Roberta Flack is ready to sing again

NEW YORK — Once a week, Roberta Flack gives a musical performance for an exclusive group.

The lucky audience consists of a musical director, who works with the legend to keep her instrument -- her voice -- in top form. It would be an important exercise for any singer, but even more critical given that the 81-year-old singer had a stroke more than two years ago and suffered a collapse that led to a brief hospitalization earlier this year.

“I know what it is to go over the same songs over and over again, and to try to make them perfect. It’s interesting and it’s hard and it’s difficult at the same time,” Flack said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press this week. “You have to stay on top of things.”

The public will get a chance to hear the result of those musical tuneups, courtesy of the Jazz Foundation of America, when it honours her Saturday.

“I am very excited about the event, to sing, and to perform. I’m just hoping that I can find the right song,” said Flack.

The Jazz Foundation of America provides assistance of all types to musicians who have suffered setbacks, whether they’re medical, financial or both.

Flack spoke to the AP at her assisted living facility in Manhattan. Sitting in a wheelchair and looking glamorous with curly hair cascading down her shoulders, the Grammy winner was bright-eyed and articulate during a nearly 30-minute conversation, though she occasionally relied on her manager to provide her with information.