"I'd rather not discuss that," said jazz vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles with a soft chuckle when I asked her if she was getting paid for her upcoming gig at the Northampton Center for the Arts. "The Center does its best to help support artists," said Charles.
I spoke with Charles, a student at the New School in New York, the day before her 20th birthday.
Charles grew up in Springfield, then moved to Westfield with her parents when she was 15. She gave her first musical performance at age eight, when she sang at her godmother's wedding.
"I was singing along to a Tony Melendez CD—an amazing artist," Charles recalls. "It was my favorite cassette tape, and my grandmother heard me. She insisted that I sing it at my godmother's wedding."
But it wasn't until Charles began studying at the Community Music School of Springfield that she began her love affair with jazz. After being urged by a teacher to audition for a jazz ensemble, Charles handily won a spot.
"She told me, 'Oh, just come and sit in.' Then they told me I made the ensemble, and that's what really started the ball rolling," said Charles.
In the years since, Charles has performed with luminaries like Sheila Jordan and Kelly Powers, as well as pop sensation New Kids on the Block. At age 16 she dazzled audiences at West Springfield's Majestic Theater. Charles also regularly performs the national anthem at New England Patriots' games and has recorded two CDs, Angel Eyes and Sarah Elizabeth Charles Live at the Majestic Theater. Since studying at the New School—she's a sophomore—the jazz vocalist has begun writing her own songs and arranging standards.
"I think I write what comes naturally to me," said Charles. "I sit down at my piano or my keyboard and just start writing. When things come out naturally it's so much more organic and real& The music I've been writing is reflective of my independence. I'm young and focusing on my future, and I'm more aware of what's going on in my world and with the other people in my life."
No stranger to Northampton, Charles has been a featured performer in the First Night New Year's Eve festivities here for the past five years. Unable to participate in First Night this year due to scheduling conflicts (Charles is also a resident assistant at her college), Charles was invited by Penny Burke, executive director of the center, to have her own show. The young vocalist plans to perform a combination of original songs and covers.
Like many musicians born and bred in the Pioneer Valley, Charles maintains she'll always have a soft spot for the place she once called home. However, the blossoming jazz diva now calls the Big Apple home because it's helped her learn more about who she is and how to grow as a musician.
"I was always weird," said Charles. "When I went to New York, I'm like, 'Hey, I'm not weird.' [The city] helped me be comfortable in my own skin."
Charles [pictured] performs Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. with pianist Matt De Champlain, bassist Peter Yuskaukas and drummer Darrell Smith. Tickets are $10. Northampton Center for the Arts is located at 17 New South St., Northampton, (413) 584-7327, www.nohoarts.org.
