Despite reviewing all three albums which singer Lauren Bush has released so far, I knew next to nothing about her, and so in early November, ahead of her London Jazz Festival appearance, I set about learning about her life and career.
“One of the few things I know about you”, I said, as we sat down, “is that you’re Canadian. East, West, or middle?” She replied “I was born in Calgary. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. It’s where they have the well-known stampede.” I allowed that I did know both the city and the stampede. My next question was “Are you from a musical family?”
“Indeed, I am. My father played the trumpet, and was quite well known locally. Even today, although retired, he still plays occasionally. I think it’s safe to say that if you found yourself on Vancouver Island and enquired about Greg Bush, nearly everyone would say ‘Sure, I know Greg, he plays trumpet and does a little lecturing on the side.'”
I asked if she had any formal training. “Not, I think, in the way that you probably mean. Nothing like conservatoires, Berklee, Juilliard. I took classes in jazz at both college and university, but not actually jazz singing.” So how did she get started? She laughed. “It was in Texas, of all places. We had moved there and I actually dabbled in interior design for a couple of years, and then I thought ‘I don’t really want to do this, I’d rather sing.’ So I did a few gigs locally and it just took off from there.”
So how did she end up living in the UK? “We came in 2012. My fiancé was offered a job here. It was a very good position but it would have entailed his spending a couple of years at least here, so I decided to come with him.”
I asked if she relied on stock arrangements. “No, Liam (pianist Liam Dunachie, who has played on all three of her albums and is an integral part of her combo) is very good at writing charts. About once a month I make a list of about 50 songs I feel like doing. I show the list to Liam and we go through it one by one. He doesn’t always agree with my choice, so some get thrown out right away. What we’re aiming for is a balance, some bossa, some ballads, some Latin American. Gradually we whittle it down to maybe a dozen and then Liam will write charts for them.”
I mentioned I’d applied for a ticket for her forthcoming gig at The Pheasantry, and asked if she could give me a hint of the programme. “It’ll rely heavily on Tide Rises (her last CD). It was released just over a year ago. It had mostly good reviews, including one from you in Jazz Journal, and we shifted a few units in the first few weeks, but like everything, people forget, and this is a good chance to remind them it’s still out there. It won’t be all Tide Rises, of course – I’ll throw in three or four numbers that no-one’s heard me do.” I asked if this meant there was no new album in the pipeline. “I’m afraid so. There’s quite a lot of work involved in putting an album together, to say nothing of the expense. As it is I rely on teaching for the bulk of my income, but at least I get by.” I asked if she ever went home to Canada. “I try to get home every couple of years. Last year my fiancé and I got married back home with relatives from both sides coming together.”
When I asked about her own writing, she mentioned that she’s not always comfortable in that area, and then, spontaneously, she sang, a capella, a song she’d written some time ago. She has a lovely, God-given voice, and at the end she drew generous applause – we were chatting in a pub – from the dozen or so customers. Finally we called time on what, for me, had been an enjoyable afternoon; she, to attend a gig as just another punter, and I to write this.
