Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Well, Cookie, it's been a long time coming. Welcome to the show.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: Hi, Randy. It's my pleasure. Thanks for having me.
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Cookie, at what point in your life did you know that you wanted to become a musician?
[00:00:12] Speaker B: I was in seventh grade, and I asked the person in charge of the community Christmas pageant at the town hall if I could sing a solo because they usually had the school and the choir. And I guess I wasn't content just to sing in the chorus. So he asked me to sing something right then and there. And so I sang O Holy Night. And he said, okay, why don't you sing that? So at the Christmas pageant, everyone came out and the whole choir, the whole school was behind me. And I got out and I was so scared, I shook halfway across the room. But I was definitely bitten by the performance bug.
[00:00:48] Speaker A: Do you seek out musical situations that are stimulating and satisfying for you as well as challenging?
[00:00:57] Speaker B: Many times I go to a gig and meet some of the musicians on the bandstand, and this is always challenging. You know, musicians do many things to earn a living and to support the lifestyle that they've chosen. And that can be teaching and bartending and, you know, there are many things that we do. Sometimes people are doing two or three gigs a day, so. And you might not always be able to get the same musicians. So you might show up at a performance and be the front person and have six people behind you, some of whom you've never worked with before. So you really have to trust and just keep your fingers crossed that it's all going to work. But I also add new material frequently, and I may do that through producing a show and I have to new material or writing or doing a cd. There may be lots of different options for me or ways that I am working through new material and that keeps it fresh for the audience and for me.
[00:02:06] Speaker A: From a musical standpoint, do you remember any key events in your childhood that left a profound impression on you?
[00:02:14] Speaker B: Well, I moved a lot as a child and was never able to maintain any kind of musical education. I was raised Catholic and went to schools that did not offer much or anything in the way of arts and culture.
There were no music classes, I think, you know, maybe in first and second grade. But beyond that, we didn't even have a. There was no choir, there was no music teacher. I guess they weren't funded for arts and culture.
And I think the need and desire to sing mostly came from within and gave me an opportunity to express feelings that. That I wasn't able to otherwise express.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: Let's say you were stranded on a desert island and you only had 10 recordings to bring with you. Which ones would they be?
[00:02:56] Speaker B: Well, I thinking through the CDs that I listen to most frequently, I guess the artist said and I know some of the names of the CDs. Let's see, Duke Ellington, Most Requested Songs. Nancy Wilson, I love her, but beautiful CD.
Carmen McCrae Alive. Frank Sinatra, Live at the Sands. Jimmy Scott and if you don't know Jimmy Scott, I think he's really a wonderful stylist. And when I listen to Nancy Wilson and Dinah Washington, I think I hear a lot of Jimmy Scott influence in that. His Lost and Found CD is one of my favorites. Toots Thielman, lots of different CDs, but there's a French one that came out a couple of years Chez Tootson, I think it was called, and I really like that. Something by Stan Goetz. Chet Baker's Let's Get Lost.
Louis Armstrong and his Jazz All Stars. Bill Evans. Waltz for Debbie and Chevrolet, which is the CD by the Japanese Cuban salsa band that I sang with in Tokyo.
[00:04:02] Speaker A: If you were to form a dream band, Cookie, who would it consist of?
[00:04:06] Speaker B: Well, it's tough because there are so many people to choose from, but I guess Marion McPartlin on piano, toot Steelman on harmonica, John Pizzarelli on guitar. Not only is he a great musician, but he's really cute.
And recently I saw Kenny Werner, who's a great pianist, but he had a really good rhythm section with him, his drummer and bassist. I would love to work with them.
And Johnny Frigo from Chicago on violin. And there's a club in Chicago that I've sung at a couple of times with Joey Vito, who used to be the first call keyboard player when Sinatra came to town. And Johnny Frigo. And Johnny is a jazz violinist who's been around for many, many, many, many years.
But that was a real thrill working with him. And of course Louis Armstrong.
