Anthology

An Interview with Sweet Baby J’ai

By Casey Pukl

Oh, Sweet Baby J’ai! You’re all in for a great treat today! All of the incredibly talented artists involved in Thursday night’s “Shaken Not Stirred: The Music of James Bond” have more than their talent in common— they’re all incredibly energetic and fun people to chat with!

Read on to find out how Sweet Baby J’ai came to be a part of the show, why her musical background makes her so unique, and just what she loves most about San Diego!

CP: Tell me a little bit about the show you’re doing, “Shaken Not Stirred”?

SBJ:  Ted Howe has had a thing for James Bond, and he thinks James Bond is so cool [laughs]. It’s as if we wanted to take ourselves back into the James Bond movies with Moneypenny and all them. “Shaken Not Stirred” is going to be a tribute to James Bond music, like “Goldfinger” and all those great songs. So Ted did arrangements of all of them, and Cheryl [Bentyne] and I are adding our flavor to the mix which makes it exciting, because we’re two different people. As another entity,  when we put it all on stage, we can really do a lot of songs. People love James Bond! You’d be surprised how many people will start naming villains and songs and other characters.

CP: Oh, totally! James Bond fans are almost as hardcore as Star Trek fans.

SBJ: That’s right! “Beam me up, Scotty!” [Laughs] it’s so true! 

CP: James Bond is the ultimate cool guy.

SBJ: He is! He’s the ultimate cool guy. People have their favorites, you know, it’s just amazing! It is always fun to do interpretations of the cool guy.

CP: Absolutely. How did you get involved in this project? Had you worked with Ted before?

SBJ: Yes, I’ve worked with Ted before, and he is a wonderful arranger. As you know, I am a wild card. I am a washboard-playing, bone-strapping diva [laughs]. I was like, “You’re arranging for me, Daddy! You’ve got a challenge on your hands, so let’s see what you come up with [laughs]!” He said, “I’ve got something for you, honey.” That’s what makes it cool. He’s a cool cat, and we come from different schools, but that’s what is wonderful about it. Also, we’ll hear Cheryl [Bentyne] from The Manhattan Transfer, then Ted as a pianist/arranger, that school, and then I come from the, “Let’s see what I can whip out of my bag,” school. 

CP: It’s fun to combine all that stuff! I know you kind of mentioned that your musical background is a little bit different— how did you get your start?

SBJ: I have been doing this now for many years, and I started when I was a kid. My mom put me in piano lessons, and then I went to violin in junior high, then guitar in high school in college. Then I started writing songs and absolutely fell in love with music. Then I really started wanting to travel with my music. I have been all over the world with my music, and I love it. Originally I am from Kansas City, and during my summers I grew up in Chicago and New Orleans, so you can hear that flavor of jazz and blues from where I grew up. My father was a musician, so I grew up around music. My father played guitar, and my uncle was a bass player who played with Billie Holliday and Lionel Hansen, and my cousin played with Dizzy Gillespie. It was more laid out that way, and I grew up listening to jazz and blues from my parents. I sort of liked rock and roll. I went through all those phases, but of course, you always end up right where you started from, with jazz and blues. It’s just what I do. I will play with Zydeco to keep up my washboard chops. That keeps my washboard chops and that flavor in me, then I’ll go play blues, or I’ll put on a gown and do a big band thing, or sing some James Bond music. The wonderful thing about it is it’s the many faces of Sweet Baby J’ai, but it’s all one face because it’s me.

CP: It’s great to be versatile and get to have fun with so many different styles. You have to keep it fresh somehow.

SBJ: That’s the most wonderful thing about it. It’s just music; it’s all just music. What’s wonderful about it is that I just bring my specific style to that specific genre. So you’re always going to get a little bit of this and a little bit of that, as you will with Cheryl and Ted. It’s all about what your influences are; that’s what makes wonderful music, I think that just makes me so happy [laughs].

CP: Absolutely! So what are you most looking forward to about coming to Anthology and bringing this show to San Diego?

SBJ: Well San Diego is one of my favorite places. It’s always calm, it’s local for me, and I don’t have to travel so far. It’s easy to just go 2 hours away, and I know it’s going to be calm. San Diego has great music lovers and appreciative people. I guess it’s something about being in this beautiful city that you can just go out and appreciate music when it comes around. There’s a lot of music happening in San Diego. I’ve played down there a few times. People are always having a wonderful time. I’ve found that different cities bring different attitudes towards music. In LA, it’s all about the hustle and bustle, but San Diego is much more laid back which lends itself a lot to James Bond. It’s as if it’s like, “I’m here, I’m cool.”

The show should be really fun! It will be like going to a Star Trek convention [laughs]. I don’t know, but I’m expecting some costumes. It should be fun!

Come on down and have fun with Sweet Baby J’ai, Cheryl Bentyne, and Ted Howe this Thursday night! Unwind from your 4th of July festivities with one of the coolest shows of the year!
Sweet Baby J’ai on Spotify

WHAT: Shaken Not Stirred: The Music of James Bond with Ted Howe & Company featuring Cheryl Bentyne and Sweet Baby J’ai
WHEN: Thursday, July 5, 7:30pm
TICKETS: $10-$35 Buy Tickets
MORE INFO: Artist Profile