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Emerging artist Street-wise a n d street-sweet With the release of her second CD, jazz singer Armi Grano is ready to go back on the road and conquer the world -- again. Trying to make it a s a jazz singer is t o u g h for a newcomer, especially in Vancouver. There's lots of c o m p e t i t i o n , a n d other performers h a v e already m a d e all the connections. N o t that there are m a n y t o m a k e ; the n u m b e r of places that hire m u s i c i a n s is limited by the size of the p o p u l a t i o n . Sooner or later, successful performers run out o f gigs. They start eyeing greener pastures like Toronto, even as their Toronto c o u n terparts h e a d w e s t t o try their luck in Vancouver. "There's a lot of us out there," say A r m i Grano, ruefully. "I try t o be objective. I sit d o w n a n d say, okay, this is business. Business d e p e n d s o n being different. W h a t is it that I have that's d i f f e r e n t ? " For a start, there's her voice - s o m e t i m e s sinuous a n d caressing, s o m e t i m e s little-girlish a n d s a d . Its p o w e r must h a v e been evident even w h e n she w a s a k i d . A t sixteen, the eldest of six children a n d w i t h a w i d o w e d mother, she g o t a j o b singing a t a restaurant o n M a n i l a ' s sleazy Roxas Boulevard. She h a d no m u s i c a l training except listening t o the English-language radio stations that p u m p e d o u t hits for the resident U.S. forces - Sinatra, Nancy W i l s o n , Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald - especially Ella. "At first, s i n g i n g w a s a b a n d - a i d , " G r a n o says. "I really needed money. It w a s a fun job. A n d it didn't take m u c h time, s o I could g o t o school in the day." She studied c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , t h i n k i n g she m i g h t b e c o m e a b r o a d caster. But it w a s easier t o get w o r k singing - at other venues in M a n i l a , a n d later in Japan a n d H o n g K o n g . T h e n she m a r r i e d . In 1 9 8 7 she c a m e to C a n a d a . A n d suddenly her career s e e m e d to run into a brick w a l l . Faced w i t h well-established competitors a n d not m u c h opportunity, G r a n o turned her attention t o raising her newly-born daughter. "I didn't s i n g anywhere, not even in the choir at c h u r c h , " she says. "I w a s s a d , but a t the same t i m e I w a s relieved. It w a s a rest. I w a s tired by the w h o l e thing - not the singing itself, but w i t h the people y o u have t o deal w i t h , the club owners, the managers, the other musicians. I w a s relieved I didn't h a v e to d o that for a w h i l e . " By the mid-90s, t h o u g h , she w a s g o i n g r o u n d the clubs again, seeing w h o w a s a r o u n d , sitting in. The embers began t o glow. It was still hard. But she started getting gigs. People w a n t e d t o listen. She d e c i d e d to make a demo, a n d the d e m o turned into a fully-fledged CD, entitled Satin Dreams, w h i c h she describes as " g o o d for a first try." The a l b u m w a s m a d e in 1 9 9 9 , a n d G r a n o p l a n n e d t o spend the next year p r o m o t i n g it. The offers of gigs increased. She still h a d a day job, at C o q u i t l a m City Hall. One day in July 2 0 0 0 she felt a t w i n g e of pain a n d t h o u g h t she'd pulled a ligament. Next m o n t h she had surgery for breast cancer. "I quit m y j o b but said I'd keep s i n g i n g . I did theTantra Lounge at Lonsdale Quay for t w o m o n t h s w h i l e I w a s having chemotherapy. I did the M a r q u e e Grill a n d the Four Seasons Hotel. It w a s a lot of effort. At the same time, performing w a s a therapy. I really enjoyed it and I really looked f o r w a r d to it, a l t h o u g h I k n e w I w a s g o i n g to be weak. Cancer treatment is cumulative, so t o w a r d the end you get weaker a n d weaker. "I w a s h a v i n g gigs in W h i s t l e r w h e n my hair fell out. I remember that. It w a s at a c o n v e n t i o n of doctors. W e i r d coincidence. I had this really long, thick hair. You h o p e up to the last minute that it's not g o i n g to h a p p e n t o y o u . But of course it does. So you shave your head a n d cry a little bit a n d that's it. "It w a s very frustrating a n d depressing. I w a s wearing a w i g and g o i n g to all these gigs a n d trying to promote the CD. It was just very hard." In the spring of 2001 G r a n o a n d her h u s b a n d John ("he's the one w h o believes in m e a n d pushes me all the t i m e " ) w e n t to Puerto Vallarta. There she met an o l d friend w h o w a s playing and recording. G r a n o sat in w i t h the b a n d a n d put d o w n e n o u g h rough tracks for a n e w CD. Back in Vancouver she asked the multi-talented bassist Torben O x b o l t o produce the final version. "Torben said, sure, he'd d o it. A n d I w a s like, 'Are you sure? Is it g o o d e n o u g h ? ' He's a magnificent guy, the best. W h e n he took it I was very happy. It w a s a really g o o d experience. I actually took some voice Anna Wyman School Of Dance Arts Register Term! now for our Winter/Spring 2002 Girls & Boys Pre School Classes; Ballet (RAD&Classical Ballet Technique); Repertoire; Contemporary; Jazz, Tap, & Hip Hop; Adult Ballet and Contemporary; Adult Jazz (Ladies & Gentlemen); Boys Only (Teens/Up) Jazz/Hip HopATap; Room for Yoga Program; Professional Training Program & Performing Groups 1457 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. V7T 1B8 Tel: 604-926-6535 FAX: 604-926-6912 20 January | February