[00:05:02] Speaker A: What was the first concert that you attended, Cookie, and what kind of impression did that leave on you?
[00:05:09] Speaker B: My first concert was to see the Beatles at Chicago's Amphitheater. I grew up in Chicago, Illinois and the excitement and energy for a 13 year old girl was almost unbearable. Dusty Springfield opened for them and I wanted to be her.
My first jazz concert was Peggy Lee at the Empire Room in the Palmer House in Chicago and that was a really big deal.
Big piano, white furs, white hair, an orchestra complete with a timpani. She was very cool and I remember being a little disappointed in how she handled the audience and vowed to have a good rapport with my audience, should I ever have one.
[00:05:49] Speaker A: Do you remember your first gig as a pro?
[00:05:52] Speaker B: When I was 20, I was hired to sing with the house band at the Circle Restaurant and nightclub in East Dubuque, Illinois. And East Dubuque is a river town, and George Goble got his start there. I worked six nights a week with a quintet, which was organ, bass, drums, Hawaiian guitar and saxophone. And I worked from 7pm to 1am for $65 a week. This is where I began learning a lot of repertoire. There was a big dance floor and a pretty regular crowd, and so they would come up during the night and give me a dollar to sing one of the songs. All of me was a regular, so I learned a lot of those, you know, basic jazz standards at that gig. And pretty early age, I was about 19 years old.
[00:06:40] Speaker A: You know, the 1940s was such a great decade for music. There were so many great bands playing and vocalists singing, and a lot of great music was discussed on the bandstand among the musicians and to a certain extent, the audience as well. It was an invigorating period. I'm just wondering, have you ever thought about playing with any of the musicians from that period or just going back in time and maybe wondering what it must be like to play with and who you would want to play with that was actually performing during this period in time?
[00:07:15] Speaker B: Yes, I'd like to work with the Campesi Orchestra, Louis Armstrong. There's a whole myriad of players that I love to listen to. And I think I was actually born in the 20s, which would have been. I would have been in my teens when I started singing in the 40s. And those are really the songs that speak to me and still do to this day.
[00:07:37] Speaker A: You know, the first time that I heard your recordings, Cookie, the first impression that I got was that you were having a lot of fun in the studio. And this seemed to permeate like osmosis throughout the rest of the band and certainly ended up, in my opinion, being a very satisfying session. I was just wondering if you have any comments on that.
[00:08:02] Speaker B: I guess I love singing and performing. I like to talk to the audience, make them comfortable, make them part of the experience, and also to have fun with them. And sometimes I think I overreach or say things that maybe if I had time to edit, I might not say. But I like it to be spontaneous.
I also really love working with talented musicians and creating something right on the spot. So if you're supported by good musicians, and you change something or an idea comes to you and you get inspired on the spot. It's really fun to have it resolved successfully.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: What music did you listen to growing up, Cookie?
[00:08:44] Speaker B: I listened to Judy Garland, watched her television show, never went to bed on time. Stayed up to watch the Tonight Show Orchestra and all the singers that would come on the Tonight Show. Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee. And I saw the Beatles and was certainly a product of that generation. I saw them for the first time when I was 13, when they came to Chicago's amphitheater. I had Paul's hair. I had a rum and Coke that George had. I got to go into the room. I was one of those screaming girls after the press conference. But watching their shows was, you know, amazing because they had all the pop artists of that time. Jackie DeShannon, Dusty Springfield, Bobby Hebb, who sang Sonny, who, by the way, had an amazing interpretation of Sonny. Not like the one that was on the radio. It was the first time, I think, I was aware of an African American singer who could really sing and didn't sing in that pop style that was so dictated by the radio stations and by the listening audience.
[00:09:49] Speaker A: Regarding your singing and, to a certain extent, composing, Cookie, who were your main influences?
[00:09:55] Speaker B: Well, I learned most of my early repertoire through movies and records that my grandparents have and working at the Circle in East Dubuque, Illinois.
