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A little Q&A with jazz vocalist Ronda Jade Gibeau.
Leicester Bangs: Tell us a little about yourself.
Ronda: Born in Massachusetts and raised in my formative years on the seacoast of New Hampshire and the Merrimack Valley area of Massachusetts, (USA), I acquired a love of jazz/standard music from my musician father.
This rich environment afforded me the opportunity to experience the sounds of Big Bands such as Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey to name a few, as well as vocalists such as Frank Sinatra, Patti Page, June Christie, Rosemary Clooney, and Ella Fitzgerald. Songwriters like Leonard Bernstein I admired for his interpretation of musical structure, and how he conveyed feelings and moods, and told a story through song. Early on I developed a great affinity for the jazz standard style, but of course I listened to a vast array of musical styles on the radio and on records such as soul, rock, R&B, country, folk, ballads, and disco. While I enjoyed listening to such a diverse musical spectrum, my niche is jazz standards as well as classical compositions.
LB: How did you start out making music?
Ronda: Singing and writing songs and performing were all a great part of my
early childhood years. I would write small poems, set them to a melody, and perform them in my schools and neighborhood with friends.
As an adolescent, I began to compose melodies and set them to lyrics
or vice versa and sometimes it was simultaneous. Soon I began performing in bands in various venues in and around New England. Many a day was spent making basement tapes with a musician friend of mine from Berkley College, and then I moved onto professional recordings of my music.
I found myself studying education and continued writing music while attending college, playing my songs on college radio stations. After earning my M.A. in Education I told myself I would return to my passion of songwriting and singing and that is where I am at today.
LB: Who did you grow up listening to and how do they influence what you’re doing now?
Ronda: There is a long list of artists/singers/songwriters that I grew up
listening to - certainly too many to name. As far as influence, I’d say that I write and sing in a style that is my own, with a peppering of different aspects that I like such as the phrasing of Frank Sinatra, the vocal sound of Olivia Newton-John and Karen Carpenter, and the writing style of Burt Bacharach.
These days, I also admire Michael Buble for his standard/pop style compositions and covers, and Harry Connick Jr. for his arrangements of certain songs. Artists like Michael Buble’ and Harry Connick Jr. keep this style current, popular, and in the mainstream. I think this is important not only because it is a style that I compose, but also because it’s important to expose
new generations to different styles of music.
LB: Tell us about your latest release.
Ronda: ‘Boston “You’re the Apple of My Eye”’ is a song about a place I grew up loving. I never lived in Boston; rather, I frequented the city often to shop, see the Boston Red Sox, visit historical landmarks, attend theatre shows or to dine. Boston represented to me a place filled with a richness of cultural diversity, and history. The city is not the “Big Apple,” but I like to think of it as a little apple! Or, as the song says simply, the apple of my eye.
People from all over the world visit the U.S. on a daily basis, many of whom enter through Logan International Airport and they are entering a very special city, a unique American city that has a special value in the hearts of many Americans and Non-Americans alike. The inspiration behind this piece came one day while I was feeling and thinking of how fortunate I was to be able to experience this cultural melting pot; to know the value of this community. I wanted to share the feelings I had for this city through song with others who have never experienced Boston as well as those who have and have found this city to be a special place. Music conveys meaning and can be utilized to build positive self-concept; that is what I hoped for in this song, ‘Boston You’re the Apple of My Eye”’ - to make others aware of this beautiful place.
I hope listeners of my song find beauty in it and enjoy listening to it, and perhaps if they do not live there, will be inspired to come and experience this
city someday.
LB: Do you get out and play your music live, and if so, what can an audience expect at one of your shows?
Ronda: At the moment I’m teaching while writing new material and selecting cover songs for an album, so I’m not currently performing live. I am working on two different projects/albums - one of jazz/standard/popular songs and the other original classical Christian music. Different musical styles lend themselves to different performance experiences.
When I had been performing I liked to provide the audience with an experience that really conveys the feeling of the songs. Mostly I perform with a pianist in an intimate setting. And while every artist dreams of performing to a stadium size crowd, performing in smaller venues has the reward of connecting with the audience in a more intimate and personal way.
LB: What aspects of playing and recording music do you most enjoy?
Ronda: The first inception for a song is an amazing experience. It is something like giving birth because there is that whole gestational period of growing the song from an idea to a tangible composition, then planning how to best present it both musically and vocally in recording to reaching its fruition -the completed art. The entire process is exciting, meaningful, and hopeful that what is created will be appreciated by others. I try to remain true to myself in my writing and to be myself.
7. Where can people find (and buy) your music?
Ronda: Please visit the websites below:
www.rondajadegibeausongs.com
www.boston-youreappleofmyeye.com
www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RondaJadeGibeau
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