London-based Perth singer Jasmine Nelson has taken out second place at the Brussels Young Jazz singers competition. Fellow Australian Karlie Bruce came third.
Jasmine was also a finalist at this year’s Montreux Jazz Voice Competition, won by Australian Kristin Berardi.
Jasmine takes up the story …
It was held in the heart of Brussels with 12 singers performing for the semi-finals held between 3-6 of October. The finalists were announced on the 6th and performed on the 7th.
The semi-finals were held in The Music Village Jazz Club – a club that had a great atmosphere to meet and get to know the organisers and the other singers in the competition. It was a very friendly place.
Paul Huygens, the owner of the club and coordinator of the competition, and Ysabel Vangru, the other organizer, were very welcoming and passionate about the whole thing.
For the semi-finals we all had to sing a 45-minute set at the club to a packed audience and the jury. We also had to include a song by a European composer in our set. The jury was:
Sheila Jordan
David Linx
Georgia Mancio
Marc Van den Hoof
Pascal Anquetil
It was a wonderful performance opportunity for us. The trio who we played with were absolutely amazing – pianist Sabin Todorov, bassist Sal La Rocca, and drummer Lionel Beuvens. They were a blessing to play with.
The finals were announced on Friday night. Myself (23), polish singer Grzegorz Karnas (35), and fellow awesome Australian singer Karlie Bruce (24) were chosen. Karlie and I were very proud and surprised Aussies!
The finals were held in a concert hall in Brussels called Ancienne Belgique, or the AB. We had a great audience and each had to sing a 25-minute set. That night we were lucky enough to see all the judges perform, including the legendary Sheila Jordan. A real inspiration.
Grzegorz Karnas was placed first, I was got second place , and Karlie Bruce third. We each won a cash prize and also a season at the music village jazz club next year.
The competition is only in its second year, but I think it will grow to be hugely popular. To be able to sing a full 45-minute set in a real jazz club and with such passionate and welcoming organisers was a really good base for a competition, I felt. The age limit for the competition is 35. It was also great fun to hang out in Belgium for a few days and enjoy the pomme frites and chocolat.
As for now, I am hoping to put together an album in the next year. I am just working on my own arrangements and compositions for that album. I’m just looking forward to more work. I’ve only been in London now for nine months but hoping to eventually travel a lot more throughout Europe to perform. Meeting other musicians and singers in Brussels was great and it’s good to have some new contacts.
