She’s happy forging her own path
Singer Madison McFerrin’s debut album is rooted in human emotion and family history
If the name Madison McFerrin is familiar, it’s because she’s the daughter of Mr. “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” himself, 10-time Grammy winner Bobby McFerrin.
So one would assume that the elder McFerrin would be forthcoming in offering his 31-year-old daughter advice on tricks of the trade.
They would be wrong.
“I get asked that question a lot under the assumption that he gave me counsel,” McFerrin responded from Brooklyn in the middle of circling the globe on a world tour that arrives at the TD Music Hall in Toronto on Wednesday.
“Really, he was just a father who told me (to do) whatever I wanted to do and be whomever I wanted to be. So there wasn’t any explicit, ‘Here’s how you navigate this.’ ”
Papa McFerrin does make an appearance on the song “Run” on his daughter’s debut album, “I Hope You Can Forgive Me,” a 10-song effort of original compositions that mixes cool jazz with a touch of R&B, punctuated by great harmonies and scattershot rhythms.
“‘Run’ is inspired by my learning that my great, great, great-grandmother had escaped enslavement,” Madison said. “I wanted to write something really thoughtful in honour of her and that’s a song where I thank the Creator for giving her the strength to run away …
“I didn’t want to write anything that would do her any disservice or wouldn’t do her justice.”
In fact, McFerrin says there’s a whole concept behind the album that’s inspired by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and reveals itself in such songs as “Testify,” “God Herself” and “Utah.”
“It’s Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s theory that we only feel fear and love, and that all our other emotions stem from those two deep-rooted feelings,” McFerrin explained. “So I thought about that as two sides of a coin or, in this instance, two sides of vinyl: the A-side is all rooted in love and the B-side is all rooted in fear.
“It’s muddy sometimes, but I wanted to really tap into those root emotions and I was taking that framework to heart as I went into writing these songs.”
Born in San Francisco, McFerrin decided on her career path at a very early age.
“Well, I decided I wanted to be a singer when I was five,” McFerrin said. “I think when you’re seeing an example of somebody having a lot of fun with what they’re doing with their life, it makes it even more possible for you to envision that for yourself.”
After secondary school, she enrolled in Boston’s prestigious Berklee School of Music and initially followed in her father’s footsteps, performing and recording a cappella music.
She took that route more out of convenience than desire and was able to tour solo, using a piano and a looper for concert appearances that included Toronto’s Baby G and the Toronto Jazz Festival.
“I had essentially wanted to write music that included instruments from the get-go, but it just so happened that these a cappella songs that I had made kind of took off in their own way. So I just went with that.
“Also, as an independent musician, travelling with just myself and a backpack was very easy and conducive to be able to make it a viable opportunity.”
With “I Hope You Can Forgive Me,” McFerrin has expanded the instrumentation to a backing band that includes keyboards, drums and bass, although only the keyboardist and drummer will accompany her at TD Music Hall.
“I’m really happy to be coming back to this and being the bandleader and frontwoman,” she said. “It takes a little bit of the pressure off me to sing a one-woman show but, also, I’m so grateful to have had that foundation because at any point I can go back to that.”
McFerrin is also grateful for another aspect of “I Hope You Can Forgive Me”: preparing the album during the pandemic under imposed isolation allowed her to discover a hidden talent.
“Because I was forced to be home all the time by myself, I learned to produce myself. Women only make up 2.8 per cent of producers in the music industry, and so the fact that I picked up this new skill and ended up producing 70 per cent of my debut album is a template to my overall growth.
“I think that we, as a society, tend to think that things have to happen in a super fast-paced manner. But I’d rather put out a body of work that I’m really proud of and that I think is worthy of the time and attention that I’ve been putting into my craft than just put out something in a speedy manner.”
Even with her pedigree and education, McFerrin is still not certain music will be her full-time endeavour.
“It’s definitely a difficult industry to get in and stay in,” McFerrin said. “Even myself, as I navigate being an independent musician and having done this for as many years as I have, I still think about, ‘OK, do I need to be thinking about another plan?’ Because it’s really rough out here, and particularly for somebody who’s not signed to a major label and doesn’t have that kind of backing.”
McFerrin would love to be signed by a major label, but not at the expense of her principles.
“It would have to be the right deal and it would have to be the right terms … if something came to the table that still allowed me to own my music and also provide me with a level of support that I don’t have, I wouldn’t flat out turn it down.”
While she intends to jump right back into the studio after she finishes travelling the world, McFerrin said she’s thrilled to be living her dream and making music that she feels resonates with others, and hopes the crowd in Toronto will enjoy a positive experience at her concert.
“My band really vibes well together and they’ve definitely been able to take my music and elevate it in live performance,” she said. “I think people can expect to walk away hopefully feeling rejuvenated.”