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Patty Peterson

About Me

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because, I grew up in a musical family. My parents were very gifted keyboardists (organ and piano) and my mother was a fine jazz vocalist. The music of their day was the Great America Songbook, and they played it in the home with rehearsals, writing sessions, and played LPs of favorite artists. They were also featured on our local CBS station, WCCO Radio, as live staff musicians and singer for not only the musical numbers between talk segments, but the commercials that were performed live for products that advertised on the radio. There were 5 kids in my family, and each one of us took up the art of jazz ( an other styles) from a very early age. My siblings -Linda, Billy, Ricky, Paul and me- perform to this day in various group configurations, but the ones we love to work with the most is "The Peterson Family", meaning us. We make it a point to do a concert at least 3 times a year as a family. The art of jazz has trickled down into the 3rd generation as well, so a concert by the Petersons is a multi generational experience. (www.petersonfamilymusic.com) I met Ira Sullivan, the multi instrumentalist ( on horns) at my first jazz recording session in 1986. We recorded live in the studio along with David Hazeltine on piano, Billy Peterson (my brother) on bass, and Kenny Horst on drums. We recorded 5 songs live in the studio direct to beta-max 2 track. Ira and all of the musicians were so kind to this newer "green" jazz singer who was more used to performing R&B/soul hits in the first part of her career. They created wonderful arrangements in the studio that day, and being well acquainted with the songs and the melodies, they let me go with what I felt, vocally. That CD is called "The More I See You" released in 1989 and it also included saxophonist, Bobby Rockwell. Each song was done live in the studio, giving you that concert feel. I had to live with, and be happy with what I sang in the moment, . . which I was. . . but to this day, those charts are timeless and I perform them often, I often find myself going for a lot of the same licks I sang during that session. Ira and I worked together especially well with "This Can't Be Love" and "Nature Boy", with fun play between the two of us. My advice to new listeners...find music that pleases your ear. Jazz is often featured in movies and TV shows. That might be the way you get introduced to an artist that you would like to follow. I would say, purchase their CDS, but if you are of the streaming ilk, wonderful artists are available in many formats to listen to. Another idea is, if you have favorite Holiday songs such by older artists i/e Nat Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, branch out and see what else they have that might suit your liking. Once you begin to discover artists that you realize you have listened to your whole life, the more of a love you will find for this type of music. As a matter of fact, did you realize that the pianist behind the Charlie Brown's Christmas show "Christmas Time Is Here" is none other than Vince Guaraldi? Now there's a great start for any new listener of jazz!