|
 Charmin Michelle©Andrea Canter
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Charmin Michelle moved to Minneapolis as a young child. With the promotion of organ legend “Captain” Jack McDuff, she toured Europe with internationally known pianists Mulgrew Miller and Kirk Lightsey in 1997, and since 1998, has performed in jazz festivals in Spain, Portugal and France (with the Tuxedo Big Band) as well as throughout the Twin Cities area. On her first three recordings—Your Eyes (1994,out of print), Destination Moon (1998, CM), and Hot (2001, CM), she covered tunes of Billie Holiday, the Great American Songbook, blues and bossa, what Tom Surowicz described as an “aural charm bracelet.” In 2005, she and Joel Shapira released Pure Imagination (CharmSongs), a combination of voice/guitar duets and quintet arrangements of jazz classics.
From Minnesota to Spain and Beyond  Charmin with Toni Sola and Gerard Nieto courtesy of Charmin Michelle
But recently the Spanish connection re-ignited as Charmin began performing a tribute to Billie Holiday with two Spanish piano trios, the Ignasi Terrazza Trio and Gerard Nieto Trio, with saxophonist Toni Sola on both trios. “I’ve had the same promoter all these years, based in Barcelona,” says Charmin. “Between these two groups, we do festivals, some club dates and concert halls.” And it has been a bit of a whirlwind, squeezing in a lot of gigs as well as recording dates whenever she’s in the country. “Since March, we’ve been doing all the Billie Holiday music and some recording, with guests such as Harry Allen, Grant Stewart, Scott Hamilton… and possibly Peter Bernstein on guitar for one session, and Jessie Davis, all of whom the agent books on a regular basis. We’ll be finishing up in October…Sometimes I get off the plane, have lunch and then we’re into the studio. After a long flight, the studio work can be intense—you are giving it your best shot!” The gigs in Spain led to a “working vacation” in the Canary Islands last June. “There were two festivals at the end of June, one festival on Grand Canary and one on Tenerife. I met the guys [her Spanish trios] there, they were great venues, outdoors. People stayed til the end, and we ended up going overtime--the band before us ran a little long, but fun was had by all.” Connecting With the Audience, in Europe and Minnesota  Charmin with the Gerard Nieto Trio at the Canary Islands Jazz Festival courtesy of Charmin Michelle
Does Charmin foresee such audience response developing here in Minnesota? “They have to be able to hear you!” she says. “At Fireside Pizza [her Monday/Wednesday night gig in Richfield], I will talk to the audience and get them to talk to me, and next thing you know, they put money in tip jar and come back the next week! That’s why I like Fireside, it’s like hosting a party.” Fireside has evolved as one of Charmin’s favorite venues. The neighborhood pizza parlor has been hosting Monday night jazz for years; late pianist Bobby Peterson once was a regular performer, along with other instrumental duos. Then Denny Malmberg teamed with young vocalist Jose James. About two and a half years ago, Charmin paired with Malmberg. “It started with just Mondays and they added Wednesdays—it was just supposed to be for a while over the summer and that has been going for a year now.” Working the crowd at Fireside has helped Charmin overcome what she regards as her innate shyness. “I’m an introvert, really, so I’ve have worked to overcome that--either you help people along to come with you or it’s just Them and You, and that’s not what it’s about. I’m learning to get to the ones I don’t think I can reach.” The audience is welcoming but the space at Fireside is tiny, even for two musicians. “They are talking about taking out one booth and making more room—that would be great! We threw a party for Larry Malmberg the other night, he brought his accordion and Cliff Brunzell and a few other musicians cane and sat in, too…The waitstaff and owner are fun to work for.” Gigging Around Town Sometimes, after they have heard Charmin weekly, her audience will follow her to another venue—there is no shortage of opportunities to hear Charmin these days. A new project last April has been fronting the Jerry O’Hagan Orchestra at the Cinema Ballroom, a new venue in a renovated movie theater in St. Paul’s Groveland neighborhood. “We’ve developed a loyal following of people who come every week just to dance. And we cover all the bases, foxtrot, waltz, cha-chas, tangos and West Coast swing.”  Charmin and the Rick Carlson Quartet©Andrea Canter
Time for Songwriting Does Charmin have any “down time?” It depends how you define it! Tuesdays and Thursdays are generally her gig-free nights, and she savors that time for social contacts, catching up with paperwork and, recently, delving into the work of composer. In the coming year, Charmin wants to use her time for writing. “I’m working with a poet… We’re putting our heads together, and now that I have a real piano, it is so much nicer to sit down and work on things. I’m learning composition, I’ve been consulting with musicians about composition and theory.” This is not her first effort at composing, as she did include some original songs on her very first CD. “Keith Boyles [bassist] and I did some collaboration. Now I want more background knowledge regarding what I am doing with composition, so when I practice, I break it down--what was the composer intending here, what progressions do they use here?”  At the AQ, December 2005©Andrea Canter
It’s Tuesday, and we finish our coffee and conversation. Charmin heads out to the dentist, one of those other activities that gets squeezed into a Tuesday or Thursday of “down time, in between duets at Fireside Pizza, before a weekend of Charmin & Shapira sets at Cue at the Guthrie and/or in the atrium of the Midtown Global Market, before a Sunday brunch at Kozy’s and a Sunday night at the Cinema Ballroom. Unless, of course, she is in a club in Barcelona or a festival on an exotic island… Visit www.charmsongs.com or www.myspace.com/charminmichelle for Charmin’s current gig calendar. Upcoming events include Charmin & Shapira at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis on Tuesday, October 2 (7-11 pm; www.dakotacooks.com) and at the Midtown Global Market (Chicago and Lake Street in Minneapolis) on Saturday, October 6 (12:30-2 pm).
|
Twin Cities, MN 
Thursday, 08 January 2009
Home | Jazz Ed | CD/DVD/Book Reviews | Interviews | SF Bay Area | Chicago | Los Angeles | New York | Twin Cities, MN | More Cities | Festivals | News | Contact | Video | 
