Take Five With Skii Harvey

Meet Skii Harvey:

Skii Harvey has been a life long singer/songwriter. Her voice has stopped the likes of Sting and Ricky May in their tracks but it is her songwriting that she holds most dear. Her second album Foolish Girl is a true journey, a journey in music and the story of a journey in life. A smooth blend of NuJazz with a rock/soul edge.

Instrument(s):

Singer/songwriter.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when...

I first added music to one of my poems. I was in my teens and quickly found myself pouring over music instead of hanging out with my friends. I would spend endless hours writing poems & short stories as well as tinkling with melodies on my piano. The marriage of the two inadvertently put me on the road to being a musician.

The first Jazz album I bought was:

Not exactly a jazz album but I certainly got my hands on the likes of the band Chicago through to Al Jarreau and Hall & Oates

What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?

Hopefully making people think. De-anesthetize us somewhat. We have experienced all there is, the pendulum has swung to both extremes. Nothing shocks or jars us anymore. We can see dead and dying children in a third world country or a shoot out in a local primary school on the 6 o'clock news and we feel nothing, no pain, shock, anger, disgust. Maybe momentary disbelief at times but nothing long term where it effects how we function, how we treat the next person with whom we interact. I can't exact change but even if one person really listens to the lyrics of my songs maybe they may stop and think what is she saying and if they see into the lyric maybe they will may make a change in themselves.

What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing?

Identifying jazz, nujazz, blues etc as equal categories to pop and rock. Granted sales equates top billing however as long as promoters & programmers continue to keep jazz in the niche markets then it will remain difficult for the general audience to stumble across. It's a case of educating the listeners. Once they have the variety and exposure from which to choose then the brilliance of jazz will do it's job and hook them!

What is in the near future?

I am now working on writing my next album whilst preparing for more and more opportunities to perform live. Also, Keep an eye out for the release of the new Music Video that we're filming in January!

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