Austin http://www.unlockaustin.com/Band/Pamela Hart

• Tribeza Magazine Article - February 2002
  

  Tribeza Magazine Article - February 2002 http://www.pamelahart.com/press_files/TRB2002.pdf

• A Change of Hart - Feb 1998 [+ Show ]
  

  Change of Hart By Christopher Hess http://weeklywire.com/ww/02-23-98/austin_music_feature1.html ...Change of Hart
  
  By Christopher Hess
  http://weeklywire.com/ww/02-23-98/austin_music_feature1.html
  
  FEBRUARY 23, 1998: Smooth jazz is the work of the devil. It is a ravenous creature, born of something real and pure, that now seeks to devour its progenitor - a beautiful, graceful animal that unwittingly crapped out a spore, which somehow, through bizarre genetic experimentation no doubt performed in a marketing boardroom in Pasadena, replicated its DNA. This twisted progeny mutated and mutated again, and in a dark spasm of punctuated equilibrium, assumed the form of the monster it is today. Ever hungry, the beast keeps growing. "New Adult Contemporary" (also called "Urban Contemporary" in another particularly meaningless example of ad copy) is more a radio format than a music. It's a format that grows by the minute, expanding over the course of a few short years from a handful of stations in huge markets like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles to chase hot on the heels of the wildly successful AAA format (like our own KGSR) and have a pronounced presence in every major market. Today, there are well over 80 NAC stations in the US, and that number is rising. Fast.
  
  "Smooth jazz" is, first and foremost, grossly misnamed. Technically speaking, it's not jazz at all. It embodies none of the elements that make jazz jazz. Improvisation, the heart of traditional jazz, is mostly non-existent with the exception of the same obligatory solo of any pop song. Syncopation and rubato modifications are also absent, though token elements of them may be used to give a song a "jazzy" feel.
  
  Arrangements, as they apply to "smooth jazz," are closer to R&B and pop music, the main instrument creating more of a lyrical line than any sort of improvised melody. What lyricism and melody do exist within the form is usually built around the sounds of electric instruments; plucked and funky electric bass lines replace the fat (not phat) notes of the upright or double-bass, synthesizers and effects-laden keyboards fill the space usually reserved for piano, and drums are much more regularly timed and - horror of horrors - even programmed.
  
  When speaking of "smooth jazz," names like Kenny G. and Yanni jump to mind and fill the mouth with a sinister bile. The genre does have its luminaries, artists worthy of respect for their compositions and technical expertise - musicians like Pat Metheny and David Sanborn - but for the most part, this is flaccid, easy-listening, mid-tempo music with a very short life span. Traditional jazz and "smooth jazz" enjoy separate existences on different frequencies and in different CD collections. Therefore, when the two come together in the close quarters of a single album, eyebrows will raise.
  
  "I made the record kind of eclectic on purpose," says Pamela Hart, slowly beginning an explanation that she seemed prepared to make. "I didn't want to be labeled. I don't mind being labeled a jazz singer - that's what [the album] will be filed under - but a lot of the tunes are borderline, mostly for marketing purposes. I had to put a little commercialism in it to get airplay, because everything is smooth jazz these days. To get a foot in the door, I put some of that smooth jazz, that kind of pop jazz, on the CD."
  
  
  photograph by Diane Watts
  
  
  Hart is guardedly excited about May I Come In?, her self-released debut that's due out in time for the South by Southwest music conference, during which the local singer will have a showcase. It's a huge step for any musician to offer the public their first completed work representing his or her artistic ability and aesthetic vision. Once it's out there, once people start listening to it, a musical persona begins to form in the public mind, and that becomes identity.
  
  Not that Hart doesn't already have a local identity. She has lived and performed in Austin for about 12 years, building a reputation as a compelling voice of traditional jazz. Her first gigs were indicative of the road she would follow. "When I started singing, doing some stuff for U.T., they had this Cotton Club review and I did a Billie Holiday thing," remembers Hart. "I was stuck on Billie Holiday for years."
  
