This Sunday 8th May is Mother’s day, so why not treat her to something special – an evening with the incredible vocal stylings of the lovely and talented Jasmine Nelson at the third concert in the Jazz Windows Series.

And it will be great music and great value, with ticket prices now reduced to only $9 for JAZZWA and Jazz Club members.

Some of Perth’s top musicians Mike Nelson (piano), Linda Oh (bass), Mike Pigneguy (drums), Mat Jodrell (trumpet), Roger Garrood (alto sax, tenor sax, flute) and Catherine Noblet (trombone) will grace the stage to perform Jasmine’s original compositions and accompany her while she sings some standard songs from her fabulous repertoire.

Jasmine’s original compositions for Jazz Windows are based on the work of Chester Eagle, an accomplished author of short stories and poems. A friend of Jasmine’s came across Chester who was giving away copies of his book “Love in the Age of Wings” to students. After reading the collection libretto’s she decided to compose a few pieces for her honours degree.

Jasmine says “Chester is a really great guy, he’s so cool! We’ve become really good friends.” He is also a man to who she talks to a lot about inspiration, “Inspiration I guess for me comes from emotions and feelings and stuff like that and in this case it came from Chester’s books. Sometimes people forget that you’re trying to make someone feel something. Whenever I sing or write something I’m trying to think how it makes me feel or could make someone else feel.”

Other times Jasmine turns to music to find her inspiration, “I can spend a whole day listening to one piece of music on repeat. The way the notes are played and the rhythm puts you in this mood and makes you feel a certain way and I can’t get enough of it. After listening to lots and lots of music like that, it just makes you want to do that yourself.”

Jasmine started her love affair with music early, listening to the world music, jazz and blues that her parents played in the house. She began playing the piano at a young age and then in high school took up the clarinet, focusing initially on classical music. It was then that she met Mike Nelson (no relation I am told), one of Perth’s most respected jazz pianists, who taught her jazz piano for three years. Since then she went on to obtain her honours degree at WAAPA (majoring in performance and composition) and to play with some of Australia’s finest talent.

The week after the Jazz Windows concert, Jasmine will be off to Europe for a few weeks to check out the music scene over there and do some travelling around which she believes will be inspiring in itself.

Jasmine is also a member of the West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra (WAYJO) and regularly sings and composes for them. At the moment WAYJO is in the process of fundraising for a trip to the IAJE Conference in New York. “About four of us have been asked to compose a piece for New York. We’re actually playing at a jazz convention which is really exciting for us. We’ve all just finished ours and we’re rehearsing with the band at the moment. It’s such a fantastic opportunity for all of us.”

One of the amazing things about Jasmine is that she only started really singing a few years ago when she was at university after gaining Sue Bluck as a mentor from the Sisters in Jazz program, following Mike Nelson’s suggestion that should should take part. They still keep in contact and often ring each other to talk about different types of music.

As a young singer, Jasmine is still working on defining her own sound, taking songs from the standard repertoire and adding her own individual touch. When it comes to composing, she incorporates a mix of a range of influences such as the piano and clarinet and all the multitude of jazz and cross-genre styles that are around. “That’s what I love about it – taking a classic tune and arranging it in a new kind of jazz groove kind of style.”

Although hard to believe, Jasmine says that she is still learning how to sing and compose (even though she sings every week and has her honours in composing). One thing is for sure though, no one could ever doubt her passion and love for what she does. With every mention of music her eyes light up and speech rate increases rapidly so you too get caught up in her enthusiasm and listen intently to the story of one girls love affair with music.

So come along on Sunday to Jazz Windows and experience that passion for yourself through the music and arrangements of Jasmine Nelson.

Article by Gemma Laidler

Jazz Windows Concert 3
Sunday May 8, 5pm
Music Auditorium, WAAPA
2 Bradford Street
Mount Lawley
Tickets $9, ($4 students)

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Hash Varsani is the owner of The Jazz Directory, a network of sites related to jazz, travel and everything else he loves. He also runs a selection of jazz related sites including Jazz Club Jury, a jazz club and festival review site. Check out his Google+ Profile, to see what else he's up to...probably setting up another website from one of his many passions.

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