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Awarded for a passion
A Jazz Hall of Fame inductee found her love early
Singer Olivia Duhon will receive the 2009 Legacy Tribute Award at this year's Jazz Hall of Fame gala. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World
By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
Published: 10/18/2009 2:20 AM
Last Modified: 10/18/2009 6:06 AM
Olivia Duhon found the musical love of her life at the movies.
"I was always a fan of movie musicals," she said, "and hearing songs by people like George Gershwin and Cole Porter, it was like this light bulb went off in my head — that this was music I just loved."
That love of the Great American Songbook soon led Duhon to discover some of the great jazz vocalists who took pop standards to new levels of expressions — singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Blossom Dearie and Sarah Vaughan.
The lessons Duhon has learned — from immersing herself in the works of great jazz singers and studying in the jazz program at the University of Tulsa — and the way she has put what she's learned into action in performances around Tulsa have earned Duhon the 2009 Legacy Tribute Award from the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.
Duhon will receive the award as part of the Jazz Hall's 2009 Gala Induction Ceremony on Wednesday at the Jazz Depot, 111 E. First St.
Duhon said being told that she would be receiving the award — a prize first awarded to Wayman Tisdale in 2002 — "just took my breath away."
"It's an incredible honor," she said. "And it's really humbling, just to be considered with all these great people that I've looked up to."
Duhon is a native of Louisiana, growing up in Lake Charles, a town not far from the Louisiana-Texas border. She came to Tulsa when her family relocated to the area when Duhon was still in high school.
"I was one of those kids who sang practically since birth," she said, laughing. "I know my family has a lot of cassette tapes of me singing songs that I wrote, as well as many, many versions of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.' "
When she enrolled at the University of Tulsa, Duhon's stated major was musical theater — a nod to her love of the sort of musicals that had gotten her hooked. But then she learned about the school's jazz program, led by Vernon Howard.
"Once I knew about that, and saw what a great program it was, I switched my focus to jazz," said Duhon, who graduated in 2006 with degrees in music and art history.
Duhon has performed several times as part of the Jazz Hall of Fame's regular Sunday concert series, including being part of its summer "Wild Women of Oklahoma Jazz" shows. She also appears often at Ciao on Brookside — she'll be performing there on Halloween — and she performs at private functions.
Duhon doesn't have a regular group of musicians to accompany her, preferring to work with as wide a range of performers as possible.
"I love the nuances each different person brings to a show, or even to an individual song," she said. "And it's always fun to mix things up a bit."
She does, however, have some things that are starting to become regular parts of her shows — like the Antonio Jobim tune "Dindi."
"I just loved the feeling I got the first time I heard that song," Duhon said. "People are often surprised when they ask me about artists I like and I say Jobim, because I guess a lot of singers don't gravitate to his music that way instrumentalists do.
"But now, I guess that 'Dindi' is becoming a signature tune for me. I recently did a set at Ciao, with the Scott McQuade Trio, and 'Dindi' was one of the first things I did. As things were winding down, (Ciao owner) Kathleen Kennedy came over and said, 'You've got to sing that song again.' And I have some fans who always request it.
"So it's a good thing I love that song."
The inductees
This year’s honorees, in addition
to Duhon, are:
Jazz: Wayman Tisdale, who
began his acclaimed career as a
bassist, songwriter and music producer
after retiring from a stellar
career in collegiate and professional
basketball. Tisdale died
earlier this year after a battle with
bone cancer.
Blues: Guitarist Steve Pryor, a
mainstay of the Tulsa music scene
for many years.
Gospel: Stephen Wiley, whose
1985 “Bible Break” was the first
full-length Christian rap album.
Lifetime Achievement: Western
swing pioneer Bob Wills, whose
mix of jazz, country, blues and
swing music was perfected during
his years performing at the Cain’s
Ballroom.
Spirit: Former Tulsa World
entertainment writer John Wooley,
who will receive the Maxine Cissel
Horner Spirit of Community Excellence
Award.
Duhon, Pryor and Wiley will perform
as part of the evening, along
with nationally known saxophonist
Tom Braxton, members of Rockin’
Acoustic Circus, and vocalist Brenda
Johnson and the Jazz Rhapsody Trio.
Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame 2009 Induction
When: 6 p.m. reception. 7 p.m. banquet. 8
p.m. Awards ceremony, Wednesday Oct. 21
Where: Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, 111 E.
First St.
Tickets: $100. Call 281-8600, or online at
tulsaworld.com/mytix.
James D. Watts Jr. 581-8478
james.watts@tulsaworld.com
By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
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