Focus Jeanie Barton

Article by Severine

We7 is proud to present to you one of our best singers from the Tastemaker section, Jeanie Barton. Her style is definitely jazz but mixed with a touch of Latin and some old-style bebop vocalese, it's just the perfect blend to relax after work, comfy in your sofa and with a glass of your favourite wine... Currently recording her first debut album, The Magical Mirror, Jeanie is also regularly gigging in London with her quartet and various other bands such as 'Jazz and Cocktails'. If you are around when she is Live, don't miss her, you won't regret it! We7 managed to catch up with Jeanie about her music and her projects to come.

The interview

Hi Jeanie, how are you today?

Very well thank you, rested from a few days cat sitting at my Auntie's farm in Nottingham.

You are currently recording your debut album "The Magical Mirror"; how is it going on?

It's getting there - 4 tracks are completed which you now have on your site and 6 more are currently being worked on, these are all new material that I have written. I might put a cover track on too for the jazz masses!

How would you describe your music?

Mmm, it definitely slots into the jazz genre; influenced by a mix of Latin grooves and Bebop but I would consider it easy listening also. I know that one is not best judged by their own recommendation so I would prefer to refer to what others have said about it: Shane MacGowan of The Pogues said "It's GREAT!! It's catchy as Hell!!!" when he listened on my mp3 player and John O'Neill, former jazz critic of The Sunday Times reviewed that "Jeanie's vocals are a touch of class with a sound that is both stylish and personal and characterized by a refreshingly English delive..." I like that.

How do you go about writing a song?

I go to Antigua. Ha ha, yes indeed the calmness of the Caribbean lets the creative floodgates open - I have written 5 songs there on 2 separate 2 week holidays with my partner. But I started writing when I was manager of a small furniture/gift store in Crouch End N8 - that was also a calm and peaceful place. Lyrics and melody seem to come all at once.

What do you prefer: recording or singing live?

Singing live is a great buzz as the effect is immediate and I love to make people happy and dance and really whip up the energy in the room... Recording is a fiddly thing but when it's complete and you're proud of it, it's so rewarding to hear in full something that just came out of yours and the musicians and the producer's brains - from nothing to everything - I will be proud to leave behind a body of work that will live on beyond me.

What made you want to be a singer?

It would be preferable to want to be a bank manager or an architect wouldn't it, but I feel I don't really have a choice in the matter - the singing and the music is just always inside banging on the door to be let out. I can't ignore it so I decided to run with it and see where it takes me. I loved from day dot singing along to musicals and tapes of Vera Lynn and Doris Day and Noel Coward etc in the car with my mum and dad...

I guess it really hit me when I was a kid in the musical Blitz, which Lionel Bart actually came to see, and there was one particular song called 'The Day after Tomorrow' sung by Vera that the cast join in with, snuggled up in the London underground station. It was so moving; I was just grabbed by her technique and emotion - I was hooked. Listening to these great singers taught me.

As a kid, did you always want to be a singer or did you have other dreams?

My family had a Transport company in Nottingham which was a very big affair in my youth; in fact, it is its centenary this year. Barton Transport and the buses were massive and I was so small - I did want to be a bus driver of course. I'm lucky; we still have many classic buses and cars so I do get to drive a lot of interesting vehicles!

What are your influences?

I like people watching. I'm influenced by everything I see and hear and particularly by relationships - lovers, friends, families, freaks! Things that make me think draw me in.

Who would you love to sing with?

Well, that's tricky, but I must say I have a large amount of respect for Michael Buble. I initially thought he was riding the Sinatra band wagon but some friends took me to see him at the Hammersmith Apollo and he was fab - sooooo funny (I like a good laugh) he's a real show man with his own style. I have heard him on Friday Night is Music Night too and he performed some songs that are very unusual and close to my heart, like 'You'll Never Know' also 'And When they Ask Us' - I like his choice of repertoire, his original material is great also.

What would be your perfect music venue?

Well, the prestige of playing Ronnie's and the big jazz places here and abroad would be fulfilling, but the venues I like most are those that capture the atmosphere of jazz as its meant to be - not constipated or museum like... I want to see people react and be involved; some of the smaller clubs further off the beaten tracks are great for that. I do have an ambition to be on Friday Night is Music Night though - so Michael, let me know if you want to duet!