And some of those artists were Anita O'Day, Roberta Sherwood, who I used to watch on the Today show with Dave Garraway. And she would hold her cymbal and now I'm really showing how old I am. But she would hold her cymbal and brush and accompany herself. And I always thought that was very cool. I may add that someday to my repertoire. Julie Christie, Julie London, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Nancy Wilson. Love Nancy Wilson. Shirley Bassey. Thought she was great. I used to sing at all the high school plays, you know, when I was in high school, all the themes, the dance themes were from Russia with Love, Charade, Goldfinger. So I would always come out and sing the title song from those plays. So Shirley Bassy was pretty hot.
[00:10:52] Speaker A: What inspires you when you're writing songs or even when you're performing?
[00:10:57] Speaker B: Well, I don't really consider myself to be a composer. I've written a few songs over the years which are based on personal experience and emotions in performance. I'm inspired by the words, the music and the audience. I love the energy I get from a live audience.
[00:11:11] Speaker A: Now, Cookie, you recently performed outside of North America, I believe, on a concert tour or A gig, rather, in Japan.
Can you discuss a little bit about how that. How that particular concert went down and what exactly might have learnt from that performance?
[00:11:30] Speaker B: I haven't performed that much outside of North America. However, I did perform in Tokyo this January.
I was there visiting, and I was asked to perform with Chev Relax, a Japanese band performing with. Performing Cuban salsa music. They didn't speak English and I don't speak Japanese, but we were able to communicate by naming standards that we both recognized. So I sang popular standards such as Autumn Leaves and Girl From Ipanema, and they were excellent musicians. And we sat down at the piano and kind of noodled through so we could figure out what key I wanted to sing in and how we were going, what style we wanted to do it. And he said, you do bossa nova? And so that's what we did. And the audience was very enthusiastic. And it was a great example of how you can communicate through the language of music.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: What are you listening to these days?
[00:12:28] Speaker B: Well, because I was just doing this show. I sang what the World Needs now is Love, Sweet Love. And that was Jackie DeShannon. I've been listening to Dusty Springfield, I guess, going back to my youth, Ella Fitzgerald, Always Chev Relax, this CD by the Japanese Cuban salsa band. And my cousin's daughter has a folk CD, and she tours colleges in the U.S. and I really like her voice and how she sings, and so I've been listening to that.
[00:12:59] Speaker A: Are there any musicians that you would love to play with, Cookie, that you haven't had a chance to perform with yet?
[00:13:07] Speaker B: Last year I was performing at the Dakota in St. Paul, and Wynton Marsalis came in with his band, and we were really nervous when they walked in the room carrying instruments and said they were just coming for dinner. But, you know, you don't usually bring your horn with you to dinner.
And they watched the set and then they joined us at the end of the set. It was very exciting and words sort of got out. I saw people skittering in the back of the room because they'd gotten a call from somebody saying Wynton Marsalis was having dinner there.
And so that was really fun. There are many musicians I'd like to work with, as I find each instrumentalist brings a different idea to what I'm doing, which inspires me to go to new places.
[00:13:51] Speaker A: Cookie, I want you to mention what first comes to mind when I mention the following names. The great Rosemary Clooney.
[00:13:59] Speaker B: Love her easy style, and she sang great tunes.
[00:14:02] Speaker A: And what about our own Canadian superstar, Diana Krall.
[00:14:06] Speaker B: I like her Nat Cole tribute and some of her early recordings. I saw her at the Dakota early on, before she was selling out concert halls.
I guess I wish she wasn't so overplayed, but I do like her.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: One of the great big band leaders of all time, Count Basie.
[00:14:23] Speaker B: Great rhythm section. Basie played more emotion in one note than it would take others a whole song to relate.
[00:14:29] Speaker A: Old Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra.
[00:14:32] Speaker B: Great song stylist.
