Studio recording is an entirely different art to performing live. When performing live one can engage with an audience, and can change the performance according to the audience's reaction. Hand movements and facial expressions enhance certain parts of the music, as well as adding to the meaning of lyrics.
Therefore, without the help of hand movements, facial expressions, and the live 'buzz,' a recording session must somehow capture the magic of performance whilst being as musically perfect as possible (this is, after all, an immortalisation of one's songs). It's difficult!
Another problem that a singer must overcome is to listen to themselves on record and accept its sound. There aren't many singers, particularly in jazz, who will tell you that they prefer listening to their recordings than singing live. Somehow, a live performance is always 'easier,' and a recorded session needs 100 more percent effort to come across with the same intensity of delivery. One thing that has made me realise this particularly is that when watching videos of myself on YouTube (for learning purposes, not as a vain hobby!!), my perception of the performance is far less when listening to audio only. It seems that, when watching the picture, one can forgive any mishaps in the music, but when the picture is taken away, the ear is not so forgiving.
So, in time, I will learn to enjoy listening to myself on recording - either by accepting that that's just how I sound on tape, or by striving to achieve a 'live' sound in a recording studio.

 People have recently been asking me about my background in vocal training and how I came to be a jazz singer.

I have never had any formal training, although in my late teens I had several lessons with a family friend (Alison Bryan) who taught me things about vowel pronounciation and breath control which shaped and improved my singing technique. This had a classical focus - Alison was not a jazz fan - but it was an essential and valuable education.

I grew up in a household listening to Radio 3 and The Carpenters. Many jazz musicians spend their childhood with Ella Fitzgerald or Miles Davis in the background, but my parents were not into jazz, nor were they very knowledgeable on the subject (my Dad had never heard ‘My Funny Valentine’ until I sang it at a gig last year). In fact, when singing at a choir rehearsal once we were singing an arrangement of ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye’ and I remember thinking ‘This isn’t how it’s supposed to go!’ I longed to be freer with the melody - putting an emphasis on the important lyrics. The jazz was in me!

My secondary school housed a jazz band (North Herts Youth Jazz Orchestra) for weekly rehearsals, and I joined as a flautist (although it started off as a way to kill time whilst waiting for a driving lesson. I soon changed my driving lesson time!). One day the singer was absent. I thought to myself, ‘Well, I can sing,’ but had never before sung jazz, or listened to anyone singing jazz, so I wish I’d thought twice before volunteering. The song was Billie Holiday’s beautiful ballad ‘Don’t Explain.’ I’m good at sight-reading, so I sang exactly what the copy said - complete with full semi-breves and crotchets rigidly in time. Where had my inner-jazzer gone?! The following week, the band’s singer returned and sang it properly. I was very embarrassed at the thought of my attempt! But still I didn’t learn. Another time the singer was absent and this time the song was ‘Wave,’ a Jobim bossa. The melody on the copy starts on a B above middle C, and quickly rises to a top G/A. As I shrieked out the notes, the bandleader stopped the rehearsal and quickly relegated me back to my flute seat.

My first exposure to real jazz was hearing an old NYJO album - Shades of Blue and Green - which I found to be a fine record: exciting, moving, thrilling and awesome. By this time I had made new friends with other jazz musicians, and they introduced me to recordings of Natalie Cole, Carmen McCrae, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee and Sarah Vaughan. My jazz education had begun. It soon developed with the discovery of Nancy Wilson, Shirley Horn and Kurt Elling.

As a professional I have had lessons from several singers whom I admire and find inspiring, including Claire Martin and Georgia Mancio. And still I continue to learn - at every gig I go to you’ll find me scribbling notes at particularly inspiring moments. I try to listen to a wide range of vocalists performing different genres, so that I might emulate the things I enjoy about what I’m listening to.

Hopefully in the future, young singers will be listening to me for the same reason!

 To start 2010 in style, I spent an evening at Ronnie Scott's listening to the outstanding singer, Gill Manly. She was doing a tribute to Nina Simone. Gill is someone whose singing is superb in every style - whether it be a heart-breaking ballad, or a swinging bop tune. In fact, on my iPod shuffle today, her version of Ellington's 'Daydream' made me stop on the King's Cross Station concourse and turn up the volume... and play it twice in a row.

