Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your latest album, and what themes or stories you aimed to convey through your music?

There are many inspirations behind my latest album. Some of the songs are more traditional blues in arrangement (Plenty Of Nothin’ To Do, Please Me), but even those songs that are not strictly blues have core themes that are blues. I write about connection and relationship, loving and loss, heartbreak, perseverance, sensuality and longing.

The first songs on the album were written over a period of time starting with a difficult year I spent in my hometown to be with my parents as they were dying. The song, Under Your Spell was inspired by my hometown The uplifting tone of the song became a way for me to cope after a lot of personal loss.

The rest of the album was mostly written during Covid. Some of these songs and have a nostalgic feel (Rainy Day, Familiar).

Songs like Love & Money, Heart Of Stone, I Draw The Line are about struggle in relationship.

There are a couple of tunes that are more Jazz inspired – Sit Down Daddy and Crazy Love bring out a more melodic, almost retro jazz feel.

Music often has the power to transport people to different places and times. Can you describe a moment in your life when a particular song or album had a profound impact on you?

As a teenager, I started listening to classic rock and in particular, Led Zeppelin. Their music helped me cope with some of my early experiences with depression and loneliness.

One of their songs, Kashmir became a visionary anthem in my life.

An interesting story goes with this song. Early in our life together, my husband and I were hired by some friends to drive their moving van from Northern Washington to Northern California. My husband drove their van loaded with their life’s belongings and I drove our pick-up truck with our belongings and their sweet collie. There was a moment on that trip when my husband and I were driving through Cashmere, Washington. It was noon and I turned on the radio. Just at that moment, the classic rock station played the song Kashmir. Later I discovered that my husband had turned on the radio at the same time, listening to the same song, just as we were driving through Cashmere. It was a magical moment at a point of great transition in my life.

Listening to Zeppelin also opened up my musical world. The inspiration behind much of their music was early American Blues coming out of the Delta region of Mississippi (interestingly, my husband is from this region and only after leaving the south did he realize that the roots of rock came from his hometown of Clarksdale, MS). Zeppelin’s music led me straight to the Blues which is at the heart of what I love to write and perform.

Many artists have rituals or routines they follow before performing or recording. Do you have any unique or quirky pre-show or pre-recording rituals that you find help you get in the zone?

1) The very start of my pre-show routine starts with loading my car. I have this little red wheel barrow that I use to transport my equipment from my house to my car. Just looking at the wheel barrow starts to focus my mind on the show ahead.

2) Next, I pick out my outfit. What I choose to wear, the color and style, sets a tone, theme and energy that I’ll be bringing into my show. An important part of this is my special jewelry. My Mom passed away some years ago, and I wear a silver necklace, earrings and a bracelet that used to be hers. I feel emotionally fortified with her love when I wear them.

3) Then it’s on to my vocal exercises with a strong focus on my breath support and relaxing my voice.

4) When I get to my show, I have my special circular rug that I like to place down. My musical “Magic Carpet” sets an intention on the show ahead. As I set up my instruments on that rug, I envision what I’ll be doing with each.

5) Finally, when I’m about to begin, I like to look out at the venue and the people there and give thanks for another opportunity to share this music and this also informs me of what kind of mood the audience is in which supports my performance.

These simple rituals or routines follow me to every performance — big or small.

When it comes to recording, the first few steps are the same, but when I arrive at the studio, I go into a much more introspective space. Instead of preparing to share my music with the audience in the outer world (as when performing), I get ready to bring the audience in-to my world.

Recording is such an evocative, intimate experience for me, especially when I’m singing. Each breath, note, word conveys everything because it is immortalized in a moment of recording.

So my step #4) – I close my eyes, breathe deeply and visualize how this microphone will become a conduit for the listener to feel all the emotion I can express.

Your lyrics often tell a story or convey a message. Can you share the story behind one of your songs and the inspiration that led to its creation?

One song I’d like to talk about is called Familiar. It will be released with the full album in February.

I was inspired to write Familiar as Covid forced lockdown on the world. One verse from the song, “I’m starting to remember how we used to be” was posed as question of an uncertain world. When we come out of this difficult time and we’re finally together again, how will we feel about one another?

Familiar is also about aging and reflecting on the past. It’s about reuniting with people we used to love and wondering what feelings still remain after years of being apart — will we still feel that spark?

The song also speaks to the more difficult aspects of aging — memory loss, Dementia, Alzheimers. My Nana (Mom’s Mom) suffered with Dementia. It was heartbreaking to watch her forget those she loved and also her own sense of self.

If you could curate a music festival with a lineup of your dream artists, who would be the headliners, and what would the theme of the festival be?

I would love to be part a line-up that includes:
Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, Shemekia Copeland, Lucinda Williams, Samantha Fish, Ana Popović, Beth Hart

The theme is:
Comin’ Back Home – Women in the Blues

Music can be a powerful tool for advocacy and change. Are there any social or political causes that you’re passionate about, and how does your music play a role in promoting these issues?

There are so many causes that I feel are critical to our world right now. Much of my earliest music has themes of environmental and social justice, of remembering our connection to the Earth and to one another.

Throughout my life, I’ve faced issues of mental illness and suicide and write about this in some of my songs. I am also extremely passionate about reproductive rights and access to gender affirming care.

Another issue of great concern to me is human trafficking. With my album – Tidal Wave, I dedicated proceeds towards an organization called Not For Sale that helps rehabilitate people who have been human trafficked.

I have performed at many events that raise awareness and support of these issues that I care about. Music is a vehicle to bring people together, to raise consciousness and intention. It is a powerful way to reach a lot of people to advocate change.

The music industry has evolved significantly with technology. How do you see artificial intelligence and emerging technologies impacting the creation and distribution of music in the future?

AI is already influencing the way music is distributed and shared through the digital media platforms. My hope is that AI technology will still remain accessible to independent artists as a means to reaching new audiences. Emerging technologies have really leveled the playing field for new artists to gain access to the world.

Some worry that AI replace songwriters and composers or that there is a risk of unauthorized use of people’s voices in AI generated music. Although I believe these may become real risks, I also believe that listening audiences will still support artists to make their art.

One counter balance to the virtual world of AI is live, local music. There is a seductive quality to generating large numbers of views on digital platforms, but there is also a hunger in people to see and hear live music and an appreciation for the artists who create that music.

Many recording artists evolve over time. How do you see your musical journey changing and growing in the next decade?

I was just listening to some demos of my earliest songs — they were really beautiful, but some of it was very cerebral and heady. As time goes by, my songwriting has traveled from my head to my gut. The music I write now is more visceral and emotional to me. I once heard an old blues musician say you can’t really sing the blues until you’ve lived the blues. This rings true for me.

In the next decade, I feel myself deepening into my blues and jazz roots as a vocalist, songwriter and instrumentalist. The longer I live this life, the more blues I seem to have in me to sing. I can see myself growing old and still singing the Blues.

Just last year I put together my new band – Jen Ambrose & The Mystics. This project focuses mostly on my original material and select covers. I’m excited to grow and share the music from this project with a larger audience and aim for touring.

Another aspect of my musical journey is sync placement. I’m starting to reach out to Music Supervisors with the aspiration of landing music placement in shows or movies. This is really exciting to me!

Finally, I will continue performing my solo-live-looping show, but I’m already writing new material and collaborating again with Ken Orsow for an upcoming recording project.

Thank you Tune Talk for your time in asking these questions and sharing part of my musical journey with your audience. As an independent musician it means a lot to me to have this opportunity to share some of my story.