The following is jazz journalist Morgan Enos’s interview with singer April May Webb, winner of the 13th Annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. The so-called SASSY Awards took place on 24 November, and Webb won out against Syndee Winters (second place), Georgia Heers (third place), Angélique Nicolas, and Amira B.
The competition was judged by jazz royalty Christian McBride, Madeleine Peyroux, Bill Charlap, Lisa Fischer, and Terri Lyne Carrington. Links to Webb’s website, and to that of the SASSY Awards, can be found at the end of this article.
Three years ago, Sounds of A&R – April May Webb’s duo with her husband, Randall Haywood – released their album Questions Left Unanswered.
A suitably easygoing, dialogic work between the couple, the title nonetheless held: In all her immense capability demonstrated solo and with S.O.A.R., what else could Webb accomplish standing alone? She just offered a resounding reply: Webb just took home one of the highest honours possible for a jazz singer.
It’s a milestone in a career full of them: she was the first Black woman to graduate from the jazz program at William Paterson University. Two years ago, the American Music Abroad selected S.O.A.R. as one of ten ensembles selected to represent The United States as U.S. Cultural Ambassadors.
“I’ve been doing this for a very long time. I have three albums out with my band. I have two solo albums out,” Webb reflects. “So, sometimes you just need that attention grabber for people that literally just didn’t know who you are. You’re now getting that exposure.”
Read on for a full interview with the ascendant vocalist.
UK Jazz News: How are you feeling? This must feel pretty surreal.
April May Webb: I’m still letting my mind process everything right at the moment. I’ve been applying for 10 years to be in the Sarah Vaughan competition, so to get it now – after hearing no for a decade – is very mind-boggling.
UKJN: Hence the word “must.” You’ve been working at this consistently, forever.
AMW: Yes, this didn’t happen overnight. This has been long, continuing, an ongoing progress of always learning.
UKJN: Can you explain what you performed, and why?
AMW: I really thought through the pieces that I wanted to select. I wanted everything to feel organic, as if this was my set; this was my show, for the three songs I was allotted.
So, I began with John Coltrane’s ‘Giant Steps’. That is such an intricate and difficult tune, and I wanted to challenge myself. I was like, If I can pull this off, somehow . . . I was very proud of myself for choosing that tune, and then being able to execute it.
The second piece was ‘‘Round Midnight.’ I’ve been able to tour with T.S. Monk [drummer Thelonious Sphere Monk III], and we would always do the music of his father. ‘‘Round Midnight’ was our closer for every set.
It was such a spiritual piece for me to do, because the opportunity that I had touring with Monk was very monumental in my development as an artist and vocalist.
I closed with an original, at the heart of who I am as an artist. I am a singer/songwriter. I love writing my own material; I love to showcase how I view the world through music. So, I wrote this particular song, ‘Cottonwood Tree.’
I started writing it five years ago, but I didn’t finish it til last year. It really is a piece that describes my transition from North Newton, Kansas, where I’m originally from – a very small town, population of around 1,700 – to New Jersey.
It was such a culture shock: I would find myself going back home just to regroup and get myself together, and then heading back to New Jersey.
One of the times I was home, I was sitting in the backyard of my family home, and in the middle of it is this giant cottonwood tree. It’s been this staple of beauty in our backyard: this huge tree, providing so much shade. It’s just a beautiful piece of nature.
I was sitting under it, and it was a fall day, and the leaves were falling down around me. The air was crisp, and I remember thinking to myself, Man, I’m finding what I need sitting under this cottonwood tree. And the writer in me was like, Let me jot that down, because it might become a song!
Behold: it is a song. And I wanted to share that with the audience, because it really showcases who I am, not only musically, but in the storyline of it. It seemed like it resonated with a lot of people.
UKJN: Sometimes, it seems like there’s an unfair delineation between artists who sing original material, and don’t.
AMW: I’ve been writing since I was in high school, so that was always natural for me. I’ve also written for other people. So, I’ve always been married to the fact that I love doing arrangements, and writing other people’s compositions – but there’s nothing like personally doing my own music, because it really is my artistry.
UKJN: Can you dive deeper into tackling ‘Giant Steps’ as a vocalist? Because that’s insane.
AMW: So, I’ve got myself a coach. He’s my husband, but he is a Juilliard-trained, well-renowned trumpeter, and his name is Randall Haywood.
We have a group together [Sounds of A&R], so we’re always collaborating. I told him, “I want to tackle ‘Giant Steps’.” He was like, “Alright, let’s sit down at this piano and tackle it. Let’s go through the changes.” And that’s what we did. It was very gruelling and time consuming, but it was very worth it.
UKJN: Where do the judges, like Bill Charlap and Christian McBride, fit into your musical universe?
AMW: It’s crazy, because I graduated from William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. At the time, [pianist] Mulgrew Miller was over the programme, up until he passed, but Bill Charlap is now in that position. So, we had that direct relationship there.
At the competition, [Charlap] was speaking words of wisdom. It was very endearing. All of the judges are Grammy winners, so you’re literally getting feedback and recognition from those who are literally at the top of their game – and at the top of the game.
UKJN: Regarding your immediate competitors, is there anyone you want to shout out?
AMW: I enjoy every last one of the performers in the final list, and we’ve created [a kind of] sisterhood. Because when you’re in this kind of competition, it really is taxing on your mind.
So, we were all a support system backstage, listening to one another, encouraging one another, speaking life into one another. We’ve all exchanged information, and we’re all looking forward to collaborating with one another.
UKJN: You’re the first Black woman to graduate from the jazz programme at William Paterson University. Any thoughts on that, perhaps refracted through this experience?
AMW: You know, I decided to go to William Paterson because my two older brothers went there too. We all studied in that programme, and I knew that’s where I needed to study, because Mulgrew was there at the time.
I think when you choose a university to attend, you need to look at who is there, and what you feel like you can learn from those individuals.
I am so grateful that I chose that school, because I was able to experience the last days of his teaching – literally – and soak up all of that information [as Miller died in 2013].
I’m always thinking about things Mulgrew Miller said, and one of the things I’m always reminded of is that when you’re playing music or improvising, you want to know where you are, but you also want to know where you’re going.
I took that with life, too. Like, you want to be in the moment – know where you are – but you also have to have the foresight to see where you’re going.
UKJN: So, where are you going?
AMW: I am going to continue doing what I love. And that is writing music; that is performing that music; that is collaborating with other musicians.
I feel shifts happening in my career, as people are now starting to reach out to me. That has been a little overwhelming, in a good way; all of the responses and congratulations that I’ve been getting. It’s very endearing.
I want to capitalise on that and keep pushing forward, and I’m definitely working on dropping some new material at the top of the year.