  Smiling at the recollection of her youthful devotion to Lady Day, Hart also lists Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Wilson as foundation influences and performers who shaped her future. Moving to Texas in 1982 and later attending Southwest Texas University in San Marcos in pursuit of her MBA (which she received in '91), Hart decided to devote herself to singing. "I was gonna give myself two years to get serious," she recalls. "I thought I was serious at the time, but I didn't know enough about this business to be serious. I didn't know what it took."
  
  Her first effort produced a four-song demo tape that, though far behind her now in vocal ability, showed the essence of Hart the jazz singer. On it, the power of her voice is readily apparent, so much so that it proved a driving force in the development of jazz vocalists in Austin - a community united in part through one of Hart's pet projects, the "Women in Jazz" concert series. Produced by Hart and her husband Kevin starting in 1994 - in cooperation with the Harold McMillan's DiverseArts group - the showcase of local jazz singers is an annual reminder of the wealth of talent Austin boasts in this field.
  
  "I've come to realize lately how important [the "Women in Jazz" concert series] is to the singers here, and how many more singers there are that I didn't even know about," says Hart seriously. "Since we've gotten a website (http://members.aol.com/hartbeat07/pamhart.htm), we get hits from people all over the country. Some of them have [women in jazz] showcases - Seattle, New York. I've been getting press kits from all over the country, and I have to tell you this: I have not received any press kits or recordings that come close to the quality of artists that we have in Austin. These are CDs, well-produced stuff, but they still don't come close to the ladies we have here."
  
  
  Pam Hart and Tony Campise at the Elephant Room Valentine's Day
  photograph by Todd V. Wolfson
  
  
  The focus of the "Women in Jazz" concerts is traditional jazz, using mostly acoustic instrumentation and working through a varied and extensive catalog of standard tunes and originals in each performance. It has become the definitive forum for the upper echelons of traditional jazz vocalists in Austin. Hart's leading role in these shows has helped establish her as one of the pre-eminent performers among the elite, and her astonishing range and the purity of her tone in both interpretation of standards and delivery of original songs has made her live performances a standard to live up to.
  
  It is this range and purity of tone that Hart hopes carries over onto May I Come In?, helping lift the smooth jazz on the CD above the limits of the genre. Unfortunately, the step between the two types of music is not a lateral one. Where mainstream, traditional jazz aims at the heights of artistic ability and expresses real emotions through slight nuances - a half-step here, a quick slide there - smooth jazz presents emotions in the bigger picture, like in a Whitney Houston song. Only in the expression of the broader melody are the parts important. The distinction here is that, like pop, this emotion is disposable; indeed it must be, or who would need another hit single every week?
  
  That is the question currently facing those at the helm of smooth jazz's proliferation. Keith Zimmerman, the Jazz and Smooth Jazz Editor at Gavin, sees this question as fundamental in pushing smooth jazz to greater commercial success. "Smooth jazz has yet to prove itself as a record buying genre," says Zimmerman. "The audience is largely passive adults with kids and a mortgage who don't necessarily buy records. The ratings are spectacular. We're just waiting for the retail gate to catch up."
  
  If all goes as planned, May I Come In? will sell enough copies through local stores and at shows to make back Hart's investment, at which time she will shop it to labels in hopes of slipping through that retail gate. And it seems that gate has already inched open even if Gavin's Zimmerman says sales haven't yet caught up to ratings.
  
  Mark Elliott, of Dallas-based traditional jazz label Leaning House Jazz, sees the disparity between album sales of traditional jazz and smooth jazz as proof of the latter's commercial potential. Last year, Leaning House put out Austin pianist Fred Sanders' debut CD, East of Vilbig. The album is as straight-ahead jazz as it gets, and it recently reached Number 15 on the Gavin charts for mainstream jazz.
  
