British saxophonist YolanDa Brown will be taking to the stage at Jazz on a Summer’s Day, OUTinPerth chatted to her on the phone from her home in the UK and she told us about the first time she picked up a saxophone.
“I was probably about the age of thirteen, I played the violin and the piano and the drums since I was about six but I really wanted to learn a wind instrument.” “I picked up the saxophone and never looked back, it’s always felt like an extension of me really.”
YolanDa’s latest album is Love Politics War and it’s an mix of reggae, jazz and soul, and she says it was very much influenced by recent political events.
“At the time of writing the album we were going through the Presidential elections in the USA, we had the Brexit vote in the UK, and we had the terror attack in London. It was a very fearful time, it was a strange thing to go through, each person you spoke to in London had that element of ‘where is the world that we’re living in? What’s happening?
“So that affected the music we were making, but it helps that reggae is a very message driven kind of music, you can have an edgy sound if you want to be a bit militant about your activism of the situation.” YolanDa said.
“Love Politics War seemed like an appropriate title for the record.”
The musician has played around the world and teamed up with a wide range of artists who have called on her saxophone playing skills. YolanDa has played with Michelle Williams from Destiny’s Child, Beverley Knight, Lemar, Billy Ocean, Mica Paris and The Temptations.
One of the most unusual gigs in her performance history though is the time she was asked to play a live show on a British Airways flight.
To celebrate a new service from London to New Orleans YolanDa and her band played a on a flight heading to the city’s legendary Mardi Gras celebrations.
“It was a celebration and a half, we had such a good time, I think every flight show be like that. I think its something I’ll be recommending for our flight to Australia too – which is 24 hours for us.”
“As soon as the seat belt signs went off it was New Orleans cocktails, we were up playing the reggae in the sky, Nicole Scherzinger was there as well singing, it was the best thing ever, and everyone was up dancing.
“We had a great time at Mardi Gras too, the flight back was very quiet by comparison.” YolanDa said.
Jazz on a Summer’s Day featuring James Morrison, Wendy Matthews, Vince Jones, YolanDa Brown and Libby Hammer will be in Kings Park on Sunday 25th March, tickets are available from Ticketmaster.com.au
Graeme Watson
