Dearly beloved— Yesterday we lost Prince, one of the most visionary artists in this history of pop. He is not alone. The year is young, but we have already lost many great musicians in 2016. Before Prince died, many legends had already fallen: there was country superstar Merle Haggard, and rapper Phife Dawg (of A Tribe Called Quest), and revolutionary Read More

We singers often let others hold down the time. In the typical jazz/pop/rock band, the drummer and bassist keep the music churning, and our job as a singer is to soar over that steady foundation. Which is all well and good when we have a band backing us. But when we sing solo, who will hold down the groove? The Read More

If you’re in the northern hemisphere, you’ve probably noticed something like this happening around you: Do you even need a prompt with all the flowers and grasses blooming around you?

If a voice sings into the air, and there is no microphone to record it, does it make a sound? The answer, this week, is an emphatic YES. Recording is a wonderful thing. It lets us reach folks on other continents; listen back to ourselves; loop and layer forever. For a project like the SSS, Read More

Got a minute? Well then, you can do this prompt. Last year we tried a series of time-based prompts inspired by Bobby McFerrin’s famous (and deceptively simple) invitation to sing freely for ten minutes every day. Our assumption was that shorter was easier. So we started gently with a prompt to sing for just two minutes, then gradually Read More

Last night I had the pleasure of hearing two phenomenal groups back to back: Sweet Honey in the Rock at Carnegie Hall; then the late show from Rachelle Ferrell’s quartet at the Blue Note. Putting aside the many quirks of each of these wondrous groups, and the deep traditions they each draw from, I noticed Read More