Harvey Siders/Jazz Times
Once upon a time – don’t ask a singer when; she won’t
tell you anyway – a wee little King named Katie made an
impressive “debut” and the world soon discovered she had a
unique voice. This happened in Northern California, where,
thanks to her family, Katie heard lots of music at home:
mostly symphonic. At age eight, the little princess wisely
chose to follow how parents and siblings when they moved to
Eugene, Oregon. There, at eleven (she remembers the moment
with great clarity); Katie had an epiphany in a record store
when she first heard the haunting voice of Billie Holiday.
As Katie recalls, “I felt she was preaching to me and I was
the only one in the congregation. All my friends were into
rock then and they considered me some sort of freak.” From
that moment on, Katie concentrated on a hipper set of
“friends:” jazz singers she worshipped on a first-name basis
– Billie, Ella, Sarah and Carmen. They didn’t know at the
time, but they were the mentors who helped shaped Katie
King’s career…and still do. To her everlasting credit, Katie
is responsible for the instinctive way she became a
distillation of those four giants. |
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...In 1985, Katie
moved to Seattle, where her gradual acceptance into the
local jazz scene accelerated her learning experiences
personally and professionally. She was blessed by exposure
to very different accompanists. “Pianists Bob Nixon and
Billy Wallace had very different personalities and
approaches, but that kind of diversity so valuable to an
up-and-coming singer. They taught me so much. Bob spurred me
on to learn blues correctly; Billy had a thing about keeping
tunes in a particular realm.’ Jeff Johnson showed me how to
be in the moment; his passion blows my mind. Talk about
passion and soul: I’ll never forget how much Floyd Standifer
(trumpet and tenor) taught me about versatility, and playing
to a club. Those are just a few of the great Seattle
musicians I’ve worked with, but Seattle is such a great jazz
scene, I’m afraid I’ll leave out many important players:
pianist-arranger Bob Hammer; guitarist Veneet Davidson,
Harry Holbert; instrumental gap fillers such as trumpeter
Jay Thomas, saxophonist Rick Mandyck and Brian Kent, bassist
Clipper Anderson, Chris Clark and Mike Barnett, Combo Craig
( The most creative Craig Flory, Ron Weinstein and Mike
Stone) ; drummers Brian Kirk, Ken French, Reade Whitwell and
Steven Bentley. By the way Steve came up with name Sophia
for my daughter. My husband and I couldn’t come up with one
eight years ago. Watch out for that little ham. She’s always
singing and dancing. And there are newcomers like Chris
Symer, bass, and D’Vonne Lewis drums.” Katie also realizes
that the mechanics of her art are equally important.
“Maestro David Kyle was my techniques teacher, and another
wonderfully intense jazz instructor was Jerome Grey, who
taught me phrasing and timing.”
Now, Katie is gaining a well-deserved
reputation for her teaching skills. Her home in Renton a few
miles south of Seattle contains a comfortable, high-ceilinged
music room where she not only gives private piano lessons, but
also presides over a semi-private group of aspiring local jazz
singers. Katie also has classes at Seattle Central Community
College, where for nearly a dozen years she has been sharing
her on the job experiences with vocal students and emphasizing
breathing, rhythm, intonation, how to begin and end a song,
finding and remembering the right key for each tune, and above
all, how to use your uniqueness as your strongest tool.
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Considering King’s
growing consort and her expanding database of fans and
students, Katie is strengthening her bonds and spreading her
message throughout the Northwest venues. “I must have sung
in 90% of the clubs in this area. Some that stand out
include Dmitriou’s Jazz Alley, The Four Seasons, The
Fairmont Olympic, The Sheraton, Pampas Club at El Gaucho
(where I learned so much from Floyd), the KPLU Jazz Cruise,
Bumbershoot, Serafina’s, Tula’s and so many intimate
restaurants that I can’t remember them all, and, naturally,
all the weddings and private parties.
Looking ahead, Katie is gathering material for
CD #5. Her first four – Mostly Ballads, Jazz Figures, One
For My Baby and Side Trip – reveal quite a cross-section of
material, back-up musicians and production values. So Katie
can be relied on to take the necessary time to choose
carefully and not repeat herself in any way, except quality;
she has a reputation to maintain. She may surprise her
followers and eventually issue an album that on her most
desired goal: self accompaniment. If she succeeds it would
require navigating the less traveled road taken by Diana
Krall, Norah Jones and above all Katie’s idol, Shirley Horn.
“Ever notice how different they sounded, how personal their
singing became, when they played for themselves?”
If Katie masters that, she’ll be a complete,
self-sufficient: the usual array of colorful scarves and
wigs, plus those knowing blue/green eyes; the smoky,
sensuous voice, and of course the abilities to belt a jazz
live or tell a story with her insightful command of lyrics.
The constant that will most please her followers: a quality
known as (if you’ll pardon a dyslexic pun) the King of
swing.
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