‘The megablows felt like the death of my soul’

Singer Sacha Boutros sings in English, French, Italian, German, Hebrew, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Yiddish. She was living in Paris when the pandemic began and returned to San Diego in October. Her latest recording, “Reviens-moi,” was releas

The first week of January 2020, we sold out six shows in a rainy week in Paris, despite a citywide transportation strike, at the “Cathédrale de Jazz,” the Le Duc des Lombards club. It was a special week, billed as “The Great Ladies of Jazz,” which I organized. It featured nine-time Grammy Award winner Janis Siegel of Manhattan Transfer, bebop legend Michele Hendricks and Leslie Lewis to showcase the strength and talent of women in our field. These were friends I admire, respect and love. The show inspired young singers alongside the notable musicians who attended and honored us with their support.

The subject of “Women in Jazz” is often shortchanged in a dominant male industry where ladies’ voices are (diminished) by the term “chick singer.”... When asked: “Who are your sidemen?” I listed women. A most memorable part of the evening was singing “Centerpiece” in three-part harmony with Michele and Janis. They taught me the bebop song in the dressing room before the show. I did not know this was the last jazz improv and hoopla of joyful music-making with my friends onstage.

All my tours were canceled indefinitely, as well as the quarterly shows I produced at Sacha’s Supper Club at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar. The economic blow was a serious and swift one for myself and my peers. I continued to volunteer and sing every Friday for the homeless lunch program at the American Cathedral in Paris, until COVID made it much too dangerous to continue.

The moment the pandemic began in Europe, my musicians and I went “live” — or “en direct,” as we say in French — popping up in Paris for livestreamed shows at Le Cercle Suedois, Barloyds and in my living room. Creating supper club themes at home for viewers, we had a wonderful time and received ample views. Unfortunately, this was not reflected in our pocketbooks. Collecting online “tips” was like pulling teeth from an angry walrus. Simply put, we could not figure out how to monetize our online presence.

Music aside, 2020 brought on a suffering of unmentionable cruelties that shattered my heart. On a personal level, the megablows felt like the death of my soul — and then there was COVID, erasing the face of music, coupled with the suffering of our world. I cried enough tears in 2020 to make me realize no man in this life is worth suffering for, even if he is your husband — my marriage disintegrated, and it was the most painful year of my life.

Living a life of service, God gave me a gift I share, and when I share it, I am joyful. These gifts manifested in other ways, including painting and cooking . ... I often went live online, from my kitchen in Paris, roasting a Poulet de Bresse, making buckwheat crepes and traveling to exotic destinations through food, while singing songs. In between the cuisine, my new compositions were born and old ones finalized. My song “How Was I to Know” was fine-tuned after 18 years and recorded in January at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas recording studio.

I started writing a book, “Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary People.” Each day is welcomed by tennis, having not done so since playing collegiate tennis. I recorded a new French pop single, my version of George Michael’s “Last Christmas,” in French and English, at East West Studios in Los Angeles. It rose to No. 9 on the European Independent Charts.

Where I worked the hardest on was transforming myself on my spiritual path. Thanks to “the great pause,” I have learned that faith and optimism gets you through difficult situations. Family and good friends are the wealth of one’s life, and whatever it may be, this too shall pass.

“Thanks to ‘the great pause,’ I have learned that faith and optimism gets you through difficult situations.”

LAURA BRAVO MERTZ