Denzal Sinclaire – Courtesy of Greenberg Artists. Used with permission.
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Jack Everly, will present a Pops Series concert of popular romantic music featuring Canadian jazz singer Denzal Sinclaire. An abbreviated Coffee Pops concert will be held on Friday, February 11 at 11 a.m. as well as an 8 p.m. concert that night and Saturday evening, February 12, at Hilbert Circle Theatre on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis,
One of Canada’s most popular jazz vocalists, Sinclaire is ranked among the finest jazz singers of his generation. Having graced the stages of numerous prestigious concert halls and festivals around the world, Sinclaire has performed with many renowned artists as well. He’s recorded three album and also acts, appearing on stage, TV and film.
Recently, I chatted on Zoom with Sinclaire, who was calling from his home in Toronto. No stranger to Indianapolis, he’s performed on at least three occasions at the Palladium in Carmel, including at the induction of Nat King Cole into the Great American Songbook Hall of Fame in 2014. Sinclaire said the center’s artistic director and founder of the Great American Songbook Foundation, Michael Feinstein, has always been supportive of him and his career. This will mark the first time Sinclaire will perform with the ISO, though he’s worked previously with Everly before when the maestro conducted the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in the Fall of 2018. and they performed the full Nat King Cole Songbook program.
It was for good reason that Sinclaire was chosen to sing songs made famous by Cole at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, during which the late Natalie Cole, accepted the Hall of Fame Legend Award on her father’s behalf. Regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of the iconic crooner, Sinclaire said half of the ISO concert would comprise songs from the Cole songbook and the other half would be romantic songs to fit the love theme. I asked him why Cole’s music resonates with him so much. “Well, he has such a wonderful voice that is so soothing and a vibration that I really feel,” he said. “The few times I did see him live, it just struck me how humble he was. I really appreciated that he was an influential person, yet very approachable.”
As for his other music influences, Sinclaire, said, “I grew up listening to my parents’ records that included the music of Cole, Sarah Vaughan’s greatest hits, Johnny Mathis’s greatest hits, Jackie Gleason, Tommy Dorsey, Motown. Of course, I also loved listening to the classical music of Handel and Bach, and a lot of people like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ella, Carmen McCrae, Al Jarreau. I loved Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin…I know I am missing a bunch, but I also loved the sound of Andy Williams, Perry Como.”
I asked what it’s like for him to sing with symphony orchestras now, as opposed to all those old records. Sinclaire replied, “It’s the sound I love. The experience of all those wonderful people together, creating those frequencies. It’s a really lush feeling and you feel like you are floating on it.”
Our conversation then shifted to how he spent the early pandemic during lockdown. The laid-back Sinclaire said he used that time to learn new things, including “a lot from YouTube University.” He explained, “The lessons included visual-graphic-design stuff and a lot of theory. I noodled with the guitar, a project I chip away at, and a little bit of bass, piano too, shoring up my harmonic understanding in terms of voice leading. I also tinkered with some digital music. Then, of course, I engaged in my full-time occupation, which is maintaining my spiritual practice and meditation and staying on an even keel.”
Another happy lockdown pursuit for Sinclaire was a new recording project. “There is an album that is currently in the making with a wonderful vocalist Dee Daniels,” he said. “It’s an album of hymns and spiritual songs on a gospel record that we are working on right now for release later. It will be a first for me, perhaps because of this time we are in, of trying new things. This music is not in my wheelhouse but has certainly been an interesting project.”
Concluding our conversation, I asked Sinclaire why folks should celebrate Valentine’s Day with him and the ISO. He said, “It’s all about love. I look forward to sharing some beautiful songs about love that one of the greatest artists in the world, Nat King Cole, sang.” Before ending our call, Sinclaire quoted one of his idol’s song lyrics (from “Nature Boy”): “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.’
For tickets and information about the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Valentine’s concert with special guest Denzal Sinclaire, visit indianapolissymphony.org.
