Flying visit by a Canadian songbird

by Miriam Zolin

Canadian singer/songwriter Jennifer Szelag is planning a quick visit to Australia again in 2011. If you caught her on the last visit you’ll know what to expect, and in May and June you can catch her in Fremantle or the at Uptown in Melbourne. Clearly informed by the jazz idiom and comfortable in it, she thinks of herself more as a songstress and says voice is her first love. With a groundedness, an integrity about her performances, there’s a good chance you’ll come away from her gigs with a lighter heart, and a less furrowed brow.

We caught up with Jennifer by email a few days before her arrival and quizzed her on where she’s been, where she’s at and where she’s going to.

Miriam Zolin: How would you describe your music? Are you primarily a jazz performer?

Jennifer Szelag: I would say there has been a blend of influences; I listen to a lot of indie songstresses who have a mix of pop, rock, folk and electronica elements and I think that is where my own music is coming from. I have been performing jazz for years and I love it, but I am currently really enjoying writing and performing my own original music.

MZ: You play keyboards and you sing – any other instruments? What’s your first love?
JS: Funny you ask, I am always a bit embarrassed ot admit it but I play electric bass, but more the cheesy rock band electric bass (which I played in a cover band back home). Voice was my first love; I came to the piano a little later and I think I am still in the courtship phase!

MZ: How did you come to be a musician?
JS: I started singing in church choirs when I was little, my father and grandparents really encouraged me to. My family is full of artists (in their own way) – my brother is a great writer and film maker, my mother and father are both writers. I did most of my singing at school when I was young; it is where I first learned about music, but it was all in French at the time ( I went to a French Immersion school).

MZ: Who have been your main influences?
JS: I feel influenced by so much (especially lately). Just walking down the street in New York inspires me musically! I love the great songwriters–Neil Young, Joni Mitchell–but I listen to a lot of Icelandic music and feel very connected to music from that part of the world.

MZ: You write your own songs… what was the first one you wrote?
JS: When I was in highschool I first went into the studio to record a demo. It was my first experience at writing, I was collaborating and mostly writing lyrics. They were the silliest pop songs, but it was a great experience. Now I understand the discipline it takes to have a productive artistic process, So I try and oscillate between structured writing time and unexpected inspiration.

MZ: I hear you have a forthcoming CD release?
JS: I’ll be recording later this year.

MZ: Where have you been doing most of your recent work?
JS: I’ve been based in New York City for 3 years now and performing mostly here. Lately, I have been focusing on writing, with a few gigs here and there.

MZ: When you’re writing, what’s the best place to work?
JS: I like a quite room with a piano outside of my apartment. I usually will go to my old University.