A bunch of weeks ago, I was roaming around YouTube when I ran into Tracye Eileen singing Black Cow, a Steely Dan song from their Aja album in 1977. I was blown away. With her deep, rich voice, Tracye had nailed Donald Fagen and Walter Becker's song and intent perfectly. I wondered if she was planning a Steely Dan songbook album. So I asked. Before I continue, let me share with you what I encountered [photo above of Tracye Eileen, courtesy of Tracye Eileen]:
Here's her studio recording of Black Cow...
And here's Tracye live at Buddy Guy's in 2017, click the “Watch on YouTube” link in the box below (Black Cow is the second song)...
Tracye has recorded four albums—her first, Love's Journey, in 2012. Why Did I Say 'Yes?' followed in 2018. In 2020, she released It's Time, a smooth jazz album of originals. Her latest is You Hit the Spot (Honey Crystal), an album of songbook standards. Here's Tracye singing It's Almost Like Being in Love...
Recently, I caught up with Tracye by email:
JazzWax: Where did you grow up in Chicago?
Tracye Eileen: I grew up on the South Side of Chicago in a neighborhood just west of where Michelle Obama grew up. My parents were music lovers. In fact, they met in high school in drum-band class. My father became a very talented jazz drummer and percussionist. He almost went on tour with Count Basie but had been drafted. A week before the tour, he was sent to Vietnam. My dad was a straight-ahead drummer and so smooth. Through the years, before I began to sing professionally, I sat in with his band to sing a few songs. In more recent years, he sat in with mine. I wish he had lived to hear my new album, You Hit the Spot. He would have loved it.
JW: And your mom?
TE: Mom had a vast collection of albums. I grew up listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Dionne Warwick, Nina Simone and many other wonderful artists. I was a lead vocalist in my church choir for more than 30 years. The experience helped me with my vocals and my confidence as a performer. I was blessed being a soloist on a 10-city church-choir gospel tour in Switzerland about 15 years ago. It was a blast.
JW: What album had the biggest influence on you?
TE: My favorite jazz vocal album growing up was Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley (1962). I loved the way Nancy interpreted a song and told a story as she sang it. I also loved her look and the sound of Cannonball’s alto saxophone with her vocals. Just awesome! Nancy, Billie Holiday and later Ella Fitzgerald were my biggest inspirations and helped shape the singer I am today.
JW: Did you sing in high school?
TE: Yes, but the school's Jazz Band was small. We performed traditional jazz standards as well as soul and R&B songs popular then. After I graduated, I attended Jackson State University as a business major. While there, as a soloist, I performed standards with the jazz orchestra. I also fell in love with Billie Holiday’s recordings. Lady Sings the Blues, the 1972 movie about Billie Holiday, starring Diana Ross, was my first introduction to Billie. I was mesmerized by the way she interpreted a song, and I loved her elegance. [Photo above of Tracye Eileen, courtesy of Tracye Eileen]
JW: Who was a game-changing professor for you?
TE: Dr. Goree was the jazz orchestra leader and motivated me not only by turning me on to American songbook standards but also by helping me get a job singing on Sunday evenings with a well-established jazz band in town. The band was made up of much older artists than me. I also won the campus-wide university talent show singing a tune by Brenda Russell and spent time as a DJ on the university's jazz radio station and on the city’s main commercial radio station, WJMI-FM.
JW: When did you start singing professionally?
TE: My first professional gig came while I was in college. I sang with a jazz band at a local jazz club in Jackson, Miss. It was the most money I’d ever made up until that point. I continued to sing at weddings and funerals, in church and with two gospel groups. My first gig at a large entertainment venue was a bit scary but exhilarating. My name was literally up in lights and my picture was on a large promotional screen.
JW: After Jackson State?
TE: I attended Clark Atlanta University graduate school of business for my MBA. I mostly sang at church when I came home for the holidays, but I had a plan to land a job at Columbia Records in finance, then get discovered somehow while there.
JW: How did that work out?
TE: I was sidetracked and ended up in banking instead. Having an MBA definitely helped me as a singer and in the music business. Once I decided to finally pursue my musical dream 11 years ago, I researched the industry, attended an ASCAP conference and figured out how to earn a living as a singer. I also continued to invest in my craft with vocal coaching and by attending the Bloom School of Jazz in Chicago.