  "It's frustrating," says Elliott. "A traditional jazz title like Fred's album, getting airplay in 61 markets and hitting 15 on the charts, will be lucky to sell 5,000-6,000 copies. Superstars in mainstream jazz sell 10,000-20,000, and that's great - that's unbelievable. A successful smooth title, however, one recommended by Broadcast Architecture [a radio consulting firm with a strong grasp on NAC playlists across the country] by a new artist no one has ever heard of, can sell 30,000 based on airplay alone - often around 50,000. And that's not even a particularly good record."
  
  In the traditional jazz market, new releases by saxmen like Joe Henderson and Kenny Garrett are sold side by side with Coltrane, Dolphy, Getz, and scores of legendary players who, in all likelihood, still get as much radio airplay as Henderson and Garret, both of whom continue to record and tour to great acclaim while Coltrane, Dolphy, and Getz are dead. Traditional jazz exists on the radio only through block programming on public radio stations like KUT. Jazz music is an ongoing historical document, and as such the classic lives alongside the modern for as long as people pay attention.
  
  If there is any confusion in tracking the radio-to-sales relation of smooth jazz, it's because of the glut of crossover acts that blur the lines between pop, R&B, adult contemporary, and smooth jazz. Veterans like Anita Baker and Al Jarreau are well-represented on smooth jazz stations, while Barry White and Luther Vandross are popping up more and more, and when the smooth stuff contains vocals it can sound a lot like popular R&B. Hart herself reaches into this territory; witness the full-throated groove of "Catch Yourself." A station with this kind of crossover appeal can play music that exists on the periphery of its demographic boundaries and still be accepted. And with a mix of songs with and without vocals, they can play all of it.
  
  "Smooth Jazz is moving towards frequency of play, to honing in on one or two tracks from an artist and playing it and playing it," says Zimmerman. "The question is if instrumental music can stand up to the rigors of a Spice Girls kind of rotation... whether we can spoon-feed this audience. That's the big question in the industry. I think it's time to try it, and then see if there's any way to put the energy into it. Now, it's mostly mid-tempo stuff, we need to spice it up a bit."
  
  Forrest Faubion, the Product Marketing Coordinator for Allegro, an independent distribution company that works with smooth jazz and traditional jazz record labels including Leaning House, explains the attraction.
  
  "Smooth jazz programming has gone from a handful of stations to a presence in every major market - over 80 stations - in a hurry. Many mainstream jazz stations are switching over because of commercial pressures. Smooth jazz is a proliferation, like Kenny G with his monster sales. It's nice-sounding. It's not very challenging, as someone like Coltrane is."
  
  Fubion's take on smooth jazz's increasing popularity is nothing if not proactive. Indeed it is a perspective shared by many traditional jazz lovers who are beginning to accept the inevitable spread of the genre. "I think of it as a gateway format to more instrumental music," he says. "People are mixing it up now. It used to be that jazz was a bad word, but now Joe and Jane Public are starting to accept it."
  
  Hart's forthcoming album straddles the line between smooth and traditional jazz, offering four songs whose feel is definitively smooth, a few that are equally traditional, and several that incorporate elements of contemporary jazz and R&B. This diversity can have drastically different effects: It can either win over each market or it can alienate both.
  
  And make no mistake, there are some outstanding tracks on May I Come In?. The rolling measure of John Mills' soprano sax solo on "Second Time Around" is a sublime counter to Hart's dreamy vocals, the phrasings of each constructing a perfect cadence for the song's hopeful swing. Then there's "Though I'm Alone," a heart-shredder nearly on par with Holiday's "Lover Man," and a tune that is most in line with Hart's audience, which, up until now, has known her exclusively as a traditional jazz singer.
  
  "The whole time I was making this CD I had those people in mind, because to me the biggest compliment I could get is for those people to appreciate it rather than the new crowd," explains Hart. "That's my heart, and so people who say I'm a good jazz singer, that would mean much more to me than that they 'enjoyed' the other stuff. I've thought about them thinking that I was selling out. Hopefully, it's not too far over the line and they'll still accept it; like I said there's some stuff on there for them too.
  
