Jazz Vocalist Vanessa Rubin Joins Lincoln Theatre North Star Concert

Jazz vocalist Vanessa Rubin will join longtime Columbus pianist/organist and bandleader Bobby Floyd and his trio for the Lincoln Theatre Association's annual North Star concert at the Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.) Friday, November 21 at 7 p.m.

Floyd and Rubin will be featured on this uplifting evening of positivity and hope through music and the arts. As the North Star is a symbol of guidance and hope, so the Lincoln Theatre Association's North Star Concert offers a beacon of light and life to our community.

Revered as both a torchbearer and a storyteller, Rubin possesses a voice hailed for crystalline clarity, hearth-like warmth, and playful lioness sass. The Cleveland native brings a wealth of diverse influences to her vocal performance from both the Trinidadian/Caribbean roots of her mother and traditional jazz by way of her Louisiana-born father. Influences also include Columbus jazz legend Nancy Wilson.

Vanessa's journey to becoming a jazz singer could be said to have begun at an early age. She was characterized by her mother as always being “a very vocal child,” and knew Vanessa would, “do something with that big ol' mouth of hers.” Coming from parents who valued academia, discipline, and hard work, that “something” was meant to be law school. Attaining a BA from The Ohio State School of Journalism in 1979 was not a disappointment. However, her decision to pursue a career jazz singing did come as a surprise. Vanessa's fascination with language coupled with her passion for music, especially jazz, pointed her on a collision course toward jazz performance.

Her “a-ha” moment came during a college beauty pageant at which Vanessa was accompanied by a young Bobby Floyd. “I fell in love with the moment, the music, the audience and the effect it had on them and me,” Rubin remembers.

Eight albums and numerous guest appearances later, plus a growing passion for writing original tunes, and Rubin is still a favorite at jazz clubs and festivals here in the US and abroad. Her work as a producer and educator/clinician with youth in communities as well as in educational institutions worldwide is ongoing.