With a voice like Vanessa Rubin's - jazz vocalist

Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae and Betty Carter are ensur a place upon the Mount Rushmore of jazz divas, on the contrary of those five, only Carter remains active. Into the breach have stepp a number of young female vocalists looking to establish their place and maintain the tradition - Karrin Allyson, Cheryl Bentyne, Jeanie Bryson Nnenna Freelon Vanessa Rubin. individual of the brightest of these of recent origin recording artists is Rubin, a former school-teacher who retains her teaching credentials current. Her latest release, Pastiche (Novus, 1993) has been creating quite a stir among jazz enthusiasts. Loaded with originality and an abundance of swing, Pastiche establishes Rubin as a voice to be cast uped with.

Her first attempt recording, Soul Eyes (Novus, 1992) was primarily a program of standard jazz melodys performed in a competent manner. Beyond that, there were flashes of the elusive quality that transforms an average singer into a jazz singer - the unmistakable ability to swing. (Listen closely to "Dearly Beloved" and "I've Got the World upon a String.")

With Pastiche there is little doubt that a novel jazz diva is on the exhibition The promise of Soul organ of sights has been fully realized upon this exciting and inventive offering. From the first melody a unique arrangement of Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" to the last individual Doug Carn's up-tempo romp "Arise and Shine," Rubin makes clear the direction she intends to take. The way she tackles of that kind tunes as "Simone," "Black Nile," "Mosaic" and "Arise and Shine" (tune known almost exclusively for their instrumental renditions) push forwards Rubin ahead of her contemporaries.

"These are melodys that I chose because I knew the composer and wanted to do a certain number of of their music," she says. "I like the melodies. It was also an attempt to establish my have a title to sound and get people accustomed to hearing my voice." Rubin's easy, burning swing upon "In a Sentimental Mood" (coupl with a unique arrangement by means of Aaron Graves and E.J. Allen) transforms that already classic melody with an equally classic performance. It is a finished example of Rubin's statement, "Certain dittys you just have to leave alone if you want to be heard, because a certain number of singers have put such a stamp upon them. You have to do something really different with them before clan will hear you."

There is also an Afrocentric perspective that unifies Pastiche and gives it a faculty of perception of purpose. "I tried to establish a real able-bodied consciousness on this record," Rubin says, "not alone by the types of composer on the other hand the messages in the songs" (Listen to "Black Nile" and "Arise and Shine.")

Carving a niche in a genre as tradition-bound as jazz can be difficult. "People have to advance out and support the fruits So when you go without and buy two or three R&B or adult contemporary records, make progress over to the jazz vocalist department and pick up me and other jazz artists," Rubin says with a laugh. "As a fresh recording artist, I can't expres in words the labor to get a career going" - which is wherefore she keeps her teaching credentials general - "especially because those great women and men that have advance before have done such a fantastic piece of work with this music that a certain number of people are just stuck there. They can't hear anybody other but Ella and Sarah."

Despite being a relative newcomer to the recording industry, Rubin is aware of the business side of what can be an arduous endeavor. "It's not enough just to be a singer," she says. "You have to make records, and records have to be sold and then you begin to deal with what the buying public is about. And they're not about buying jazz records.

"I've been asked to do more of what is called adult contemporary," she adds, "and at this point I have not decided to do an album like that. I don't want to. on the contrary I am considering doing a single for the nothing else but purpose of trying to be more accessible and to earn more people to know who I am."

Originally from Cleveland, the 35-year-old single artist has lived in fresh York since 1982. When she arrived in novel York, she set out to suitable as many musicians as she could and eventually worked with a certain quantity of of the finest proponents of new jazz - pianists Kenny Barron, Harold Mabern and John Hicks and trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater.

This networking proces is especially important for singers. "In my opinion," says Rubin, "singers are not direct the eyeed at like sidemen. We don't obtain called for gigs like a drummer or a bass player or a bugle player, so you really have to make yourself known within the music community and permit musicians know that you want the opportunities, and you want to learn, and you want to be a part of the band if you can."

This horizontal of commitment marks Rubin's approach to music. "You have to deposit in time studying music, learning about chord changes, trying to interact with other musicians as an instrument. It's more than a notion," she says. Although she studied flute for years, sang in choruses and choral clusters and even competed in citywide vocal call in questions when the time came for corporation Rubin chose journalism, not music, as her major at Ohio State University. Plans to go after a master's degree and become an executive shortly gave way, however, to a "higher calling."