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Andrea Claburn
Born in Baltimore, Maryland to a classical pianist mother and a jazz aficionado father, Andrea Claburn knew what she wanted to do by the age of four. “I started begging my mother to let me to take piano lessons. She would play Chopin and Beethoven, and I would go to the piano when she was done and try to recreate what I’d heard. I wanted to play so badly.” Her mother finally relented when Andrea reached the ripe old age of six. “My mom was very smart. She said, ‘you’re not ready’ when I was in preschool. She was the opposite of a pushy stage mom. By making me wait to study piano, she made it clear that it was a privilege and I should treat it accordingly.” Meanwhile, her father introduced her to his favorite jazz artists: Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, the MJQ, Bill Evans. “I have no memory of not knowing every song on Kind of Blue” she says. “It’s like it was part of my DNA. That album, along with another of my Dad’s favorites, Time Out, were both released in 1959 when he was a young man and everything was possible, and I think they were sort of the soundtrack of his youth – and, consequently, of mine.”
Her family moved to Northern California when she was five, and Andrea was raised in Davis, a university town known for both agriculture and fine art. “Davis had all these apparent contradictions. It was a small town in the middle of Yolo County, but with a pretty sophisticated populace. UCD was known for its agricultural and vet schools, but in the ‘70s and ‘80s the university also had some of the most celebrated artists in the country on faculty, like Robert Arneson and Wayne Thiebaud. Davis was laid-back, but with a lot of creativity and a progressive, experimental vibe that made it an interesting place to grow up.”
In addition to piano, Andrea picked up her great-grandfather’s violin at age eight, and within three years was playing in youth orchestra. The collaborative aspect of orchestra motivated her as a violinist: “I loved being a part of a multi-instrument organism that moved together and breathed together, making great music.” Her orchestral work culminated in a first place win for her high school chamber string orchestra, under the direction of local legend Richard Brunelle, at the invitation-only Vienna International Youth and Music Festival when she was sixteen. “That experience was just beyond anything I could have imagined at the time. It was my first trip to Europe, and it made me want to travel and live abroad.” In addition to orchestra, Andrea sang in the DSHS Madrigal choir, an a cappella ensemble that performed intricate and challenging repertoire. After high school, she headed for the University of California at Berkeley and became immersed in theater, with music taking a back seat to being on stage. “By the time I was about fifteen I was considering a career as a classical pianist, but in the end I couldn’t face that much time alone with my instrument – musical collaboration was much more interesting to me. So I kind of put music on the back burner and looked to other avenues for creative expression.” After spending her junior year abroad at the University of Sussex in England, Andrea returned to Berkeley to graduate with a BA (with high honors) in Humanities. “Such a marketable degree,” she deadpans, “I knew I’d have to start out on a bottom rung somewhere to earn a living.”
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Andrea Claburn at the Jazzschool in Berkeley on June 6th
Source:
All About Jazz
June 6, 2009 8:00 P.M. with Dan Zemelman - piano Peter Barshay - bass Rob Ewing - drums Sheldon Brown - saxophone Doors @ 7:00 PM Event @ 8:00 PM $12 The Jazzschool 2087 Addison St. Berkeley, CA 510-845-5373 About Andrea Claburn A pianist at age six, violinist at age eight, and singer since she could squeeze air through her vocal chords, ...
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"San Francisco vocalist Andrea Claburn dropped one of the year’s most impressive debuts with “Nighshade,” a project that focuses on her finely wrought original songs and arrangements. Surrounded by a world-class cast of players, including pianist Matt Clark, bassist Sam Bevan, and drummer Alan Hall, she combines rhythmic acuity, prepossessing warmth and an intrepid spirit on material that would daunt many singers." -Andrew Gilbert, San Jose Mercury News “Thoughtfully conceived and put together… there is just nothing not to admire about this CD.”-Robert Rusch, Cadence Magazine “Andrea Claburn’s richly shaded and nuanced vocals aren’t the only reason this debut is such a grand delight to listen to… adding five poignant originals to the brew, two of which, the New Orleans drenched “My Favorite Flavor” and the darkly traditional “The Fall of Man” may very well become standards of their own someday.”-Mike Jurkovic, Elmore Magazine “She applies her sublimely soulful phrasing and rich jazz vocabulary to a set infused with lively swing, hushed intimacy and all the dynamic emotional signposts in between.”-Jonathan Widran, Music Connection Magazine
Primary Instrument
Vocals
Location
San Francisco
Willing to teach
Beginner to advanced
Credentials/Background
• Bachelor of Music, California Jazz Conservatory. • Bachelor of Arts, University of California, Berkeley. • Full Cerification (Level III) in Somatic Voicework™ the LoVetri Method, Baldwin Wallace University • Vocal Faculty, California Jazz Conservatory and Jazzschool Community Music School, Berkeley, CA. • Private vocal studio, San Francisco, CA. Areas of expertise as an educator include: vocal function/technique; improvisation; performance and interpretation; chart creation and arranging; music theory and notation
Betty Carter
vocalsBill Evans
pianoDexter Gordon
saxophone, tenorThelonious Monk
pianoNancy Wilson
vocalsRene Marie
vocalsPhotos
Music
Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson