BETHLEHEM, Pa. — When one thinks of top women blues artists, the images that comes to mind inevitably are vocalists such as Shemekia Copeland or guitarists such as Ana Popovic or Samantha Fish.
Yet the winner of last year's Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues Female Artist was Vanessa Collier, a saxophonist who blends funk, soul, rock and blues with passionate vocals. She's nominated again this year.
- Blues saxophonist Vanessa Collier will kick off the season of free concerts at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacksat 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 19
- Collier is nominated for the Blues Music Awards Contemporary Blues Female Artist, which she won last year
- Collier released her first live album, 'Live at the Power Station' in September
Her star has risen quickly in the blues world, as her first three albums got her nominated for five Blues Music Awards in five years.
Collier also will open thiss year's season of free concerts at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks in Bethlehem with a performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 19.
"I was very surprised when I heard that I had won that one," Collier said, referring to the Contemporary Blues Female Artist Award in a call from her home outside Columbia, South Carolina.
"There were lots of powerful, wonderful, amazing women in the category and I was very much ready to applaud them."
'Has to pick up the torch'
Collier said she's in the same position with her nomination this year, facing off against singer/guitarist Ruthie Foster, who she said is "one of my favorite artists that I’ve ever seen live."
"It’s an honor to have my name in the same group, you know what I mean?" she said. "I’m very fortunate in that way and, again, very grateful to be recognized with people that I adore and look up to."
I think there are a lot of strong, powerful women ... They leave a lot in their wake, as well. And someone has to pick up the torch and I would be honored to be considered one of those people.Blues singer/saxophonist Vanessa Collier
In fact, Collier said she owes her success to such women "laying the groundwork for me, and it makes me grateful for all my influences. Just everyone all the way back to [1950s and '60s singer/guitarist] Sister Rosetta Tharpe that have blazed the trail for women to do this.”
Collier said her intention has always been to follow the trail they have blazed.
"I think there are a lot of strong, powerful women, and Ruthie is always truly one of them," she said. "Bonnie Raitt, I feel, is the same.
"They leave a lot in their wake, as well. And someone has to pick up the torch and I would be honored to be considered one of those people.”
'I do something different'
But instead of being a sax player being a disadvantage, Collier said the way she sees it, it helps set her apart from the usual vocalist or guitar-playing female blues artist.
"I think, one, a lot of people love saxophone," she said with a laugh. "I find that on the road a lot — ‘Oh my gosh, that’s my favorite instrument.’ And I understand those people.
For me, I was always intent on bringing the saxophone back to the front of the stage and try and play it like a guitar player does — have all the intensity of the solo, but also play horn parts.Blues singer/saxaphonist Vanessa Collier
"I think the blues world has become a lot of guitar-centric, so it does help that I do something different.
“I think that’s why [blues singer saxophone player] Deanna Bogart does so well, as well. Just being a saxophonist puts you in a different space and it’s kind of up to you to make that work.
“For me, I was always intent on bringing the saxophone back to the front of the stage and try and play it like a guitar player does — have all the intensity of the solo, but also play horn parts.
"That sort of dichotomy between the two is super special and I think that’s one of the things that helps separate me from others."
Catching great performances
But blues guitarists such as Raitt or Popovic can play their instruments while singing. Does Collier think blowing a sax affects her ability to sing?
“I try not to let it," she said with a laugh. "I’m switching back and forth pretty quickly between playing sax and then singing."
Instead, she said, she thinks "one lends itself to the other ... there are a lot of similarities between voice and sax. Even the way that you shape the sound, you know, a lot of the vowel sounds I say will stay the same.
"And it makes you a better saxophone player to be a vocalist, I think. Just having the breath support to play saxophone enforces the breath support that I need for vocals. I think it helps."
Collier said that after five studio albums, she finally was able to catch that voice the way she wanted on her most recent album — the live disc "Live at the Power Station," released Sept. 30.
“A lot of the songs that I wrote from the first two records have really grown and blossomed into the songs I wanted them to be when I recorded them," Collier said. "So they’re just way more powerful, there’s more intention there.
"I think one of the things that I kind of understand is Bonnie Raitt is great on a record — and then you see her live and it’s like some other kind of magical.
“And I think I’ve always strove, I think is the right word, for that same level of musicianship and just songwriting, performance, all of that. I just want the performance to be great.
“I felt like it was a great little snapshot of the last seven years of work that I’ve put in and this band that’s on the live record has put in in the last few years. ...
"I think it reached a point where I was super, super happy with them. I think they’ve reached the pinnacle of what they’re gonna be ... and that I just wanted to get that down on a record."
Next album(s) on the way
Collier said she's already at work on her next album — or albums.
“I’m always kind of working – especially because I spend so much time driving" on tour, she said with a laugh. "There’s always new ideas stirring."
She said she has ideas "for a few records": One is an acoustic duo record with Laura Chavez, the Blues Music Awards-nominated guitarist who played on her live album and most of her others.
“And then, of course, always thinking about one or two other records," she said with a laugh.
"One more of a blues record and then there’s a soulful record that I’m working on at the moment. Who knows which one will come out first.”
Vanessa Collier, 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 19, Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem. Free. Bring a blanket or lawn chair.
