 
Published: October 04, 2008 12:17 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA
(Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight
Beverly Ritz
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Beverly Ritz
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One of the most interesting facts about Beverly Ritz is her accomplishments as an artist. The melodic jazz pianist/composer-lyricist/vocalist performs to us with awareness for animal's rights & being green through her music. Many of her songs' main themes tackle a variety of other issues too. Ritz recently took time to speak to Junior's Cave on a personal level.
Please enjoy this excellent spotlight!
Isaac: Elaborate on who you are and your upbringing.
Beverly Ritz: I am a composer who aims to improve the world with music that pacifies and enhances the life of the listener. Born in Washington, D.C., as a child, I was inundated with music: the popular music my mother chose to hear on the radio--with gorgeous compositions by Henry Mancini, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Andre Previn, the classical music my father preferred, and the "Top 40" sample 45s from the radio station where my aunt worked. I started writing my own music even before I knew how to read music.
Beginning piano lessons at age 8, I soon began to write down the tunes in my head. AND I decided I wanted to become a world-famous composer & pianist, one day giving concerts of my compositions.
Isaac: Was there any one musician that spoke to your heart so profoundly, you were
inspired to do your own thing?
Beverly Ritz: Marian McPartland most of all; Her great chords. Her gorgeous compositions! Her ability to sustain a career as a pianist for 70 years!
Isaac: Which singer/group would you say you would most like to do a duet with?
Beverly Ritz: Jazz singer Sue Raney. Also, jazz drummer Mel Brown & his band.
Isaac: What singer/songwriter do you most connect with?
Beverly Ritz: The composers I most connect with are Marian McPartland, Jobim, Henry Mancini, Richard Rodgers, and John Coltrane.
Isaac: Out of your entire song collection that you've written thus far, which song(s)
would you say is/are the most personal/meaningful to you?
Beverly Ritz: Definitely BY ROWDY CREEK, A DISTANT DREAM, LACEY MAE, UNDER THE REDWOOD TREES, and IN A HURRICANE.
Isaac: Which singers/groups do you enjoy/like from some of today's music genres?
Beverly Ritz: Bruce Hornsby!
Isaac: What charities are you involved with or support?
Beverly Ritz: Cat & dog rescue. Protection of wildlife & wilderness, including the oceans.
Isaac: Have you (or would you ever consider) writing a song about any of today's
particular world issues/problems? If so, what world issue would speak to you the most to
write about?
Beverly Ritz: The universal pollution of the ocean & global warming have combined to threaten the existence of marine mammals, fish, and-of course--polar bears. This is a tragedy I hope to address with my music.
Some time ago, fearing that oil wells were coming to Santa Monica Bay--where I lived then--I wrote "No Oil." This was the first world issue I chose to write about.
Since then, I have written about the protection of sea lions, seals, wolves, and feral cats. And about the preservation of wilderness.
Isaac: Why should people listen to your music?
Beverly Ritz: My music is passionate, and has the potential to change the mood and even the thinking patterns of the listener. Once, a man with Alzheimer's who heard me playing piano became animated and articulate, leaving the silence and isolation that had previously consumed him!
Isaac: Your music is relaxing and chill. What inspired you to toss out these awesome
lyrics and cords?
Beverly Ritz: My earliest heroes--Henry Mancini & Jobim inspired me to throw away triads a long time ago!
Then, after discovering Marian McPartland, McCoy Tyner, and Herbie Hancock--in the last 25 years, I realized their chords were the ingredients I needed to enrich my compositions.
The melodies come to me usually when I am sitting at a piano; sometimes when I am walking in nature.
Isaac: How far into the creation of a song do you share any of it with anyone? Who would
you play it for? Would it be a chorus, a verse and chorus, or a complete song?
Beverly Ritz: When the melody & chords are "done," I might play the song for a friend with great musical taste.
Isaac: How much do you let others "mess around with" one of your new songs?
Beverly Ritz: I DON'T!
Isaac: Do you have to be a tortured soul to be a singer-songwriter?
Beverly Ritz: All of my songs come from a deep place in my soul, only accessible with the strongest feelings: love, joy, and sadness.
Isaac: Are your songs strictly autobiographical or are they embroidered autobiography?
Beverly Ritz: Definitely autobiographical.
Isaac: How long does it take you to process your emotions and turn them into songs?
Beverly Ritz: Anywhere from 5 minutes to several weeks.
Isaac: The best piece of advice you actually followed?
Beverly Ritz: Think of myself as an Olympic athlete in training.
Isaac: Give Shutouts to your family and friends.
Beverly Ritz: I would like to thank guitarist Phil Mack, whose love and nurturing enabled me to retrieve my physical strength and true inner voice.
And I would like to thank pianist/composer George Kahn, whose encouraging words and kind review (of "By Rowdy Creek") gave my career the boost it needed.
Isaac: Last but certainly not least, what are you working on, now?
Beverly Ritz: Promoting, practicing, & performing. And seeking new venues for performing. Do you have any venue suggestions?
Isaac: Maybe? Thanks for the Support
Beverly Ritz: Thank you,
Beverly Ritz
Beverly Ritz
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