Alouette

When I was just a little girl and my mom used to make her rounds just before she turned the lights off and sent me into lala land, each night would end somewhat like a fairytale.

By fairytale, I mean the happily ever after. By fairytale, I mean, she helped to make the day end on a sweet note. By sweet note, I mean that she would have me frozen in peacefulness when she started to sing me a lullaby. My favorite was always Alouette because it was layered in such beauty and I was in sheer comfort.

What a powerful way to guide a kid along the journey of starting to dream. What an exceptional moment in time to drive an adult back in time with such fond memories. I know that I was lovingly cared for. I know that I can never take those wonderful moments for granted.

If you remember this French lullaby, the lyrics spoke about stroking the feathers of a skylark. All I could do was listen with my heart because the song was so calming. How ironic that a skylark is a songbird? How ironic that I turned out to be a songbird? How ironic that Fleetwood Mac’s popular song, “Songbird” which was featured on the album Rumors, won album of the year in the year that I became a thought? How ironic that this might have been the message telling me exactly what I had been engineered for.

Years later, the pleasure of my eyes often fall on a stage with a microphone on it where I can share my gift with whoever is willing to entertain it for a minute. Some people never consider how things like a lullaby play such a large role in the person that you become. Those moments inspired meaning in me. They gave me reasons to put my fears to rest and to stay on the idea of knowing how to dream.

And then jazz came into my life. And then I started to love it. And then I started to sing it. And then I came across popular songs that made me flashback to yesterday’s smiles. One of them, “Skylark,” a 1941 popular song by Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael. When I first listened to it, I was unable to conceal my mirth. It reminded me of that beautiful part of my history that I am still in love with. And so, the lyrics and musical components of this jazz song fell deeply into my heart. The amalgamation of those perspectives are what lead me to want to sing it.

And so when I embraced a popping venue in my local habitation called Rustik Tavern to support my friend Eric Frazier’s longest running jazz jam session to ever be a part of Brooklyn’s lifetime, I joined the stage with the sizzling musicians on the stage and I had the pleasure of covering “Songbird.”

If you have the chance, please check out this cover which is now on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fjLanRDwlQ

Thank you so much for checking out my blogpost and if you are interested in seeing what Eric Frazier really is all about, you should definitely make your way out to his jazz festival that he puts together every year; the Fort Greene Park Jazz Festival happening this Saturday, September 10, 2016 from 3PM to 7PM.  

I will be the featured vocalist for the event and I would love to have you all there. Considering how it went last year, I can say that it will be great this year as well. I value your investment of time taken to read my blogpost and look forward to sharing many more moments with you in the future.

God bless you!