Have you ever thought about what
happened to live jazz? There are a few venues in
Chicago and across the country that still cater to
customers who want to be entertained rather than
leaving home to listen to someone else do
something you can do yourself; spin records or
should I say CD’s?
There was a time
when live jazz music was standard entertainment in
clubs and restaurants and recorded music the
exception. So what changed? I believe there are
many factors that play into this shift to the “DJ”
age. Our lives have changed and so have our
priorities and support for the arts. Many of our
public schools no longer provide education in the
arts. When funds were cut, physical education and
music were the first to go.
We now rely on
what is presented to us by the record industry to
dictate what we should see as popular music. Jazz
is the only African American Art form having been
established from spirituals to blues and rag time
and this art form must be kept alive. This
requires supporting our artists, all of them. Not
just the ones we all know about; the famous more
successful artists whose names are now well known
in households across the globe; but those who need
us to make a living; the people like you and me;
those who have chosen this profession for the love
of it.
I recently left the corporate world
to pursue my dream of performing full time. I have
met so many wonderful women who travel throughout
the world fulfilling their dream. Traveling the
world entertaining may sound glamorous but it is a
sacrifice that is rarely considered. These are
hard-working women who are amazing
performers.
Over the next several months we
will present a few of the wonderful African
American women I have met during my travels who
perform jazz at home and abroad. We will address
why they have chosen the profession, why some have
chosen to work and/or live outside the country and
what they expect in the future for their career.
Allow me to introduce you to an
incredible performer and friend, Mandy Gaines.
Mandy originates from Cincinnati, Ohio and has
been performing professionally since 1987. She
started singing in school, church, and theatre
productions. Her professional career began by
performing in clubs, “sitting in” with local bands
until she was asked to join one of Cincinnati's
most popular party bands, The Modulators.
Although Mandy currently performs jazz,
she started out with soul, rhythm and blues, pop,
and original music. In 1984, Mandy was hired to
perform the theme song to a PBS television movie
directed and written by Gordon Parks. In 1987, she
was hired as a key vocalist for Dinner Theatre
Review Show and was invited to Taipei, Taiwan to
be lead vocalist in a cross cultural music group
sponsored by Coca-Cola. It was her trip to Taipei
that began her international singing career and
many of her current international contacts
resulted from her trip to Taipei.
Today,
Mandy performs jazz all over the world having
performed most recently in Africa, Europe and
Asia. Traveling as one can imagine can be a lot of
fun. Far too many people have never had the chance
to travel outside of their city not to mention the
country so the opportunity to travel the world is
certainly a blessing; but with all good come
sacrifice.
Mandy’s travel schedule does
not affect life at home; however, she does miss
her family and friends and it is a challenge to
adapt her schedule around events. Mandy says she
would like to be a part of weddings and family
reunions and as hard as she tries to negotiate her
schedule around these events; she still misses far
too many.
I asked Mandy in light of the
personal sacrifices she makes why does she
continue to maintain her travel schedule? She
responded, “Singing means everything to me. Music
is a powerful healing force in my life and it
gives me a lot of peace, comfort, joy and
excitement and I like to share that with my
audiences.” It is clearly a love for the music
that keeps her going and although she was able to
sustain herself working in Cincinnati, Mandy says
the city is just so big and it is nice to be away
and come home and check out new clubs or new bands
that have emerged while on the
road.
Mandy’s career on the international
front is successful as she continues to be invited
back annually to venues where she has performed
and her roster continues to grow. I asked Mandy
about the challenges she face as an artist and as
an African American Women traveling. She replied,
“I don't really feel that I've encountered a lot
of challenges as an African American woman. Sure
there are daily challenges with the travel,
language barriers, and different cultures but as a
vocalist, the music generally speaks for itself
and it seems that outside of America, places where
I perform seem to “get” the fact that Jazz is a
true African American Art Form and to keep it
authentic, they continue to hire me.”
This
writer believes Mandy is being much too modest;
yes the authentic presentation of the music is
important; but I have seen Mandy perform and I
suspect she continues to be hired because she is
incredibly talented!
Mandy generally books
herself. She maintains her contacts and often gets
new contacts from new bookings. She is currently
booked a year in advance. Her career goals
include: to continue to perform, record, work with
other noted artists, and appear in more music
festivals throughout the world. She would also
like to return to theatre productions.
Mandy’s 2006 schedule will begin in Asia
through the spring, Europe for the summer and back
to Asia for the winter and holidays. Learn more
about Mandy Gaines at her website:
http://www.mandygaines.com and visit Bahiyah
Woman’s listening room to hear a sample of Mandy’s
music. To book Mandy, email her at:
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There was a time
when live jazz music was standard entertainment in
clubs and restaurants and recorded music the
exception. So what changed? I believe there are
many factors that play into this shift to the “DJ”
age. Our lives have changed and so have our
priorities and support for the arts. Many of our
public schools no longer provide education in the
arts. When funds were cut, physical education and
music were the first to go.
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