{"id":1172,"date":"2018-07-22T11:23:39","date_gmt":"2018-07-22T09:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicallradio.com\/articles\/?p=1172"},"modified":"2019-11-08T18:24:18","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T17:24:18","slug":"%d1%81%d0%b5%d1%9b%d0%b0%d1%9a%d0%b5-%d0%bd%d0%b0-%d0%b5%d1%98%d0%bc%d0%b8-1983-2011-%d1%83-%d0%bf%d0%be%d1%82%d1%80%d0%b0%d0%b7%d0%b8-%d0%b7%d0%b0-%d1%9f%d0%b5%d0%b7-%d1%81%d0%ba%d0%bb%d0%be%d0%bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicallradio.com\/articles\/en_US\/2018\/07\/22\/%d1%81%d0%b5%d1%9b%d0%b0%d1%9a%d0%b5-%d0%bd%d0%b0-%d0%b5%d1%98%d0%bc%d0%b8-1983-2011-%d1%83-%d0%bf%d0%be%d1%82%d1%80%d0%b0%d0%b7%d0%b8-%d0%b7%d0%b0-%d1%9f%d0%b5%d0%b7-%d1%81%d0%ba%d0%bb%d0%be%d0%bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Amy (1983-2011): Searching For The Jazz Shelter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It\u2019s been seven years since one of the best singers and authors from the beginning of the 20<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0century left us.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you belong to those who believe in the myth of the unfortunate artist, then you would undoubtedly agree that Amy is one of them. Both of her albums that were released during her lifetime were created in the moments of her emotional breakdown. The entire\u00a0pathos<\/i> and sorrow she turned into unforgettable lyrics and everlasting songs, using the artistic process as a path of healing and catharsis. The tiny diva with her tapered hair\u00a0and striking eyeliner, with a voice that has touched many hearts, lived a life of a true rock\u2019n\u2019roll star. Many times did she try to walk away from the bewitched circle of mixed emotions, depression and weakness under the “protection“ of showbiz, bumping into the ones that “should be stronger“ than her.\u00a0\u00a0In that kind of a whirlpool, Amy, as much as she could, turned to the safety of her guardian angels \u2013 her jazz role models, looking for shelter in their music.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Amy performs at London’s Music of Black Origin Awards\u00a0in 2007.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“When she died, on\u00a0Saturday 23rd\u00a0July 2011, the pop world lost an icon.<\/em> The jazz world had already lost a great jazz singer several years earlier“<\/em>,\u00a0<\/span>said Bill Ashton, the founder of Britain\u2019s National Youth Jazz Orchestra. It is here that Amy Winehouse made her first musical steps, so we presume that Ashton wanted to draw a parallel to her distance from jazz sound on her second album\u00a0Back to black.\u00a0<\/i>Although Amy\u2019s style is made from a fusion of genres, jazz has always been her starting point, and, having in mind that a year or two before her death she wanted to come back to the sound from the beginning of her career and to make a jazz album, we can say that her life started and ended with jazz.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her affection to jazz was not surprising, taking into account that her numerous close and distant relatives were jazz musicians; thanks to her father Mich, who continuously sang jazz melodies to her and her brother (he released his first pop\/jazz album\u00a0Rush of Love\u00a0<\/i>when he was 60.), she has always been listening to it and absorbing it. Her brother, with whom she often listened to different performers and discovered new genres, has also had an important role in her music development. She got her first guitar, which inspired her to write songs when she was 13, and at 14 it became crystal clear that she wanted to be a musician. She fantasized about writing her own music and singing in small jazz clubs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"When she was 20, her first album was released:\u00a0Frank<\/i>.\u00a0Frank<\/i>\u00a0as Frank Sinatra, one of her favorite singers.\u00a0F<\/em>rank<\/i> as in honest and free, just like she was. With this album, which is mostly inspired by jazz with the touch of R’n’B and funk, the world got to know her luxuriant and mature voice. Amy\u2019s unique vocal was compared by many to\u00a0<\/span>Erykah\u00a0<\/span>Badu and\u00a0<\/span>Dina Washington. Salaam Remi, her producer and one of the closest associates, said that at that time she had already sounded like a 65-year-old jazz singer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even at that young age, when she was 20, she had a clear attitude towards music. She didn\u2019t long for fame a bit (in the documentary “Amy“<\/i> she even said that she would probably go mad if that happens), the only thing she wanted was to write the kind of music she wants to. Leaning towards the taste of audience and mainstream was never in her interest, she even thought that modern songs featured in pop music top charts were \u2018diluted\u2019 and a bit dumb. She thought that the lyrics have to be autobiographical because otherwise, she couldn\u2019t send the true message to the audience. Therefore her lines had a lot of “blues“ in them, along with short, witty punchlines which removed any hints of patheticness. Brutal, but kind, as she put it in You sent me flying\u00a0<\/i>(“his message was brutal, but the delivery was kind“<\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Frank\u00a0<\/i>drew attention to a slightly “crazy“ girl with a unique voice, that hides vulnerability within herself, scars from childhood and deep emotion; to a girl with an incredible feel for improvisation, rhythm and expressive phrasing. Her first album illustrated that in front of us stands one serious young songwriter (although there are some covers of the jazz standards like There is<\/i>\u00a0no greater love\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0Moody’s Mood for love<\/i>), that already wrote completely honest, raw and powerful lyrics wrapped up in an interesting jazz arrangement. One of the best examples for it would be the recognizable theme from\u00a0Lullaby for Birland <\/i>which Amy had revived and brought again to new kids in the\u00a0October song:<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n