A Secret Night of Soulful Jazz at Sid Gold’s
Dreamy jazz vocals accompanied by dancing piano keys brought love into the air at Sid Gold’s private room. The crowd whooped and bantered across the stage, setting the tone for an entertaining night of music for those looking for jazz shows in NYC.
Seek hosted a Secret Night of Soulful Jazz in the Chelsea speakeasy featuring renowned New York jazz singer Lynette Washington (@lynettewashingtonvocalist) on August 9. Jazz pianist Amina Figarova (@afigarova) joined Lynette on the piano, showing off her talented piano skills throughout the night.
Lynette awed the crowd with her rich and powerful voice, crooning songs about love in all its stages. Still, she established a playful atmosphere as she toyed with the lyrics and made charming comments between songs.
Lynette started singing with her church choir at the young age of 3, and she continued to sing and study music before she pursued a professional career in music at 21.
“I guess you could say I have a natural gift of music,” she said. While her first experiences in music as a professional were in the R&B and Pop genres, she was thrown into the jazz world after winning first place in the 2005 Jazzmobile Anheuser-Busch Jazz Vocal Competition.
She said she loved how the genre lends itself to innovation, where you don’t have to copy someone else’s style to be successful.
“[Jazz music] is something you can stylize and treat the lyric as your own. You can create, and you can improvise – it’s very unapologetic,” she said.
Lynette Washington performing at Jazzmobile Summerfest 2015
Jazz music shines the most in live performances when the artists can interact with the audience on the spot. Lynette said her main goal as a performer is “to entertain and make the people happy,” focusing on what she can “pour out” to her audience.
Her performance truly did touch the crowd. Jay, a member of the audience who is from New Orleans and enjoys listening to jazz, said, “Lynette is amazing. I love her voice. Her voice is delicious.”
Isaiah and Sammy attended the show together as huge jazz fans, enjoying the ambiance of the venue from their cozy booth seat.
“I love the intimate setting. I really love the singer too – she has a very rich, old-school jazz vibe,” Sammy said.
Isaiah, who came from a music background and understands the difficulty of maintaining a career in music, appreciated getting to see local performers shine in the spotlight through Seek.
“It’s really refreshing to know that there are venues and people who keep in mind that music is the lifeblood of the city and part of the city’s culture, and do their best to keep it alive,” Isaiah said.
This event was part of Seek’s Showcase Series which aims to uplift local performers and share their talent with the community. As Isaiah said: “Support local. And that support should start from the community.”
If you’re interested in watching talented artists in NYC or ever searching for the “best jazz shows near me,” check out Seek’s End of Summer Vaudeville show, which features popular acts from our past events!
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