Vancouver Jazz Diva
Kate Hammett-Vaughan

John Beaudin - "Divas for Love" is two days away(Feb 14/02). Do you get jitter's a few days before a big show like that? Interestingly, some of the older Jazz acts I've talked to sometimes say jitter's is something that came later in life. In the beginning they were proud as peacocks and through cockiness of naiveté they just never got nervous.

Kate Hammett Vaughan - I don't really get what I would call "jitters". I am very excited to be playing at the Vogue again and to be working with so many great singers and musicians. Stage fright just doesn't run in my family. Several of my siblings are performers as well and I always joke that I come from a long line of ham, I'm just excited.

John - How did you first get involved with Stevie Vallance in "Friends for Life?"

Kate - Stevie and I first met in 2000 at a photo shoot for Vancouver
Lifestyles magazine. They were doing a layout on a bunch of Vancouver
Jazz singers. The two of us got along like a house on fire. We laughed
and laughed through the whole shoot. I think she's marvelous.

John - Have you done other ensemble concerts like this? It's a fresh
alternative to just doing solo gigs, isn't it?

Kate - I've done a number of these shows over the years. Vocal jazz fans in Vancouver who have been here since the 80's will probably remember the Badazjazz shows which featured about ten singers. It's always great fun to be a part of something like this. I love the sense of community it builds and getting to know all the other singers.

John - I don't want to minimize the importance of the charity aspect of
these shows they are extremely important. But as a radio programmer, there is also a great opportunity to present Jazz to a crowd of people who otherwise might not be exposed to it.

Kate - It's a win-win situation, isn't it? Raising money for a great cause, it's great promo for the music. It's a lovely high profile gig in a very nice theatre for talented artists who often work in far more obscure situations.

John - Isn't Stevie a fireball? She called me earlier on for some help on promoting the event. After I got off the phone I was gunned, I was pumped! She's a great motivator.

Kate - I thought that I was a motivated go-getter until I met Stevie. That woman is on fire! She gets more done in a day than most people do in a month and she's a lovely warm-hearted person.

John - Are there any more Diva's shows on the way? I heard something about a tour?

Kate - Heaven only knows what Stevie has in the works, but if it's possible to do more of this, I'm in. A tour would be fun.

John - You've done some hosting on radio. I think sometimes some of the best hosts for Jazz programs are the actual musicians who play this stuff. I hear the other applicant's in Vancouver came up with the same idea as a listener. Wouldn't you rather hear a musicians point of view on Radio?

Kate - I don't know if it's that important that the host is a musician, but certainly someone who knows and understands the history and the intent of the music would be a good idea. I love to listen to people who have actually researched their field and know what they're talking about. A lot of commercial radio is just about hype. I can't stand that so I stay away from it. If there was a jazz radio station playing jazz music that was hosted by informed and exciting people who love the real thing, I'd have my radio tuned to it constantly.

John - I know when we connected last year about the Smooth Jazz license you had a lot of reservations about the format. Where you surprised that no one got it here?

Kate - Not really. I'm pretty jaded about modern corporate culture, and it seemed to me that the idea of a station that was promising to play a lot of non-commercial music and support local artists was doomed from the start. I mean, hope springs eternal and all that, but our society is really not geared towards supporting a non-commercial art form in any big way.

John - Have you sent your stuff to the Hamilton Smooth Jazz Station?

Kate - No. I don't really think of myself as being on the Smooth Jazz radar. Should I, do you think?

John - Sure also FYI there's a Smooth Jazz station opening in Calgary in June or July and another application for the format in Winnipeg and I hear more on the horizon but just not here. If you had your druthers what kind of Jazz station would Vancouver have?

Kate - One that approaches what CJAZ (Vancouver Jazz station of the 80's now off the air) was in its very earliest form. Remember CJAZ? For a minute in the early 80's Vancouver actually had an all-jazz radio station with my idea of dream hosts and real jazz being played all the time. It was fantastic, but of course it had to go to a more commercial format to survive and eventually it went the way of all things.

John - Your vocal approach to me is very one-on-one with the listener. It has that component that makes you stop and stare at the speakers as you work on your craft. Is that a conscious thing that you work on?

Kate - No, but I think it's very nice that you feel that way about my music. I just think it's really important to tell the story and I get involved in an intimate way with the lyrics. I hope that translates to the listener.

John - So you're a Maritimer too. I grew up in New Brunswick (Newcastle) and I also left in 1979. Maybe we were part of the big "right-brain" exodus. Ha..Ha.. Was there an interest in your music there?

Kate - When I lived in Nova Scotia I don't think I knew what "my music" was. I was singing standards and swing music and I was also in a disco band. I just wanted to sing. Although, the music I listened to the most was definitely jazz. When I came to Vancouver I started telling people that I had moved here to be a "jazz singer". I called myself one for a long time before I think I actually became a real one.