JW: Did you handle your own career?
TE: I did. Up until I landed a professional booking agent, I booked all of my gigs, established a music label called Honey Crystal Records, established a music publishing company and managed all the marketing and social media for my band. I continued to manage my band while maintaining a corporate sales job that financed my four albums. I’ve had two full-time careers for the last 11 years. Next year, I’ll finally be able to focus solely on music.
JW: Was your divorce in 2009 painful?
TE: My divorce was more of a relief and a mutual decision. I was married for five years, and it was my second marriage. The second divorce helped me realize that rather than try to live the life I thought I should have, I should live the life I really wanted. That life was to be a professional jazz singer and recording artist. So that's what I did. Our split opened the door to a journey that helped me discover who I was as a person, a woman, an artist and a singer. It helped me drop external expectations, heal old wounds and become the person I was meant to be.
JW: What was the turning point for you at the Bloom School of Jazz?
TE: After my divorce, I started taking a few classes at the Bloom School. At the time, the school offered a year-long course called The Perfect Set to help one go from an amateur to a professional artist. This was my turning point. I decided with my savings, I could buy a car or take this class. If I took the class, I promised myself I would not quit and here I am.
JW: How did Bloom shape you?
TE: During my year of study there, we performed constantly at several jazz venues in the city. That definitely prepared me for performing. I still get butterflies before I go on but performing is awesome. My band was initially four pieces and put together by David Bloom of the Bloom School. I later added saxophonist James Perkins and drummer Malcom Banks. The initial band members were Tom Viatsas on piano, Pat Fleming on guitar, Paul Martin on bass and Rick Vitek on drums. A second turning point at the school was when I got my first critique.
JW: How did that go?
TE: The feedback was that I needed to take a walk down a dark alley and find my voice. They said back then that I sounded like a lounge singer. This was great advice, because during that year, I did find my own voice. I also honed my scatting skills and learned how to scat a conversation. Plus I learned how to lead and manage a band and how to emote and deliver a song on stage in a way that would be believable and would tell a story. I further developed my voice and vocal skills, and learned how to deal with stage fright.
JW: How so?
TE: During the course, the nine of us in class had the same backing band and instructors, and the same guest instructors. David Bloom and Spider Saloff were both inspirational in their teaching styles and industry knowledge and experience. We performed at several jazz venues in Chicago and gave several performances at the school. David also brought in an established actor to train us in stage performance and song delivery. I loved that.
JW: And when you finished?
TE: We each left the course with a professional recording of the songs we worked on all year. I leveraged this recording as my first release by commercially packaging the recording as Love’s Journey. I used it to book gigs and introduce myself to my new audiences. David Bloom initially served as my manager for a few months, as he wanted to assist in launching my professional career. He put together my band of amazing musicians and got me my first gig at the Hollywood Casino in Joliet. While the management relationship didn’t work out, the band remained with me for 10 years. As a business school graduate, I also was able to renegotiate my contract with the casino and got a better deal. We played there for several months.
JW: You have a lengthy residency at Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago, yes?
TE: The residency at Buddy Guy’s has been wonderful. The club’s talent manager, Mark Maddox, found me on LinkedIn. He liked my Why Did I Say 'Yes?' album and sent me an email. I was thrilled. He offered me a few dates which turned into a six-year-and-counting residency. I perform there every second Sunday of the month. Buddy Guy’s gave me an opportunity to build a following and perform in front of an international audience. It also exposed me to the blues, which influenced my sound. During this time, I took up piano to help me write music and better communicate with the band.
JW: Tell me about your new album, You Hit the Spot. You have some pianist in your trio—Dennis Luxion. Where did you find him?
TE: Thank you! After the pandemic lockdown, many people made changes in their lives. My music director, Pat Fleming, had gotten into music licensing and wanted to continue working in that field after the lockdown ended. I wanted to get back to traditional jazz as a vocalist. The band over the years had developed into more of an ensemble. When work picked up, my booking agent asked if I wanted to continue as a straight-ahead singer. My last album at that point had been smooth jazz.
JW: So you decided that jazz was the way to go?
