Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dawn Clement. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dawn , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I’m currently the pianist in an all-female quartet called Esthesis Quartet. This project started during lock-down as a music composition support group and became a fully fledged touring and performing group. All of the members of Esthesis Quartet are educators in higher academia. So, not only do we compose and perform, but we also love teaching. The musicianship and camaraderie is vibrant in the band and we get to represent another side to the way things can look on the bandstand in a Male-Dominated field.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Hey – my name is Dawn Clement. I’m a pianist, vocalist, and composer. I love all kinds of music and I love improvising! I got into music because of my family, my mom mainly. Her dad was a preacher and we always sang in church, at home, etc. My mom played piano. My first teacher was the church organist.
I remember being able to hear a harmony part to some of the hymns we sang, so maybe I was improvising at an early age, lol!
My family moved from Oregon to Texas just before middle school. I had had a couple years of lessons at that point and learned the notes on the piano. So I took with me a book of Scott Joplin and a book of Beethoven. That pretty much got me through the next year and a half.
Then right at 7th grade, we moved back to the PNW, Washington State this time. It was a culture shock for me. I was pretty shy and introverted. My mom (again, thank you MOM!) started a cleaning business and was able to get me going on lessons, classical this time. I moved through a couple teachers, did some recitals, some competitions – I remember always having major nerves.
It wasn’t until high school that I was introduced to Jazz and Improvisation and I’ll never forget playing a 12 bar blues at a jam session for the first time, how liberating that was! I was hooked from that moment on.
Had an awesome jazz teacher in high school who shared his passion for bebop with me. Like I said, I caught the jazz bug. It paid off, I ended up receiving a full ride scholarship to attend Cornish College of the Arts and from that moment, I have been doing music full time in some capacity wether it be teaching, writing, performing, listening, studying, practicing, you name it.
I taught adjunct at Cornish for 18 years and am now in Denver serving as Assistant Professor of Jazz and American Improvised Music at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
That was a quick fast forward! I’ve collaborated, performed, and toured with a plethora of imaginative and world renowned artists, starting with the great trombonist Julian Priester, soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom, drummer Matt Wilson, vocalist Rene Marie and more.
I am currently most proud of a new project/band called Esthesis Quartet. https://www.esthesisquartet.com
We’ve released two records and recently received a grant to compose, rehearse, and record with the great guitarist Bill Frisell.
I’m also proud of a self-released original song project I recorded from home during quarantine with producer friend Jon Solo called “Islands”.

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

Society can keep supporting live music. We do this by attending concerts, purchasing releases/albums/records. We support the work of the artists we love by telling others about it and by supporting business that promote live music. The music stays alive because people hear it, share it, think about it, stay curious, seek it out. Society needs music. It is a healing balm. But not just that, music is for everyone, every being, it’s the one thing that isn’t exclusive, judgmental, alienating, or elite.
And as Michelle Obama put… a jazz ensemble is the perfect example of a healthy functioning democracy.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A big lesson for me is to give people room to grow and change. I for one, don’t like to be pigeon holed or put in a box, so why should I do that to anyone else. Everyone should have room to grow, to get better, to get a second chance. I think this mindset also allows you to be open to new possibilities in the music.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dawnclement.com
• Instagram: @dawnitall or @tempestdmc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dawnitall or https://www.facebook.com/tempestdc

Image Credits
Jim Levitt