Tribute to Blossom Dearie featuring Dawn Clement

Blossom Dearie, b.1924, was named Blossom after the pear blossoms her brothers picked and decorated their house with to celebrate her birth. By the age of two Dearie was able to pick up songs on the family piano at their home in New York. Her mother remarked that, unlike most children who would bang at the keys when in front of a piano, Blossom thoughtfully played songs from ear and memory. Debussy’s Afternoon of the Faun was a favorite.

Dearie studied classical music, but switched to jazz and moved to Manhattan after high school. She became a regular in the club scene in New York in the 1940s, singing with Alvino Rey’s Blue Reys and Woody Herman’s Blue Flames, as well as headlining. After meeting Nicole and Eddie Barclay in New York, the Barclays encouraged Dearie to go to Paris. She released her first album soon after.

Many albums later, Dearie’s collaborations also continued to grow. She shared a bill with Miles Davis. John Lennon and Dearie wrote songs for one other, and shared much respect for each other. Dearie also began performing in concert halls, taking Carnegie Hall in 1973. She also recorded for School House Rock: “Unpack Your Adjectives”, “Mother Necessity”, and “Figure Eight”, whose album was nominated for a Grammy.

In the 70s Blossom became the first woman to own a successful independent record label in the United States with the creation of Daffodil Records. Dearie wrote whole albums of her own music. She commanded audiences, able to get crowds to settle down and to truly listen. Her sweet, warm and light voice was always paired with strong wit and conviction. Dearie did not suffer fools, exemplified by “I’m Hip,” along with many other songs.

Join us in celebrating the powerful force that was Blossom Dearie, presented by vocalist Dawn Clement.

“Dawn has a love for the beauty of a melody and sings with a light, fine, sweet, gentle voice reminiscent of Blossom Dearie.” -KUVO

“She has all the craft skills: She swings, she can read, she has time. She’s really complete. She has the true spirit of the music.” Matt Wilson, Downbeat

Raised mostly in Vancouver, WA, and San Antonio, TX, Dawn Clement credits her mother for her start. Her mother always played piano in church; little Dawn sang harmony without even recognizing it was harmony.

In her youth, Dawn was painfully shy and so was homeschooled until high school, even while her siblings attended public schools. In middle school, she again took piano lessons. Today, watching her relate to her audiences, one would never guess she had ever struggled with shyness.

After graduation, she was awarded a full ride to Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts, where, after graduating, she became an adjunct faculty member for 18 years. She collaborated with both local and world-famous musicians like Jane Ira Bloom, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, and sax and clarinetist Anat Cohen. In 2015, she also earned a Master of Fine Arts in Music Composition degree from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Dawn has 6 CDs under her own name and has recorded with the incomparable Jane Ira Bloom on “Wild Lines” and Emi Myers’s “Monochrome.” Dawn is Assistant Professor of Jazz Piano & Voice and Area Coordinator of Jazz and American Improvised Music at Metropolitan State University, overseeing a program initiated by Ron Miles.

TICKETS at https://www.venuepilot.co/events/104184/orders/new

ENSEMBLE
Dawn Clement – Piano/Vocals
Patrick McDevitt – Bass
Dru Heller – Drums