[00:14:33] Speaker A: Probably the greatest improviser in jazz.
[00:14:36] Speaker B: Charlie Parker, unbelievable talent, tragic figure.
[00:14:41] Speaker A: Another great jazz vocalist and certainly one of my favorites over the years.
[00:14:45] Speaker B: Sarah Vaughan, deep and strong voice.
[00:14:48] Speaker A: Probably the most important bandleader and writer in American jazz.
The great Duke Ellington.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: Wonderful songwriter, great bandleader, timeless music.
[00:15:00] Speaker A: And what about the up and coming vocalist, Nora Jones?
[00:15:04] Speaker B: I like her. I think her music is natural. I like her.
[00:15:08] Speaker A: Do you have any plans to record another album?
[00:15:11] Speaker B: Well, I'm hoping that my next CD will be a piano and vocal solo album with Adi Yeshaya. And so we're in the planning stages of that. I have a band that plays for corporate and special events, and I'm in the process of updating that and trying to adjust to the changes in the market.
I just finished producing a show at Orchestra hall and I performed in it. And I work with Minnesota Orchestra hall about once a year to produce a pops concert for them. And I'll be performing there later this summer during their day of music and then doing some outdoor concerts with my big band in Minneapolis.
[00:15:58] Speaker A: Do you practice a lot?
[00:16:00] Speaker B: It depends on what you mean by a lot. I do practice, not necessarily daily. If I'm working on a project, which it seems like I'm always working on a project or learning new material, I work on it until I'm comfortable with it. And so that, you know, I always have CDs in my car when I'm working with my big band. I have work tapes that I have to keep refreshing because I may work with that band, you know, as many as four or five times in a month. And then I might go for two months without working with it at all. So you have to. There's a lot of material and a lot of repertoire and also jazz gigs where you. Everything is, you know, everyone's looking at you for whatever it is, so you really have to be prepared when you walk in. So I spend a lot of time refreshing things.
[00:16:48] Speaker A: When you go into the studio to record an album, does it take you a long time, Cookie, or are you the type of person that works quickly and gets things done within, let's say, a shorter period of time, as opposed to laboring for many months.
[00:17:08] Speaker B: Generally, I record quickly, but I guess it really varies on the project. And Cookie Coleman Live was recorded in two nights. We rehearsed in the studio two days before.
We went into the nightclub and recorded with a live audience. And we ran it just like a normal night.
We performed for about three hours with one intermission on both nights. And then, you know, you had to come back and select the ones you wanted.
What you lose in a live recording is you can't go back and then fix things like you can in a live recording. But you also get the spontaneity and the energy from the audience. And so I was willing to live with that.
However, one night in Paradise, I had laryngitis. And every time I came in to record for weeks, it seemed it probably took me about two months to record that. And every time I came in to sing, the technician would say, cookie, would you like to come in and take a listen to this? Which meant you don't sound so good. I think you should go home and we should postpone it. But I had a deadline for performance and I needed to keep pushing through it. So it was a really challenging project for me. I thought about you. The first CD was just a dream. It came together very quickly. We recorded it in about a week, mixed it in another week, and we were done. And I was real happy with that product.
[00:18:38] Speaker A: Now, your album One Night in Paradise has many high points, and I'd just like you to pick one selection off the album and let's give it a listen.
I'd like to hear what you'd like to hear. And if you could state the reason why you picked the selection that you did for us to listen to.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: Well, one of my favorite songs on the CD is My Foolish Heart. This may be a strange choice for this album, which is rich with string instruments.
I'm sorry, with string arrangements and many instruments and many talented musicians. But I like listening to the song because of Adiyashaya's sensitive comping behind my singing. The first time I worked together, we were doing a wedding and he was sent as a sub and he sat down and started playing. And I was really inspired by his playing. And he really listens to a vocalist. Rather than showing off his virtuosity, which he does possess, it really showed me how well two people could work together. And so. So I was inspired to ask him to arrange and music direct my first cd. And now we've completed three.
His accompaniment feels like breathing to me. It's just. You don't have to think about it, it's just right there.
[00:20:02] Speaker A: There's a specific selection that I'd like to listen to off your new album. It's entitled you'd Are There and I really enjoy this piece. Cookie what is this, what is this song about?
[00:20:16] Speaker B: Well, this song can be about many different things. It's a very personal interpretation. For me it can be about a lost love, but for me it was something different. I began working on the CD in August and my father got sick in October and passed away in November.
And I recorded the CD in early December and over Christmas. My father in law, who was very special to me and a huge jazz fan, died very unexpectedly. I sang the song at his funeral and I love it because it speaks to how we don't really lose people in death, but rearrange where they are in our life.
[00:20:53] Speaker A: With the emergence of the Internet, many things changed and one of them was the relationship that musicians have with their fans. It seems to be a lot closer now and more flexible and personal. How did the Internet change your way of dealing with your fans? Cookie?
[00:21:11] Speaker B: It's affected it greatly.
It's a new vehicle for independent artists and it allows for marketing and communications that when my first CD came out wasn't available. Now I can sell CD Baby via or I can sell CDs via CD Baby.
It's www.cdbaby.com and if I'm appearing somewhere and I send out, I can send out an email notice to my audience.
If I appear on the radio or tv, I get emails from people who liked. I haven't never gotten anything from somebody that didn't like fortunately, but from people who liked what I did and want to know where they can come and see me perform. So I put them on my mailing list and I let them know when I'm going to be appearing publicly and they can go to the web and just purchase the CDs and it makes it easier for everybody. So that's it's just been amazing, you.
[00:22:13] Speaker A: Know, when you have just your voice to depend on and to make your living with, it's important to have proper training and exercising, I guess, just as you would practice a saxophone or a flute. I was just curious as to whether you have any vocal coaches or any exercises that you do to keep your voice in shape.
[00:22:36] Speaker B: I have gone to vocal coaches in the past to learn something new or how to work out a new idea or how to extend my whistle voice, if you will.
I still have things I'd like to learn to do. And in fact, I am going to LA in the next couple weeks and there's a person there that has jazz vocal workshops.
And so I want to attend that. I find listening to other singers, which I do, I like to listen to other singers. And so I have a pretty extensive CD collection. And whether they're well known or local singers, it helps me think about what I like and what I can do, and I think I learn from them.
[00:23:23] Speaker A: When you were growing up, was your voice the first instrument of choice for you?
[00:23:28] Speaker B: Yes.
You know, playing an instrument and lessons weren't an option for me. It wasn't offered in school. There was no band.
Paying for lessons outside of. It wasn't an option in my family. And in seventh grade, I was asked by a music director from the local public school to stop by for some lessons. He'd heard me at the town hall in Riverside and said he thought he could help me. He talked to a friend of mine who went to public school and said, ask Hooky to come over after school one day. So I went over and I sang for him and he said, you know, he would just give me some lessons. So he gave me some pointers and had me learn a few art songs and taught me a more classical approach.
[00:24:17] Speaker A: How do you manage to juggle your work life and your personal life?
[00:24:22] Speaker B: Well, sometimes it's hard. I do have a company that does special events, so I have a day job. And it's very, very challenging.
But the music part is what, as I've mentioned, feeds my soul. And so when I'm performing, I guess my adrenaline kicks in and I have an awful lot of fun with my musicians or my audience, and I really enjoy it. So. So it's the day after that I pay if I have a late night gig and an early morning meeting. Sometimes I run into myself, but for the most part, it works out pretty good.
[00:25:02] Speaker A: Well, Cookie, it's been a pleasure talking with you this afternoon, and I'd like to thank you for coming by and sharing some of your thoughts with us today.
[00:25:15] Speaker B: Thanks, Randy. I really appreciate your taking the time and your support over the years.
