Finding her own voice in Jazz: Nicky Schrire

Nicky Schrire is a British-South African vocalist and composer based in Toronto, Canada. Her work has seen her likened to vocalists Joni Mitchell and Esperanza Spalding with The Boston Globe’s Jon Garelick noting that “though her approach has earned her comparisons to Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens, the similarities are superficial. She’s got her own thing, and it’s very much worth listening to.” She has performed internationally including headlining the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, and, most recently, the 2023 Toronto International Jazz Festival. Her new album “Nowhere Girl” features Canadian musicians Ernesto Cervini, Dan Fortin, Chris Donnelly, Tara Davidson, Julio Sigauque and Laila Biali and is out now on all digital platforms.

Nicky joined Phil to talk about her song In Paris. Download the lyrics to follow along.

We talked about:

• How the 3rd of a chord is vital to the minor or major identity of the chord
• How some songs are “gifts” that are completed quickly, and others take weeks, days, or even years to finish
• How Nicky arrived at songwriting through carving out her own distinct voice in the jazz world
• How really distinct singers are more interesting, but not everyone’s cup of tea
• Shifting from 3/4 time to 6/8 time in your song
• How to set apart your chorus when your verse is really involved
• Speak-singing – check out our episode about this