Susan Andrea Warmington is a jazz singer who makes YouTube videos and has an EP called Jazzmaican; here is a link to her Twitter page:
https://twitter.com/SusieWarmington
Q: When did you know you wanted to be a singer?
A: I hear that I sang from the age of two, and I remember my Teacher putting me up on a desk at age five to sing in front of my Kindegarten class and I was terrified! I always sang so I knew that singing would be a big part of who I was.
Q: What is it you love about jazz standards?
A: They are timeless, and I like timeless things. Stuff that never goes out of style appeals to me. Jazz standards are musically malleable and I enjoy singing them my way.
Q: Who are some of your musical influences?
A: I am very influenced by Classical Music. My Mother was a Classical SInger and she listened to a lot of Vocalists from what was called “The Golden Age of Opera” so I grew up listening to legends like Victoria De Los Angeles and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. I also am a huge fan of Dionne Warwick, and Barbra Streisand and Maureen McGovern were also favorites growing up. Now, I listen to a lot of Traditional Jazz and Adelaide Hall and Mildred Bailey have become particular favorites of mine.
Q: What kinds of day jobs have you had over the years?
A: I’ve worked in Education a lot. I was an Elementary School Teacher in New York which is not for the faint of heart! I worked as a Library Associate and an Admissions Office Receptionist at the University I graduated from, so that was also in Education. I am also a Teaching Artist and have taught Drama and Singing to children, freelancing in Schools, Hospitals, and Non-Profit Agencies.
Q: When did you first start making YouTube videos?
A: Gosh, let’s see…I started uploading videos on YouTube a couple years after YT’s inception. I’ve done it sporadically through the years, all coming to you from my bedroom closet! A hodgepodge of Classical, Pop, and Jazz ditties are on there under the name “susiewarmington”
Q: What are some of the things you’ve done to promote yourself?
A: I’m not the greatest at promoting myself! However, I do have a facebook page called
Susan Andrea Warmington, Jamaican Jazz SInger
https://www.facebook.com/susanandreawarmington?fref=ts
and a Twitter page
https://twitter.com/SusieWarmington
I also have an EP called Jazzmaican.
Q: How did you get Jazzmacian made?
A: Well, I really wanted to have my first EP made in my home country of Jamaica. There are many amazing Jazz Musicians back home and I wanted to share that with the world. My Producer Richard Browne comes from a long line of talented Jamaican Musicians who can switich from Regaae to Jazz in an instant and I wanted that kind of talent on my EP. I had amazing Musicians backing me up like the extraoridinary Guitarist Maurice Gordon and the stellar Pianist Othniel Lewis. I also had the great good fortune to have the legendary Guitarist Ernest Ranglin do a Peggy Lee song with me.
Q: How did you select the song set for the disc?
A: They are simply songs I like to sing. There are a thousand songs I like to sing, but I had to choose five.
Q: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
A: There are many things I would like to change, but truly it is not my business because I do not consider myself a part of the industry as I am an independent Musician. However, since you asked :) I would definitely change the extremely fake, cookie cutter, glitzed out, glammed up celeb machine and get back to real talent and individuality. When I was growing up there were so many talented, interesting people on the radio that you did not know who to spend your allowance on first. I mean, you can make anybody pretty but not everybody can sing or has an interesting personality.
Q: If you could spend the day with Judy Garland or Peggy Lee, who would you pick?
A: That’s a tough one beause they were both iconic! However, for practical reasons I would choose Peggy because she did what I love to do. I would definitely ask her to write a song with me. I write songs and lyrics and I want to become more brave about showing them. If I wrote a song with Peggy Lee I would be happy to show it off!
Please note; Eliza’s interviews are done by email. All answers are unedited and come right from the lovely fingertips of her subjects:)
