Five Questions With Singer Nerissa Campbell

Nerissa Campbell has such passion and verve for music that when her first music mentor relocated to Perth from rural NorthWest Australia, her whole family relocated too, so she could continue with her musical studies. Now based in Brooklyn, NY, Campbell continues to live and breathe song. She has released three albums – “Paint Me Orange” in 2003, “Musings of a Telescopic Tree” in 2009, and “Blue Shadows” in 2012, runs her own record label, Crooked Mouth Music, writes, and teaches in person and online.

Nerissa has been stateside for a number of years now but she still maintains a strong connection to her native Australia. The Australia Council for the Arts recently awarded her with a grant to fund her fourth album, the upcoming “Little Little Just,” which will fuse together jazz and Balinese gamelan. We caught up with Nerissa for this week’s Five Questions in the midst of preparation for a pair of shows at the Rockwood in Manhattan, the second of which will take place on March 30th.

LessonFace: How did you first get introduced to singing, and what kind of music were you listening to at the time/growing up?

Nerissa Campbell: I guess I have always been singing or playing an instrument – I was the kid who would go over to my friends’s houses and ask if we could practice the piano for fun. I played classical trumpet all through high school, but really wanted to play jazz, which was actively discouraged at my school. I already knew that when I finished high school I wanted to be a musician, but I didn’t want to be in the classical world.

I couldn’t fathom “not reading” and improvising on an instrument, so I took a few singing lessons thinking it would be easier to use my ears that way, auditioned on voice for the jazz program at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and got in! So, even though I feel like I have always been singing, it wasn’t until I was 19 that I really started focusing on the development of my voice.

At that time I was listening to a lot of jazz obviously – Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Coltrane, Miles ... I had some definite “jazz blinkers” on!

LF: Did you have any particularly influential mentors early on, or later as you progressed?

NC: I was very fortunate to have had an extremely supportive and encouraging music teacher from when I was 12 to 14. At that time, we lived in a very small mining town in N.W. Western Australia and he was my private and high school music and drama teacher. He ended up getting a job in the city, and our school was not going to replace him. He believed in my talent so much that he and his wife offered that I board with his family in Perth so I could continue with my music studies (which would not have been possible otherwise).

My Mum couldn’t bear the thought of not having me around, so she packed us all up and we all moved down to the city as well – just for me and music. Looking back on that, the belief both my teacher and my Mum had in me, humbles me completely. I really think it sustained me from then on out.

LF: What got you interested in teaching online? How long have you been teaching?

NC: I have been teaching on and off since 1998, but only more steadily for the past eight years. One of my friends (also a vocalist and teacher) offered to give me lessons over Skype about six years ago, so she could “practice” on me. I loved it, and from there have had a few online students myself. I love that anyone can have the opportunity to learn music no matter where they live. I think about all the kids who weren’t as lucky as me to be able to pursue something they loved, and see that that won’t be a problem at all in the future. It opens up so much possibility and opportunity to learn and grow, and with some really amazing and accomplished teachers.

LF: If you had to recommend one video or performance for prospective students to check out in order to understand you and your style, what would it be?

NC: Probably this one – “Paint Me Orange” at Rockwood – I love moody and dark bars for music, and songs that match!! But, in person I am quite sunny and laugh a lot!

LF: Can you tell us a bit about what's going on with any musical projects you're working on, and any latest news about them?

NC: Well, I just released my third album, “Blue Shadows,” in December 2012. It was such a fun album to work on as I got to record with some friends of mine from Australia and France, who also live here in New York now. It is always super fun to be able to work with old friends!

So, I am in the midst of promoting that and am also working on my fourth album! I was lucky enough to receive funding to work on an album that I have been dreaming up for a long time, which fuses jazz and Balinese gamelan! I spent a lot of my childhood living in Bali, and have been playing in NY’s Gamelan Dharma Swara for a few years now. Dharma Swara and my jazz group are getting together to record and perform my songs in May 2013 – stay tuned!! This project is particularly close to my heart, and one I am incredibly thankful to the Australia Council for the Arts for bringing into fruition.

As well as all my own musical endeavours, I am also teaching a lot and am looking forward to meeting more of the LessonFace community!!

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