We recently connected with Beth Lederman and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Beth, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I have wanted to be a professional keyboard player for as long as I can remember. My father played piano and I started taking lessons at age 5. I started playing in bands when I was 19 years old and have been doing so ever since. It’s not an easy path! For most of my life I have been able to support myself with gigs, but sometimes I also had other jobs, especially when I was younger and just getting started.
It’s not like I sort of want to play, I have a burning desire to play music. It is a skill I have been working on for decades now and there is always more to learn! I enjoy the challenge even though it can be quite humbling. You have to have faith that new work will come in and you have to constantly be trying to stay on top of the business side of things as well as growing as an artist.

Beth, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a professional keyboard player who works as both a side person and as a band leader. I love many different types of music and play alot of different styles, but I am known mostly as a jazz pianist and as a latin player. Brazilian music is one type of music that really speaks to me, and I was the leader of a Brazilian Jazz group for ten years, but now I mostly freelance and play with a variety of different bands. Everything from solo piano to variety bands, church gigs, concerts, big bands, just about everything I can.I have recorded several albums, traveled here and there, and I hope to keep playing and creating for the rest of my life. I think I’m getting better and that makes me feel really happy. My current group is called Jazz Con Alma and infuses latin rhythms into jazz standards and pop tunes, as well as paying tribute to some of my favorite composers. I try to not worry about labels too much and just play the music that speaks to me. I would love to focus on my own compositions more in the future and find some good artists to collaborate with.
It’s important for me to remember that no matter what the style of music is, one of the main things I want to do is to connect with my audience. That doesn’t have to mean playing music that everyone will love, but it does mean playing with integrity and not being afraid to show what it is that I love about the music I am playing. It can be a simple song, but still be deep, and I try to play my best without judgement. People really enjoy watching people who are enjoying themselves. I also think it gives us confidence when we watch other people who are confident and happy. It can inspire people to get in touch with their emotions and give them a chance to feel confident and brave as well. I think it is especially important for woman to see other women who are doing well.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

One thing I think can be a detriment is people who keep waiting for a mentor to guide them on their path. There are so many people we can learn from, and opening your mind and heart to them is really important. But it is rare to get a single mentor who is going to care about your career the way you do. I do think it is important for all of us to support each other, regardless of age. Sure young people definitely need support, but so does everyone! It is easy to be encouraging and supportive of others once you are confident in your own work. I realized there would always be people who were better than me, but there also would always be people who were worse, and that the important thing is communicating with love and integrity. I just try to make the band I am in sound better as a whole…synergistic. We are all better when we work together.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Support the arts by voting in candidates who support the arts, attend events, contribute to spaces where art and live music are featured. Join your local arts organization and help apply pressure to ask for funding and support for the arts. As fewer and fewer opportunities for royalties and CD sales and things that artists use to do to earn income dry up, we should vote for more funding for arts organizations. The arts bring in money to communities. Nobody visits a town for its strip malls, we go to see art, theatre dance and music, and when we are there we also spend money on food and shopping and parking and all the things that make a community stronger. Also, it is super important to make our voices heard that we value the arts in education. When art, drama, and music programs are cut from schools we all suffer. The arts should receive as much support as sports do, we do ourselves a disservice by not funding programs the way we should. Arts are not a luxury, they are what keep kids involved, give us all an outlet, foster creativity, and bring in revenues to communities.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.BethLederman.com
• Instagram: azpnogrrl
• Facebook: Jazz Con Alma
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPJ3Yv2VhG3ySbiecwLNt92MQ5-wyzzx8&si=_NczSapPAhLoP9YZ

Image Credits

photo by Carrie Motzig band photo by Pablo Robles