With a voice like Vanessa Rubin's - jazz vocalist

American Visions, Oct-Nov, 1993 by Douglas Turner

Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae and Betty Carter are ensured a place on the Mount Rushmore of jazz divas, but of those five, only Carter remains active. Into the breach have stepped a number of young female vocalists looking to establish their place and maintain the tradition - Karrin Allyson, Cheryl Bentyne, Jeanie Bryson, Nnenna Freelon, Vanessa Rubin. One of the brightest of these new recording artists is Rubin, a former school-teacher who keeps her teaching credentials current. Her latest release, Pastiche (Novus, 1993), has been creating quite a stir among jazz enthusiasts. Loaded with originality and an abundance of swing, Pastiche establishes Rubin as a voice to be reckoned with.

Her debut recording, Soul Eyes (Novus, 1992), was primarily a program of standard jazz tunes performed in a competent manner. Beyond that, there were flashes of the elusive quality that transforms an average singer into a jazz singer - the unmistakable ability to swing. (Listen closely to "Dearly Beloved" and "I've Got the World on a String.")

With Pastiche there is little doubt that a new jazz diva is on the scene. The promise of Soul Eyes has been fully realized on this exciting and inventive offering. From the first tune, a unique arrangement of Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood," to the last one, Doug Carn's up-tempo romp "Arise and Shine," Rubin makes clear the direction she intends to take. The way she tackles such tunes as "Simone," "Black Nile," "Mosaic" and "Arise and Shine" (tunes known almost exclusively for their instrumental renditions) propels Rubin ahead of her contemporaries.

"These are tunes that I chose because I knew the composers and wanted to do some of their music," she says. "I like the melodies. It was also an attempt to establish my own sound and get people accustomed to hearing my voice." Rubin's easy, burning swing on "In a Sentimental Mood" (coupled with a unique arrangement by Aaron Graves and E.J. Allen) transforms that already classic tune with an equally classic performance. It is a perfect example of Rubin's statement, "Certain songs you just have to leave alone if you want to be heard, because some singers have put such a stamp on them. You have to do something really different with them before people will hear you."

There is also an Afrocentric perspective that unifies Pastiche and gives it a sense of purpose. "I tried to establish a real strong consciousness on this record," Rubin says, "not only by the types of composers but the messages in the songs." (Listen to "Black Nile" and "Arise and Shine.")

Carving a niche in a genre as tradition-bound as jazz can be difficult. "People have to go out and support the product. So when you go out and buy two or three R&B or adult contemporary records, go over to the jazz vocalist department and pick up me and other jazz artists," Rubin says with a laugh. "As a new recording artist, I can't express in words the struggle to get a career going" - which is why she keeps her teaching credentials current - "especially because those great women and men that have come before have done such a fantastic job with this music that some people are just stuck there. They can't hear anybody else but Ella and Sarah."

Despite being a relative newcomer to the recording industry, Rubin is aware of the business side of what can be an arduous endeavor. "It's not enough just to be a singer," she says. "You have to make records, and records have to be sold, and then you begin to deal with what the buying public is about. And they're not about buying jazz records.

"I've been asked to do more of what is called adult contemporary," she adds, "and at this point I have not decided to do an album like that. I don't want to. But I am considering doing a single for the mere purpose of trying to be more accessible and to get more people to know who I am."

Originally from Cleveland, the 35-year-old single artist has lived in New York since 1982. When she arrived in New York, she set out to meet as many musicians as she could and eventually worked with some of the finest proponents of modern jazz - pianists Kenny Barron, Harold Mabern and John Hicks and trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater.

This networking process is especially important for singers. "In my opinion," says Rubin, "singers are not looked at like sidemen. We don't get called for gigs like a drummer or a bass player or a trumpet player, so you really have to make yourself known within the music community and let musicians know that you want the opportunities, and you want to learn, and you want to be a part of the band if you can."

This level of commitment marks Rubin's approach to music. "You have to put in time studying music, learning about chord changes, trying to interact with other musicians as an instrument. It's more than a notion," she says. Although she studied flute for years, sang in choruses and choral groups, and even competed in citywide vocal contests, when the time came for college, Rubin chose journalism, not music, as her major at Ohio State University. Plans to pursue a master's degree and become an executive soon gave way, however, to a "higher calling."