TE: Yes. I set about establishing a new trio and found Dennis Luxion on piano, my original bassist Paul Martin, and Linard Stroud on drums. I also started working with Sasha Dalton, an established Chicago jazz singer. She had been in an Off-Broadway show, Sasha Does Dinah. Sasha served as my associate producer and assisted with song selection and research, and she coached me on the correct cadence. I didn’t want to sound like a soul or blues singer singing a straight-ahead jazz song. [Photo above of Tracye Eileen, courtesy of Tracye Eileen]
JW: Why chose American songbook standards?
TE: Because I was re-introducing myself to the trad jazz audience and I wanted them to have some familiarity with the music I was singing with my approach and storytelling style. Plus, I absolutely love these songs.
JW: Had you been singing them live?
TE: Yes, the first five songs I recorded on the album were performed live by my trio at Piano Forte—an elegant piano studio and performance and recording venue in downtown Chicago. For the other three songs, I wanted unique brass arrangements, so I needed to find a great producer-arranger I could work well with.
JW: How did that work out?
TE: Being in Chicago was a great advantage. I researched the jazz music faculty at Columbia College and wrote to four producer-arrangers. Thomas Gunther, the one I most wanted to work with, wrote me back. Thomas pulled together the six musicians for the three arrangements—I Love Being Here With You, You Hit the Spot and The End of a Love Affair. He brought in Victor Garcia on trumpet, Steve Eisen on reeds, Raphael Crawford trombone, Jeremy Kahn on piano, Stewart Miller on bass and Jon Deitemyer on drums. We recorded these tunes—tracks #1, 2 and 8—at Chicago's Transient Sound Recording. It was a great experience, and producer Thomas Gunther and I plan to do more work together in the near future.
JW: Your recording of Steely Dan’s Black Cow knocked me out. You have such an emotional understanding of the song. Have you considered a Donald Fagen-Walter Becker songbook album?
TE: Thanks so much! Black Cow is a crowd favorite at Buddy Guy’s and one of my favorites as well. It’s the perfect tune to really dig deep and tell the story. I do still incorporate a couple of pop, soul and blues tunes in my set along with standards. I haven’t considered doing a Donald Fagen-Walter Becker songbook album, since I want to delve more deeply into trad jazz at this time and write some original music. It’s an interesting idea, though.
JW: It has been some 11-year run for you, yes?
TE: Right? The journey started at the Bloom School. But I hit another milestone in 2018 when I discovered my true tone at a vocal bootcamp I took in Los Angeles with Lyndia Johnson of Sterling Voice Coaching. I developed even more into my own during the pandemic lockdown when I did a weekly live webcam show called Meet Me in My Parlor. Recording the You Hit the Spot album felt like a full-circle arrival. But writing and singing the original tunes on my It’s Time album in 2019 helped me discover more about myself as an artist.
JW: How do you feel on stage? Empowered?
TE: I love being on stage. I love connecting with an audience and being in the moment with each tune. I also love being the character in the song and using my vocals to deliver a tapestry of sound with breathy notes, well-rounded tones, high and low notes, loud and soft sounds, short and long notes—all used to tell a story and entertain. I find the more energy I give off on stage, the more the audience gives back to me. It’s a beautiful exchange, and I try to stay in the moment. So I guess I do feel empowered and happy when an audience is feeling what I feel—when I know they are right there with me and enjoying the music. [Photo above of Tracye Eileen, courtesy of Tracye Eileen]
JW: What’s next for you?
TE: I’m planning a U.S. and European tour for 2023. You Hit the Spot is getting great airplay and reviews. We really want to capitalize on that. My goal has always been to become an internationally renowned jazz vocalist. I hope to have successful tours next year. The year after that I plan to work on incorporating the writing and recording of my original music for the trad jazz audience. Finally, I’d like to work with Thomas Gunther on some jazz arrangements to perform with orchestras in Europe. I’d like to get to know and build a larger audience and for the world to get to know me. I’d like to get to know the world right back—up close and personal.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Tracye Eileen's albums at iTunes and Amazon. Her latest, You Hit the Spot, can be found here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Tracye's cover of the Crusaders' Street Life. Click on “Watch on YouTube” link in embedded box below…
Here's The End of a Love Affair...
And here's Why Did I Say Yes?...
