Emmerald: You’re also working with Bembe Segue as a
backing vocalist. How did that come about?
Deborah Jordan: The percussionist from Panacea was working with
Bembe Segue’s band at the time and before a show, one
of her backing vocalist pulled out at the last minute.
Bembe was tearing her hair out wondering how she was
going to do the gig and the percussionist suggested
that she call me. I got the call and went to a
rehearsal and a couple of days later was doing the gig
with them and I’ve been with her ever since. That’s
been fabulous because we’ve had some great gigs like
North Sea Jazz Festival and the Import Festival in
Rotterdam. She’s been doing quite well in Japan
recently, so hopefully this will be her year as well.
We have such a good time at the gigs. It’s quite a big band; sometimes there’s fourteen of us up there, which gets kind of hectic when we’re in a small place. She keeps the backing vocalists pretty up front on her tracks and the way she writes her music, she needs people who can harmonise well, but not overshadow her. There’s a four-piece horn section and a full rhythm section, so there are so many things going on. Rehearsals are fun because we have so many ideas flying around. One week we may be working on one arrangement of the song, then the next it’s completely different. In some ways, that’s great because it always keep it fresh. It’s a lovely vibe, with everyone so into the music. A lot of it is up-tempo, so it’s the kind of thing that a crowd can get into.
Emmerald: So you must be pretty versatile as a
singer, going from doing classical/jazz with Robert to
jazz-dance with Bembe and soul with Kaidi and Dego.
How did Silhouette Brown come together?
Deborah Jordan: Dego and Kaidi were looking for a new vocalist
for their project and Bembe suggested that they talk
to me. When I met Dego, I thought he hated me. He came
to hear me do a gig with Robert and he just sat there
the whole time looking really miserable and hardly made
eye contact. When I tried talk to him, it was like
getting blood from a stone. I just knew it was going
horribly and that I wasn’t going to get the Silhouette
Brown gig. But what I didn’t know, is that he was
missing the football that night, and you just don’t
ask Dego to miss football. (laughs) You don’t mess
with Dego’s football schedule. So when I went to the
studio I felt kind of paranoid and like I had to prove
myself. Dego’s one of those guys who doesn’t actually
say ‘yes, you’re cool,” or whatever. It’s more like
if you’re still in the studio after five minutes,
that’s how he tells you you’re ok. (laughs) He’s a
great character. Once we worked in the studio a few
times and especially when Bembe and Kaidi couldn’t
make it and it was just us, we really bonded. It’s so
lovely when you work with Dego. He’s got a very
natural and easy way of working and he’s very
straightforward and just gets the work done, but you
have fun while you’re doing it. It’s great.
