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Talented jazz singer and songwriter Zoe Gilby will be appearing with the Zoe Gilby Quartet at 2015’s Scarborough Jazz Festival. Her repertoire incorporates original material alongside music from the likes of Pink Floyd and Kate Bush, as well as fresh takes on the Great American Songbook.
Here she speaks to Adrian Riley about her albums, her songwriting and festival appearances.
I’d love to know about your album ‘Twelve Stories’,whether there was a conscious decision to record 12 songs that work as self-contained stories, or whether the name came once the material was written.
I wouldn’t say it was a conscious decision, it just worked out that there happened to be 12 tracks that I wanted on the album. But I do feel that each track has a story to tell, especially the original material. The lyrical inspiration for my original material is largely based around some kind of a story. Take ‘Guilty Man’ and ‘Midnight Bell’ – both of these tunes were inspired by two different Patrick Hamilton novels. ‘The Gorse Trilogy’ and ‘Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky’. When a book can transport you to a different place, it is a magical experience. For me, it is one of life’s great pleasures to read a good book and get lost in another world.
The album features a cover of a Pink Floyd and a Kate Bush track alongside standards and lots of original material. There’s a long tradition of jazz singers interpreting popular music and it’s always interesting how or why particular songs are chosen. I wondered if these particular songs were already part of your life and thus obvious choices or if you have certain criteria in looking for songs to interpret?
I cannot take full credit for the choice of these songs. My husband and double bass player Andy Champion suggested them. I love to perform popular music as well as the jazz standards and I felt these particular tunes were definitely something I could get my teeth into. Thanks to Andy’s introduction, Kate Bush is big influence for me. Her fearless approach to songwriting and everything she produces is fascinating and it enriches my creative appetite.
Do you think there’s a difference between how a jazz singer interprets a song, and how a popular music performer might do a swing version of a pop song – for example, Paul Anka’s album of covers, ‘Rock Swings’?
Perhaps there is. I don’t like to analyse too much what a jazz or pop singer does. It may sound too simple but if it feels right and sounds good, than that’s what does it for me. The music industry gets caught up with labelling and classifying artists. I understand that it is necessary but it can feel slightly stifling to typecast or pigeonhole originative and personal artistic expression.
When you’re writing your own songs do you conceive them as jazz compositions or do you think it’s the performance itself that defines the genre?
I don’t think of them as jazz compositions, although they are performed in the jazz genre. When it comes to performing, whether it be my own songs or covers, I don’t think about conveying them in a jazz style. It has to be the raw fundamental meaning of the piece that donates the performance. A singer needs to get inside of the song, live it, breathe it and put it across to an audience with their absolute everything. It can kind of be a bit like acting, get in that character or that moment and express it.
Did you write the songs for this album as a collaborative process, or do you each bring in songs which you then arrange and shape as a group?
Firstly, I write the melody. Then I let my imagination run away with what the melody means to me. I’ll then decide on the context, then comes the lyrics. Once I feel I’ve got something I take it to Andy and our guitarist Mark Williams. This is where it gets interesting. They build the harmony and the chords to the piece and they are excellent at tapping into the meaning of the song and using that as a guide to create the chord sequence and the arrangement. Sometimes the original melody may have to change slightly to make it fit. It never ceases to amaze me how quick the chemistry of the music comes together.
‘Red Headed Girl’ – I wondered if that’s partly autobiographical? Either way, what keeps you in the ‘North East of Nowhere?’ (You do know Scarborough is sometimes described as being ’45 miles from England’?)
It’s not autobiographical, I wrote this song about my mother, living in the north east, and her move to London in the late 1960’s. This was a period in her life before marriage and motherhood. She was a bit of a free spirit (still is!) and after unintentionally causing mischief as a child and a teenager, she grew into a young woman with a sense of adventure. She made the bold move to the big smoke and had an absolute blast. This wasn’t just a geographical journey for her, it opened her eyes to the big wide world and what better place to discover it than in London’s hey day, the swinging 60’s. Her stories of this time are captivating, heartwarming and hilarious. I had to try and get this down!
The ‘North East of Nowhere’ may sound a little harsh but I get the impression that at that time the north east perhaps wasn’t as cosmopolitan as it is now. I’m proud of being a Geordie, my accent is fairly strong and being here is part of my identity, I don’t see myself moving.
Scarborough is such a beautiful place. I do like that “45 miles from England” description. There could be a potential song in there …
‘Red City’ is very much a travelogue song capturing a sense of place in words and music. There’s a popular conception (maybe a rock star thing) that touring can sap performers of creativity, but does the musician’s travelling life actually often provide you with song ideas?
Absolutely! The inspiration is everywhere. ‘Red City’ is about Marrakech, Andy and I spent our honeymoon there and we were blown away by its majestic wonder. I think cities have their own pulse and rhythm. In Marrakech it is so strong and vibrant. It feeds your soul to experience a place like that, it’s a song-writers dream.
You need a good bond with your fellow band members and a good sense of humour when you’re on the road. It’s a necessary part of being a gigging musician. It takes time to get from A to B. I’m personally thankful that I get the opportunity to do what I love. I know I’m lucky, I’m not going to start becoming complacent.
What’s the jazz festival experience like for a performer? Do logistics mean you don’t get to see much beyond the dressing room and stage, or are they a rare opportunity to hang out with other jazz musicians?
The atmosphere at festivals is fantastic. Checking out the other bands, meeting the enthusiastic audience and hanging out with the other musicians, it can feel like party central. Performing to an open-minded crowd (which I think a lot of jazz audiences are) is a real buzz. It makes you “up your game” when you’re in that environment. Not in a competitive way but it feels like you’re with kindred spirits, encouraging each other and it’s great opportunity to give it all you’ve got. Can’t wait for Scarborough Jazz Festival 2015!
See the Zoe Gilby Quartet at Scarborough Jazz Festival 2015, Scarborough Spa, over the weekend of 25-27th September. http://jazz.scarboroughspa.co.uk/events/Scarborough-Jazz-Festival-2015
