Karen Francis

Links: Buy The CD | My Label

I was born to and raised by a musican, my father C. W. Francis II, in Keysville and then later Augusta Georgia. The music in my heart came from my father. The music in my soul came from my mother.
By me, my earliest experiences of music (that I can remember) began somewhere around age 4 when I spent time laying under my father's baby grand piano soaking in his musical expressions while he played "Two Sleepy People". He made that piano sigh and weep. I remember feeling what I'm sure he must have been feeling when he played. I also recall sitting quietly on the rear risers in the choir room while he rehearsed his sacred acapella choir at Boggs Academy. I didn't know it then, but that's when I started learning about vocal articulation since he was really particular about that. He insisted that his singers make clean and clear words. At age 4 I knew from his facial expression that this was important to him because he would smile when they did it right - and when they didn't do it right, there was a lecture. LOL! So... I started paying attention to that because every little girl wants to please her daddy. Now, as a grown up singer myself, people tell me that when I sing my voice sounds so clear that they can hear every word. Thanks Daddy... :-)
At around that same time Daddy started me on the piano. He bought this big ole chalk board that had mickey mouse characters painted at the top. Trying to make it fun (I guess) he valiantly tried to teach me the cycle of fifths...... but as a little girl, I found it hard to learn piano from him because he expected much more from me than his regular piano students! :-) I learned more about the piano later - investigating it on my own.
I can't remember not listening to music - or not being around it. My parents had Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Mel Torme, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, and Marian Anderson albums that I listened to over and over and over and over... I was also addicted to tv musicals - Oklahoma was my favorite! LOL! Eventually - in grade school - I took on the clarinet, which was pretty fun. Initially I'd wanted to play the flute and be like my big sister, but all we had available in the house when it was my turn to join the band was the Clarinet, so...... a girl gotta do what she gotta do - ya know?
In highschool, I added baritone and alto saxophone to the arsenal. I played the baritone sax in the highschool Jazz Band for a while. And my band director even tried to use me on the baritone horn during marching band season..... PPFFFFFFFFFFFFFT....Don't get me started... I don't even know how I made that horn make sounds - but I did it! LOL!
Later I went on to college and played clarinet in Tuskegee University Marching Crimson Piper band. Talk about FFUN!! WHAT??!! Who knew playing and marching at the same time like that was possible? Then I pledged Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority. Shout out to the sorors!!!
While doubling on the bari, the guy who was the section leader of the baritone section thought I was better on clarinet and we competed. He enjoyed my energy and boldness and eventually we became high school sweethearts and lifelong friends of the spirit. He was my first and truest love - and so what he loved, I loved too. So...when Jimmy learned about jazz, he taught me what he was learning because we shared everything.
At first I didn't really dig it, but in the interest of 'standing by my man' I sat thru many of his early attempts at learning to improvise on the trombone. One day some years later while attending a jazz festival in Washington DC in the early 90's, something seemed to hit me over the head and BAM! I was in love with it. In that moment, Jazz became a living, breathing, lovely thing for me and so now, here I am.
While living in D.C, I joined a workshop for singers and learned that Jimmy had essentially taught me everything that I was learning in the workshop and eventually everything I'd ever really need to know about the art form. So I used the workshop to practice and define and learn more music. And to test what he had already taught me. Eventually I got out onto the scene with the help of many good Washington D.C. musicians who eventually became faithful friends and began working on the scene. We got to play many of D.C's jazz spots: Blues Alley, The Kennedy Center, Bohemian caverns, HR-57 among them.
Eventually I went on to meet Stanley Cowell whom I'd met at an afterparty at his home in Maryland. I sang for him (knees shaking, hands sweatin) and a few weeks later he invited me to record with him - which I did. This was my first real gig anyplace... and I didn't have a clue about the whole recording process. We made a CD called "Mandara Blossoms" for SteepleChase records, and we recorded that in New York City. I was terribly excited and excitedly terrified - all at the same time. Essentially, I guess you could say that Stanley discovered me. And thru him, I had the opportunity to work with SteepleChase Records and other musicians like Ralph Peterson, George Cables, and Billy Pierce at that time.
That opportunity led to two solo recordings of my own at the same label: 'Where is Love?' and 'Little Sunflower'. And later I recorded 'Better Days' on Indie Label - VirgoRising Records. On those projects I got to work with Larry Willis, Mark Turner, Christian McBride, Lonnie Plaxico, Gerry Eastman, George Cables, George Colligan, James King, Antonio Parker, Mike Hawkins, Nasar Abadey, Sam Turner, Barnette Williams and Aaron Walker. And not in that particular order. Talk about knees knockin.. If you can imagine what it feels like to skydive, that's how scary and exhilirating it was to work with these cats. And it was all love - every drop.
These days, I'm still exploring and expressing myself musically. We have a new project that is in the mixing stage which will be out soon enough. This one is dedicated to my mother whose spirit of joy and fun I have come to recognize as the roots of my own same spirit.
Each time I make a recording, it's a wonderful, complicated, fun, and intense personal and spiritual growth process. This time I was blessed to have Marc Cary and Norman Simmons (piano), Curtis Lundy (bass), and Greg Hutchinson (drums) on the date with some beautifuly musical love thrown in from Mark Gross and Justin Robinson on alto saxophone. We had a reaaally good time making music on this project. The session was mad cool fun. Curtis Lundy was the engine that made things happen (Hugs to Lundy) and Marc the wind, Greg my thunder and lightning. We really hope that y'all like listening to it as much as we liked making it. So keep an ear out for it in 08.
Grace and Peace,
-Frankie