You certainly remember my pleasant surprise that I finally had Come On Through My Door, an album by Ronee Martin, in my own hands after her MoJazz album never saw the light of day.
In the meantime you’ll find some more information on Ronee’s own website or you just continue reading the jazz-not-jazz interview about her love for music, singing and the risks she had to take to finally release an album that’s really available for everyone who loves good music and want to invest a few dollars..
Q: Please tell me something about your musical background. When did you start singing and who or what inspired you to pursue a professional career? And which artists inspire you today?
Ronee Martin: I started singing in church at the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Columbia, Virginia (USA). (However, prior to that, I received my formal vocal training rehearsing from the radio in my grandmother’s bedroom.) I actually grew up on country “western” music, which is what it was referred to when I was a child. However, when we were able to get soul music on the radio in the area where I lived as a child, I was instantly inspired by Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and Dionne Warwick and I continue to be inspired by that music and those artists even today. There are some current singers that I think are great, but that initial inspiration is what keeps me going today. And the person that gave me my first push towards it all was a guy named George Parker. I met George when he was performing with “Act I”, a local group from Washington, D.C., with a classmate and friend, Agnes Johnson that was visiting from Virginia. George invited Agnes and I to the park with some of his friends and one of the other members of “Act I”, Chet Fortune had his acoustic guitar with him. Chet started to play and we all started singing some of our favorite songs and George immediately wanted me to join a female group he was producing at the time. And that’s pretty much how it all started. I joined “Ethereal Life” with Scarlet and Elaine and I learned so much during that period and enjoyed it so much that I knew I would always be involved in music somehow.
Q: In 1987 your Sensation album was released as promo only and the same thing happened some ten years later with Soul Of Heart on MoJazz. Please tell me why your music was never fully released and how did you feel at that time about it?
Ronee Martin: Well I certainly am a believer that all things happen for a reason, some of which I don’t know the reason (smile). In both of these incidents, I’m not sure of what happened, but I do know that I enjoyed the process and the experience. There is such a demand for commercial music and then there is also the political arena that none of us can control except those that are at the top, so perhaps those could be some of the reasons - politics and perhaps it just wasn’t my time and also it may not be how I’m suppose to fulfill my dreams.
>>>continue