Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Fredericks

Hi Susan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

As a young child my mother encouraged me to play the piano. She had played as a young girl and wanted me to enjoy the piano as much as she did. My experience in school was always classical piano all the way up until high school. But I also loved what I was hearing on the radio at that time. The standards were always playing in our house. It was Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Carmen McCrae, Mel Torme, all the great singers of the time. By the time I was in high school I knew all of the lyrics to so many of the great tunes now known as the Great American Songbook.

Around the same time a friend of mine’s dad, who has an avid interest in jazz, took me and my friend to the Plugged Nickel in Chicago to a matinee for families to hear Woody Herman and the Herd. That was IT for me! To hear the exciting soloists stand up in the middle of the tunes and take solos, improvising so incredibly on the changes just blew me away. I wanted to be able to play and hear and improvise like that no matter what it took.

Ever since that day I have dedicated myself to this art form. Little did I realize, my nonchalant childhood listening also endowed me with the melodies, harmonies and forms that gave me some of the musical language and skills I needed to become a professional pianist.

Recently, as of 2019, my emphasis has been on composing. The new compositions reflect my search to take my playing to uncharted territories. In this way I can continue to grow as a pianist, composer and improvisor.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

Is the life of a musician ever a smooth road? I don’t think so but all in all I can’t complain. Being a woman it wasn’t easy to break into the professional circles to be sure but I was blessed to be surrounded by a heck of a lot of great, supportive men. But let’s be clear, when an opportunity to play professionally comes around for a women, you’d better be ready. And when I say “ready” I mean more ready than anyone else on the bandstand that night.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

My most recent projects have been inspired by visual art and so I have been making short films in addition to composing and performing to talk about the connection between the two art forms. MuseArte Media is a company I founded to produce my recordings and short films. They are all on my YouTube channel @susanfrederickspiano. There I talk about the collaborations that I’ve had with artists and musicians and I provide playlists for my listeners to catch up on my latest projects as they unfold day to day.

Cloudy Figures: From the Creator’s Perspective is one such film that intends to give viewers a “rare glimpse” into an artist’s process of creating. Not only the method that the artist used to create the work, but the events happening in the world at the time and the feelings that the creators can reveal about the subject matter. It is enlightening.
Although art speaks for itself, when we hear from artists in their own words their intent becomes transparent. It heightens the viewers appreciation and understanding of the work and they can then connect on a more personal level.
Everyone sees art and hears music in their own way bringing their own knowledge and experience into the gallery or concert hall with them. This film gives insight into what the creators were seeing and hearing as their work evolved over time.

You can see it on YouTube at https://youtu.be/TAmW6lYsyHY or search YouTube.com@susanfrederickspiano

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?

As we speak I am reading “Freedom of Expression” Interviews with Women in Jazz by Chris Becker. What a great read! He chronicles women going back to Lillian Harden (Armstrong) in the history section of the book and then interviews many of the contemporary women artists of today such as Terry Lynn Carrington and many other wonderful women musicians.

I use Music Speed Changer, an app that is helpful in taking off transcriptions and I use DrumGenius as a play along drum loop app to practice with.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.museartemedia.com
• Instagram: www.instagram@musearte_media
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Susan Fredericks
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@susanfrederickspiano