  "They will be surprised," she laughs.
  
  Nancy Wilson, Hart's main influence, started out singing traditional jazz early in her career, enlisting the help of influential players like Cannonball Adderly. Later on, after establishing herself as a jazz singer, Wilson went pop, and was very successful in the crossover, landing a number of singles on the charts. Success attained, she went back to jazz, the place where she began.
  
  This path mirrors Hart's vision, the idea of laying a firm groundwork of experience in traditional vocal style and then applying that to a wider, more commercial audience. In addition to seeking out label interest, she also shops songs to specific projects. "The reason I put 'You've Been Hunting My Dreams' on the CD is because I read this great book called The Hand I Fan With," says Hart.
  
  "You've Been Hunting My Dreams" is probably the smoothest of the tunes on May I Come In? The synthesizers are overwhelming and the vocals echoed and layered until Hart is an electronic chorus of herself.
  
  "I know somebody is gonna make a movie out of that book," says Hart. "It's an ATM book - 'After Terry MacMillan' - about this lady who has a relationship with a ghost, and I did this tune so I can market it to her to be used on the soundtrack. We'll see how that goes. It's just perfect for it."
  
  There is a point in every journey where one passes the halfway mark - the point at which it's easier to keep moving forward than it is to turn around and go back. Hart's main influence, Nancy Wilson, went back. She had taken the highway far from home, found what she was looking for, and made her way back. Hart hopes to do the same thing, but as the road grows from a rocky path to a neon-lit superhighway offering all the salvations and comforts of consumer culture, hitting the exit ramp becomes a bit more difficult.
  
  "I'm hoping that it'll be a Herbie Hancock move," says Hart. "He did a lot of commercial music to fund the stuff that he really likes to do. I'm hoping this will get me to the point that I can be the executive producer, or the person who pays for stuff that I really like to do - the more traditional jazz. I enjoy what I did, but I'd rather do the traditional music, and if I need a little of the smooth stuff on the CD coupled with the old to get it out there, I'll do that...
  
  "I felt it was a requirement for what I do. I'm not a pop singer or anything like that. But you have to get heard to be heard."
  

• Our Voices, Ourselves Interviews Pamela Hart, August 2011 [+ Show ]
  

  Women in Jazz Association, Inc. was founded by Pamela and Kevin Hart to provide Women in Jazz Concer...Women in Jazz Association, Inc. was founded by Pamela and Kevin Hart to provide Women in Jazz Concert Series and Vocal Performance Workshops for performance opportunities and experiences of professional and amateur jazz vocalists in the Austin metropolitan area. Women in Jazz Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
  
  Austin, Texas, "the live music capital of the world," can boast of very little live music that includes jazz vocals. Since the venues in Austin that consistently provide jazz music book vocalists much less than other musicians, jazz vocalists create their own entertainment venues in Austin. Women in Jazz Concert Series is the outgrowth of the need for a performance venue for women jazz vocalists.
  
  Enjoy this wonderful interview and check out their schedule and activities at :http://www.womeninjazz.org/
  
  http://traffic.libsyn.com/ovos/OVOS_women_in_jazz.mp3
  

Setlist

Pamela usually performs 3 sets at 45 to 60 minutes each set typically performing 8 to 12 songs.

Set I
Street Life
Open Your Eyes
You Send Me
How Glad I AM
L-O-V-E
I Cover the Water Front
This Can’t Be Love
Route 66
Second Time Around

Set II
Let There Be Love
Visions – Brazilian
I’m Beginning to See the Light
Save Your Love From Me
Night and Day
On the Street Where We Live
Since I Fell for You
Street Life

Set III
The Great City
What A Little Moonlight Can Do
Them There Eyes
My Baby Don’t Care
Day in, Day Out
It’s Alright with Me
You’d Be So Nice to Come Home to
At Last

Basic Requirements

Calendar