The highs and lows of a life in the jazz industry
POOR pay, long hours, infrequent gigs, and lots of travelling...
A female jazz singer, who grew up in Loughborough, has revealed to the Echo what it’s like being a modern woman in a male-dominated music genre and the highs and lows of the biz.
YOU may have read the name ‘Lizzie Cooper’ in the Echo on a number of occasions in articles talking about Jazz at Loughborough College - the monthly music club in the Radmoor Centre.
The idea for the evenings, which Lizzie hosts with her trio of musicians, grew from the feeling that there was “a distinct lack of any regular live jazz” in the area.
Now in its second year, Jazz at Loughborough College is still going strong and has welcomed numerous award-winning guest musicians onto the stage.
Lizzie often shares with the Echo reels of information about those who join her on stage, but the woman behind the mic has an interesting story of her own.
Lizzie, whose parents opened the Eugene Cooper record shop in the 1950s in Ward’s End, grew up in town surrounded by music.
Through different avenues and her own discoveries, Lizzie had her ears opened to jazz and fell in love with the likes of Ella Fitzger- ald, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee and Tony Bennett to name but a few.
And it was after graduating in music from Bath Spa University that Lizzie first got to sing with a jazz band.
She said: “I was first invited to sing through a friend. There was no opportunity to rehearse with the rest of the band and I had never performed this kind of music before.
“It was very scary but so exciting - I loved it and I was hooked.”
After a taste of the jazz-life, Lizzie formed her first band after posting an advert in a trade-it newspaper and her musical career took off from there.
Lizzie, now 54, has shared the stage with numerous talented musicians and has performed in venues across the country including The Savoy Hotel London and Windsor Castle.
But Lizzie told the Echo establishing herself in the genre wasn’t easy and the jazz game is not all glitz and glamour.
She said: “Jazz is very maledominated, jazz singing is one of the few areas where females get a look in.
“Even as a singer, it is sometimes difficult to get accepted by the band as a fellow musician.
“It is very much a case of having to earn the respect of fellow musi- cians and build some reputation in order to get work.
“Jazz is a notoriously difficult career - poor pay, long hours, infrequent gigs, lots of travelling - you don’t go into it unless you love the music!
“Now and again, at the end of a tough, or poorly paid gig when I’m facing a long drive home late into the night I might think to myself ‘why am I doing this?’ but my love of the music and the fellow musicians always pushes me to carry on.”
Having established herself in the jazz scene, Lizzie told the Echo her future plans include recording a new CD and looking to grow and develop Jazz at Loughborough College.
She said: “My experience is that a lot of people have certain perceptions about what jazz is.
“We [Jazz at Loughborough College] have deliberately planned a format that ensures we perform a wide selection of jazz in all its forms - from ballads and blues, to bosses and swing.
“For seasoned jazz lovers and newcomers alike it is a marvellous opportunity to come and hear live jazz of the highest quality.”
• For more on Jazz at Loughborough College, dates and contact details, visit: www.lizziecooper.co.uk