It’s been an exciting year for Cape Town born singer Melanie Scholtz and it is only getting better as far as she is concerned.
Scholtz was named the Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz for 2010 and she gets to share the bill with some of her musical heroes at the upcoming Standard Bank Joy of Jazz which takes place in Newtown from August 26 to 28.
Many jazz fans believe that this year’s line-up is one of the most impressive in years and includes international giants such as Chris Botti, Ravi Coltrane, Kim Waters, Anat Cohen, Poncho Sanchez and Fourplay.
Scholtz admits that she is thrilled at the prospect of performing among such a select group of musicians: ‘I have always wanted to perform there. I have been attending Joy of Jazz concerts since I was a child and I can’t believe that now it is my chance to be behind the microphone. It’s my first appearance but I am honoured to share the stage with artists such as Chris Botti and Lalah Hathaway.”
She will be performing with her band The Love Apples: ‘I will be doing mostly original compositions from my second album Connected as well as my own renditions of a number of popular standards.”
Melanie believes that she was born to sing. At the age of five she began piano lessons and at 16 went to study with the famous Eoan group.
‘I have been surrounded by music all my life with my aunt playing the organ, my dad playing the sax and my mom and sister singing. For me it was a natural progression to go into music though I didn’t know how I was going to make it as a career,” she recalls.
In 1997, Melanie enrolled at the SA College of Music at UCT and graduated in 2000 Cum Laude with a Performers’ Diploma in Opera.
Her musical abilities were realised in 2002 when she was named Best Jazz Vocalist in the Old Mutual Jazz Encounters and four years later she released her debut album Zillion Miles.
She admits to having great teachers who were willing to share but believes that one has to work hard.
‘Talent is just the raw building block and to be successful you have to put in hours of practice.”
Scholtz’s gift has taken her around the world. Earlier this year she celebrated her 31st birthday while on tour in Russia and was proud how far she had come since growing up in Athlone in the Cape.
Melanie, who is married to Norwegian musician Gornhelsjord, says she found most of inspiration for her second album Connected while living in Norway. The album – produced by Norwegian trumpeter Ole Jorn Myklebus – features songs that were inspired by nature.
‘We can draw such incredible things from nature and the state the world is in today, with climate change and global warming, we all need to take cognisance of this fact and each one of us, in our own little way, should try to make a difference.”
She describes her second album as a lot ‘cleaner” and more ‘naked’ than the first, with more acoustic passages and without having heavy backing vocals.
‘It’s just the voice and real instrumentation.”
Apart from her own compositions and recordings, Melanie collaborated and was featured with guitarist Jimmy Dludlu on Peaceful Moment and on Which Way To Go with Electronic DJ’s Iridium Project. She has also featured on albums by Mark Fransman, Ivan Masuze, Goldfish and Breakfast Included.
She relaxes by doing yoga and says she can always be found during down time with her cat on her lap, a book in her hand and music in the background. Cooking new recipes is one of her favourite things and there are plans later this year for a third album and a book of her poetry.
–Information supplied by Standard Bank Joy of Jazz