The Milias Restaurant was the place to be last Friday night in Gilroy. Talented vocalist Sandra Marlowe was a draw for many to come out for an evening of good food and even better music. For the past year, Marlowe has been promoting and performing songs from her new CD, “True Blue,” which includes tracks such as “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Black Coffee.” She has been singing at venues from Berkeley to Santa Cruz and was a featured artist in the San Jose Jazz Festival at the Fairmont Hotel.
Her CD has been featured on more than 113 station playlists around the U.S. this year, as well as on Internet radio stations in Saudi Arabia, the UK, South America and the Philippines.
Friday was the first opportunity to catch her live here in Gilroy in a long time. Patty Pettitt Wiles came from Los Gatos just to hear Marlowe.
“I just love her voice. Her singing is amazing,” Wiles said.
“Marlowe does a riff on a standard and makes it her own,” Critical Jazz music reviewer Brent Black said after hearing Marlowe. “Marlowe can pull from a myriad of vocal colors and nuances. Another amazing feat…is that Marlowe doesn’t just find pitch – she grabs it by the throat.”
What a treat to hear not only songs from her new CD at The Milias, but also a few tunes she hadn’t performed before: the first set was mostly turn-of-the-century “vintage material” (“I’d Give A Dollar for a Dime,” “Stardust,” etc.) to honor the history of the hotel and the fine dining establishment which first opened in 1922. Marlowe also sang tunes that were a bit more contemporary – some Latin, bossa, ballads and a wonderful juxtaposition of “Moon River” with “Moondance,” which I thought was interesting because of the way the tune ended with Marlowe putting the words from “Moon River” to the last chorus of “Moondance.”
Marlowe’s vocals were further enriched by the two master musicians collaborating with her, Todd Kimble on guitar and Mark Richard on bass.
Born into a family of singers, musicians and poets on the rural plains of North Dakota, Marlowe’s solo career began at the tender age of 6 with a shy, but righteous rendition of “Do, Lord!” before an old-time revival meeting congregation. A keen ear and a kernel of talent led to years of study, both academic and private, in voice, piano, opera, acting, drama, dance, composition and musicianship. Marlowe’s mom, 94, still fronts a band of seniors in North Dakota.
Marlowe also credits her experience in a small class setting with famed vocal coach Judy Davis for taking her own vocal technique to a level not found in private lessons alone.
“She revolutionized my voice.”
Davis, whose students included Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Grace Slick was an expert in the physiology of vocal sound projection. She taught singers how to breathe properly, enunciate and strengthen their vocal cords in order to project freely and control the sound. She devised a series of vocal exercises that are used by singers around the world. Marlowe drove to Oakland to train with her for five years.
“In professional arts, there is a ton of competition out there,” Marlowe said. “You need all the advantages of having performed around others, as well as training in vocal strength, projection and resonance techniques – the key to a good full sound.”
Marlowe explained how the location of where sound bounces off the roof of a singer’s mouth affects the quality of what is produced. She demonstrated volume control by raising her voice from a whisper to a window-rattling volume in two seconds flat: no microphone needed.
“My ultimate point is, of course, that good technique follows through any discipline. But what you do with that technique regarding style, vocal treatments, interpretation is about your passion, your story,” she said.
One thing I admire about Marlowe is the way she supports other local musicians. She promotes their efforts on her social media sites, purchases their CDs, attends their shows and wildly cheers them on. She makes a point of staying after a show to give the performer positive feedback. She gives her gifts and her appreciation of others so generously, almost to a fault to all those around her, and anyone in her sphere of existence can’t help but benefit in positive ways.
Kudos to The Milias for featuring this level of fine local talent. Let’s have more of this kind of extraordinary local talent featured in local venues!
For more information, go to www.sandramarlowe.com.
