Paula West

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Paula West

Background information
Birth name unknown
Born unknown
Origin San Diego, California, United States
Genre(s) Vocal jazz, Cabaret
Years active 1989–present

Paula West is an American jazz and cabaret singer known for her rich, powerful contralto voice and for her sensitive interpretations of an extraordinarily eclectic selection of songs ranging far beyond jazz standards and cabaret chestnuts.[1]

Contents

[edit] Early career

West was born and raised in the San Diego, California area, the daughter of a Marine Corps family. As a child she wasn't exposed to very much jazz music, as her father preferred classical music. She only started to explore jazz and jazz vocal music during college; these explorations became more serious and focussed when she moved to San Francisco after graduating from college. [2] She has also been at some pains in the past to note that "I never sang in church". [1]

She arrived in San Francisco around 1988-89 and worked as a waitress (indeed, she held one job or another waiting tables for several years until her singing career was well-established). During this time, she gradually started to appear at open mike jam sessions, during the course of which she met pianist Ken Muir, who would eventually become her long-time accompanist. She also undertook a program of serious vocal study while continuing to appear at local lounges. [3]

[edit] 1990s to present

As word of her unique talent spread through the Bay Area, West started to get one- and two-week residencies at San Francisco hotel lounges, most notably the Ritz-Carlton. During this period she started to refine the distinctive elements of her approach to the expectations placed upon jazz singer/cabaret performers: a careful attention to the lyrics of the songs ("I sing the verses," she was once quoted, "not just the chorus." [2]), an ability to sustain notes without use of vibrato, a sparing reliance on the hoary chestnuts of the genre, a willingness to reimagine the standards that she does perform [3], and an eagerness to identify worthy songs not usually found within the jazz/cabaret repertoire.

As an illustration of the last point, she has performed or recorded such non-standard songs as Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Mr. Tambourine Man", "If I Only Had A Brain" from The Wizard of Oz, The Beatles' "Fixin' A Hole", Ella Mae Morse's "Cow Cow Boogie", "Who Will Buy" from Oliver!, Bert Williams' turn of the (20th) century classic "Nobody", and Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", as well as "Danny Boy", to name but a few.

West performs predominately in clubs in San Francisco and New York, with occasional performances in Europe. For ten years she has held a one-month residency at the Empire Plush Room at the York Hotel in San Francisco. [4] She also has recurring engagements at the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel in New York.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Temptation (1997; self-released)

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Personnel

    • Paula West - vocals
    • [[Ken Muir - piano
    • Bill Douglass - bass
    • Robert Kaufman - drums
    • Brad Buethe - guitar
    • Dave Tidball - saxophone/clarinet
    • Allen Smith - trumpet
    • on "There's You", "You Came A Long Way From St. Louis", "You'll See", "Mountain Greenery", "Nice and Easy", "Tired", substitute Al Obidinski on bass and Tom Duckworth on drums.

[edit] Restless (1999; Noir Records)

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Personnel

    • Paula West - vocals
    • Ken Muir - piano (all except 4, 11)
    • Brad Buethe - guitar (3, 4, 8, 10, 11)
    • Al Obidinski - bass (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13); vocals (14)
    • Bill Douglass - bass (3, 4, 8, 10, 12)
    • Tom Duckworth - drums (all except 11)
    • Javier Navarrette - conga (1, 4, 7, 8)
    • Dave Tidball - saxophone (4, 6, 7, 8)
    • Noel Jewkes - saxophone (8, 10, 12)
    • Allen Smith - trumpet (1, 2, 5, 8)
    • Jeremy Cohen - violin (3, 8, 11)

[edit] Come What May (2001; Hi Horse Records)

[edit] Track listing

    • Caravan/Night In Tunisia (Duke Ellington/Irving Mills/Juan Tizol/Dizzy Gillespie/Frank Paparelli/Jon Hendricks) - 5:27
    • The Snake (Oscar Brown, Jr.) - 3:27
    • Big Stuff (Leonard Bernstein) - 3:39
    • Day In, Day Out (Rube Bloom/Johnny Mercer) - 5:25
    • Laura (David Raskin/Johnny Mercer) - 6:10
    • Blues In The Night (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer) - 8:19
    • You Fascinate Me So (Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh) - 4:28
    • Lush Life (Billy Strayhorn) - 5:27
    • Them There Eyes (Maceo Pinkard/Doris Tauber/William Tracey) - 3:35
    • You Will Be Loved (Murray Grand) - 5:35
    • Looking For A Boy (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) - 5:01
    • Here Lies Love (Ralph Rainger/Leo Robin) - 5:21
    • Bye Bye Blackbird (Ray Henderson/Mort Dixon) - 4:23
    • I Remember You (Victor Schertzinger/Johnny Mercer) - 6:45

[edit] Personnel

[edit] External links


[edit] References

  1. ^ "Margo Jefferson on Paula West", liner notes to Paula West, Come What May (2001).
  2. ^ "Margo Jefferson on Paula West", liner notes to Paula West, Come What May (2001).
  3. ^ "Reflections with Philip Elwood and Sheila Jordan", liner notes to Paula West, Temptation (1997).
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