Read my review of the performance here:
http://londonjazz.blogspot.com/2010/01/review-gill-manly.html 

Thursday 18th February
Pizza on the Park, 11 Knightsbridge, London SW1
8:30 start (doors open 7pm)
Booking is advised: 08456 027017 or www.pizzaexpresslive.co.uk
Darren Altman (drums), Rick Simpson (piano), Matt Ridley (bass)
We will be previewing material from my new album - and I will be able to sign exclusive pre-release copies after the performance and during the interval.

Wednesday 17th March
ALBUM LAUNCH
The official launch of my album, this gig will feature the quartet and a special appearance from vibes virtuoso Jim Hart.
I will be signing copies of my album during the interval and after the performance. The show starts at 7:30, and will be finished by 10pm, giving you a chance to catch a train home in reasonable time! Either this, or stay to catch the late-night band.
606 club, 90 Lots Road, London SW10 0QD
7:30 start (doors open 6pm)
Booking is strongly advised: 020 7352 5953 or www.606club.co.uk
Darren Altman (drums), Rick Simpson (piano), Tom Farmer (bass), Jim Hart (vibes)
The club has excellent food at fair prices.

Sunday 21st March
Hugo’s restaurant, 25 Lonsdale Road, London NW6 6RA
8pm
Book a table: 020 7372 1232

I'm very excited about two forthcoming gigs collaborating with the brilliant arranger/composer/trumpeter/band leader Mark Armstrong. You can view all the gig details at www.sarahellenhughes.co.uk/gigs, or please find below a chronological list.

Saturday 31st October (that's practically November!)
Wycombe Swan with the Mark Armstrong Big Band.
Charity gig.
7:30 start, £20/15/10 tickets.

Friday 6th November
Blackheath Halls with the Mark Armstrong Quartet.
Charity gig.
8pm start, £35 (which includes a £20 donation to the charities)

Sunday 29th November
The Bull's Head, Barnes, with NYJO's Tomorrow's Face.
8:30 start, £10 entry.

 Last Monday, I went to see the incredible Earl Okin, and write a review on his performance for LondonJazz. Coincidentally, the following night I was talking to my pianist and he asked if I had heard of this amazing guy... Earl Okin?! He's obviously the man of the moment. Read my review here: http://londonjazz.blogspot.com/2009/10/review-earl-okin.html

 

On Saturday 31st October I'll be singing with Mark Armstrong's big band at the Wycombe Swan, High Wycombe. Also featured will be the phenomenal Atila Huseyin - 'more Sinatra than Sinatra.'

All details can be found on the Wycombe Swan website which is here:

 

http://www.wycombeswan.co.uk/wrt-productions_details.asp?pid=3271

 

This will be a marvelous night of music making, with all proceeds going to 3 excellent charities. Please come and support us!

I've been invited by Sebastian Scotney of the LondonJazz blog to add to his collection of reviewers.  I'm focussing on singers, as Sebastian is interested to hear my point of view from a singer's perspective.  Last week, I went to see Eva Abraham at the Jazz Cafe.  My review can be read here:
http://londonjazz.blogspot.com/2009/09/review-eva-abraham.html 

I'm just recovering from a pop gig, although from where the band was standing it was more funk. As a jazz singer I guess I used to be opposed to singing in the pop style - as doesn't that 'undermine' one's integrity as a jazz artisit? But I've got used to it, in terms of being expected to be able to sing pop when requested - as a professional singer I have learnt that I need to be versatile enough to translate my voice into a variety of styles without the listener thinking: "Isn't she a jazz singer trying to sing pop?"

 

I've also learnt that the more I sing it, the better I get at it, and the more I enjoy it. A happy circle!

 

As well as that, the better the musicians around you, the more I am likely to elaborate upon the original melody or words, giving it the 'Sarah Ellen Hughes' treatment! That's always enjoyable, and that was certainly the case last night.

 

I've grown to accept that the chord sequences aren't particularly daring or interesting in some pop tunes (although Just the two of us is always a surprising treat) - and I guess the rest of the band think the same too - but the delight being able to groove along to a bit of Stevie Wonder or Abba and not quite knowing where it's going is certainly worth a break from my jazz repertoire.

 

So is singing pop undermining jazz? - I certainly don't think so, and neither, it seemed, did the audience!

 

SEH - Sunday 13th September - 2pm - still in pyjamas!

 

 On Tuesday 28th April, SEH Soul will be performing as a 10-piece band at Watch This Space - a showcase for music acts.

Please see the SEH Soul page on this website for details.