A Bay Area native, Laurie Antonioli is a vocalist and educator. She grew up hearing singers like Nancy King and Mark Murphy in person, resulting in a musical personality that is both steeped in the jazz vocal tradition while influenced by the singer-songwriters of the 70s. After being recruited for a whirlwind tour by musician Pony Poindexter in the 80s, Laurie was one of the region’s most visible singers, performing regularly with Bobby McFerrin and sitting in with luminaries like Jon Hendricks and Cedar Walton at Keystone Korner. She went on to forge a long-running musical relationship with pianist Richie Beirach and delved deeper into jazz teaching, eventually returning from Europe to the Bay Area to run the Vocal Jazz Studies program at Berkeley’s California Jazz Conservatory. Laurie lives in Oakland, California, and has a 40-year-old daughter and two grandchildren, aged 8 and 5.
UK Jazz News: What is the best advice you received about balancing/juggling motherhood and career?
Laurie Antonioli: I never got any specific advice, but do have a crystal clear memory of being pregnant, riding in a car with Sheila Jordan (see Mothers In Jazz 27) , and telling her how nervous I was to have a baby. It was 1983, we were on the Bay Bridge, and I was wearing an oversized red sweater, looking like a giant tomato, weeks away from giving birth. She said “Everything is going to be okay,” in such a calm, matter-of-fact way that I believed her. She said that she and Jay Clayton had kids as well as music careers; it was all going to work out, not to worry, you’ll see! I realized that if they could do it, so could I! Sheila and I, turns out, have many things in common — from holding down day jobs in ad agencies, going into recovery, we both have daughters, not to mention our love of bebop and beyond! It was a divine gift of timing and synchronicity to have Sheila as a role model.
UKJN: What information or advice do you wish you’d received but didn’t (and had to learn through trial and error or on the go)?
LA: When you’re young you think you’re going to miss out if you’re not “on the scene” all the time. It’s just not true. Think about playing the long game – shoot for having a life in music – which could go on for 50 years or more. My first gigs happened when I was 16, so I’ve already done the first fifty! Maybe rather than thinking of having a music “career” consider having a “life in music” which can include children!
UKJN: Your top tip(s) for other mothers in jazz:
LA: Focus on your baby for the first few years — it’s such a precious time, and you won’t regret it. When they get a little older, you can take them to all kinds of musical events that you are involved in or as an audience member.
When my daughter, Mayana, was just two and a half weeks old, I sat in with Bobby McFerrin at the Great American Music Hall on New Year’s Eve! She was in a front-pack baby carrier and slept through the whole thing. By the time they’re four, you can take them with you; at least I did, to shows. Once, the two of us went to hear Art Blakey. Art came over to our table on the break and had quite the little conversation with her. She doesn’t remember it, but I do! Precious.
UKJN: Baby/child gear tips for travel/touring/gigging:
LA: The most helpful gear would be a significant other, a nanny or a grandparent! It’s definitely a two-person job!
UKJN: Best general travel/gigging/tour-with-child advice:
LA: If you have the energy and resources to take your baby/kids on the road – fantastic! It requires deep organizational skills, focus and endurance. Mostly, endurance! Personally, I wouldn’t want to have a baby on the road but if they were a little older, I could imagine it being a very cool experience for your child– something that would inform and enhance their lives as they watch you “work” playing music, traveling to unusual places, and problem-solving, because there’s always a problem to solve on the road, to name a few.
UKJN: What has surprised you about becoming a parent and remaining engaged with your professional activities and ambitions?
LA: Hmmm, not sure I’ve been surprised exactly – rather, I’m grateful for a beautiful daughter and grandchildren. Next week I get to attend my granddaughter’s first appearance in a musical theater production – we’ve been singing together since she was born and now she’s going to be on stage!
(*) Mothers in Jazz was started by vocalist Nicky Schrire. The initiative aims to create an online resource for working jazz musicians with children, those contemplating parenthood, and jazz industry figures who work with and hire musicians who are parents. The insight of the musicians interviewed for this series provides valuable emotional, philosophical and logistical information and support that is easily accessible to all. “Mothers In Jazz” shines a light on the very specific role of being both a mother and a performing jazz musician.
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Wonderful!