John - You must be well versed in Fiddling music. If I may generalize for a second, I was surrounded with it growing up in New Brunswick.

Kate - I don't know a lot about the history of the music or names of tunes, artists, etc, but I've certainly heard a lot of it. My Dad has taken up the fiddle in his retirement and loves to play Irish and Scottish folk tunes. I love the music. It makes me very happy.

John - My Dad still listens to his old Don Messer albums. How often do you get back to Nova Scotia?

Kate - Not often enough. Usually about once every two years. I'm hoping to go back this summer for a visit. My whole family is there except for one sister who is a singer in Toronto.

John - Tell me about the NOW Orchestra.

Kate - That's a big question. Briefly, the NOW Orchestra is a Vancouver based 15 piece improvising big band that I'm proud to have been a member of for over a decade. It's been a really exciting project for all of us. We've gotten to work with and record with some of the leading figures in improvised music in the world. We've been invited to the Berlin Jazz Festival this year and to do a performance in Chicago too!

John - As a vocal teacher what's the biggest thing that younger singers just don't get?

Kate - I think it just takes us a long time to realize the beauty of subtlety and nuance and the great value of paying attention to what's come before us. But if you're paying attention in general to your growth as a person and as an artist that should come around in time.

John - Are you a fan of the big "let's break glass" Celine Dion thing?

Kate - Not even a little bit.

John - A few Years ago Bill Henderson who as you know teaches song writer courses told me that as a young song writer in the late sixties (before He formed Chilliwack) he would never have thought of getting help in his craft. He didn't really think he needed it and that in itself was the problem he didn't see, that this was the time to be a sponge to learn. Do you come across 16 year olds who think they've arrived and don't need to learn anything? I ask this because I've talked to some on the phone through the station and their demos are really bad, I mean really bad, these kids have to do the time, the work.

Kate - I have met more than a few young singers who think they're already there, but that's part of the arrogance of youth and that feeling of immortality. I shudder to think what I might have been like when I was 16. Now I feel like the more I learn the less I know. Anyways, when I meet these young people I don't bother to try to burst their bubble. I figure real life will take care of that.

John - Paul McCartney once said the best singers in the world get lost in the shuffle and we never hear them either through bad direction or management or from them just moving too fast in the music game. Also, in presenting a project before it's ready (though he himself has been accused of that). In the music biz there's sometimes this speed to get product out. This speed to make it before a certain age.Have you ever felt that?

Kate - I've felt the pressure over the years to do "something Commercial" that will sell. You know, it's like, hey, just make a
million-selling pop record and then you can retire and be an obscure jazz singer and improviser for the rest of your life. Thankfully I was smart enough to say no and to stick to my guns. I think the emphasis on youth and image and quick money is ruining a lot of potentially fine artists. But our current "music culture" makes kids think that there's no value in growing older and maturing slowly. It's very very sad.

John - When we look at Nelly Furtado, now there's speed! Of course she has talent but with one album she's playing GM place in top billing. Ten years ago that would never have happened no matter how much your debut album sold you were still an opening act. She seems to be handling it well but a lot of others don't. It's a fast ride don't you think?

Kate - Scary.

John - What got you into teaching and how can someone get a hold of you?

Kate - Teaching is something I've done for years because I'm so excited about music and love to share that with people. I'm really a full-time teacher right now and I'm enjoying it so much. As far as getting in touch with me goes, I'm the only Hammett-Vaughan in the phone book and you can also reach me through my website at: http://katehv.com/kateteaching.php

John - One of the things you cover is how to promote yourself, that's sometimes a tough one for musicians isn't it?

Kate - It sure is especially when you're involved in basically non-commercial music. You have to be your own promo machine so it's important to know the basics of how to get the word out about your art.

John - Tell me what was the first album that made you stop and stare at the speakers in amazement?

Kate - The Beatles 'Revolver'. I love the Beatles!

John - I've heard that one alot or "Rubber Soul" two great albums released back to back. Your CD 'How my heart sings' received some nice press. How long did it take to get finished?

Kate - We recorded in the spring of 1999 and released it that fall. Jazz records turn around alot faster than pop records do.

John - 'Devil May Care' is available now, right?

Kate - The new CD (on Vancouver's Maximum Jazz label... Yeah!) should be available at Virgin mega-store by the end of February. You can also Order it through me at http://www.katehv.com/inforecordings.php

John - So what are you up to in 2002?

Kate - It's only February and I'm already overwhelmed. We're hoping to Tour Devil May Care in the fall and the NOW Orchestra is going on the road. I'm teaching at VCC and Capilano College and privately as well and I'm planning to do some kind of cabaret new music project in the late fall too. That's lots!

John - Where can your fans get your music in retail and online?

Kate - You should be able to find my standards records at Virgin at least. Those recordings and other improvised music records can be ordered through my website. http://www.katehv.com/inforecordings.php

John - Kate, thanks so much!

Kate - Thank you, John. It's been a pleasure.

February, 2002