by Dawn Slade 

Trying to define jazz is like trying to define the color indigo. It’s somewhere between blue and violet. While jazz lies somewhere between Blues and Classical. But once you hear Nancy Harms sing, you’ll know exactly what jazz is.

Harms released her first CD, called “In the Indigo,” on Thursday, Nov. 19.

A former Milaca Elementary School music teacher, Harms left her dependable career three years ago and took a risk.

She moved to the Twin Cities and began her entanglement in the world of jazz.

Singing at coffee shops, hanging out with jazz musicians, and listening to a lot of musicians, Harms introduced herself, made inquiries, and discovered a jazz vocalist coalition.

It was through that coalition and at the Time Bar and Cafe in Minneapolis, that she met Robert Bell (a producer and now mentor) and Arne Fogel (who provided vocal and creative input on the CD).

The three of them collaborated on the CD and Harms spent her summer at Wild Sound Recording Studio putting together “In the Indigo.”

Small town girl

Raised in Clara City, Minn., Harms said of her experience with jazz, “I wasn’t really exposed to it growing up in a small town.”

“I wasn’t really in a community where people were listening to it and I wasn’t getting a lot of feedback,” Harms said, “I was drawn to it, but I didn’t understand how I was doing.”

Harms received classical voice training when she attended Concordia College in Moorhead. She sang with the Concordia Choir, and has sung backup on various other CD and jingle projects.

She spent five years at Milaca Elementary School before pursuing her dream.

“I just knew that I wasn’t content and I needed to explore,” Harms said.

She kept getting positive feedback in the community here.

“I was kind of startled by that,” the singer said. “My thought was, it would be super cool, someday, when I’m 50 or so.

Her parents are happy for their daughter’s success.

“I think in some ways it makes them feel a little better after taking some risks,” Harms said.

“Sometimes there are stories that make a lot of sense, but for me, it was just part of my DNA and it took me a while to figure it out.”

Creating jazz

Harms informed Bell that she wanted to do a CD.

“He understood the vibe that I was going for and was able to grasp that, so that was exciting,” Harms said.

In describing the music, Harms said she enjoys playing with rhythm and said there’s a contemporary edge to it.

“That’s a part of my voice and how I grew up, even though I’m very rooted in the swing of it and the telling of a story.

“I also want to explore and really find my voice and what I want to say.”

The CD features classic songs like “Bye Bye Blackbird” and two originals, which includes the cover song.

Harms said of “Bye Bye Blackbird, “I think that’s really a success in saying something that I wanted to say. That song has never really had that kind of vibe before, so it turned out unique in a way that it represents me.”

Another song on the CD is “Great Indoors,” originally by John Mayer, but arranged in a jazzier way.

“It went pretty smoothly,” Harms said of the CD-making process. The cover photo was taken by Wendy Woods, a wedding photographer.

“I had a really great experience with that whole thing.”

Harms admits her new life as a jazz singer is a bit surreal.

“You keep working away at it,” the singer said. “But that’s true with anything that you love and it’s worthwhile.”

Promoting the release of her CD, Harms was featured on WCCO News and WCCO radio with Don Shelby. The Star Tribune gave her some nods as well. She was featured on the jazz station KBEM, as well as KWLM in Wilmar.

“It was a week of craziness,” Harms said, but added that it was “fantastic.”

And there’s likely more craziness ahead for the singer who will be featured in, “Mpls St. Paul Magazine” in January as her next step is to do a national radio campaign to get the CD played.

“I would love to eventually tour  Europe...all over. I love to travel.”

“You follow these things, you have these dreams, and you take steps toward it,” Harms said of her decision to pursue her dream. “I just wanted to do it so badly.”

Go ahead, listen

The CD can be purchased on iTunes, at the Electric Fetus, or from cdbaby.com.

To listen to the CD, visit nancyharms.com.

Harms will be at Erte (ertedining.com) in Minneapolis on Wednesdays this month from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

On Jan. 16, she’ll be at Honey in Minneapolis from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. and she’ll be at Hells’ Kitchen on Jan. 29 in downtown Minneapolis (hellskitcheninc.com).

She appreciates her friends who attended her release parties at The Dakota and the Jungle Theater.

“Singing at the Dakota - a premier jazz club in the area - it was kind of mind blowing,” Harms noted.

The jazz singer is already receiving rave reviews.

“Nancy offers a mix of standards, less familiar covers, original lyrics and arrangements, a bold outing for this small-town Midwest native,” Andrea Canter of JazzINK.com said. “Even her standards (like ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ and ‘Blue Skies’) soar above ‘standard’ treatment as Nancy changes the pace, the space, the rhythm, mood-maybe slower, more sultry, more pensive.

“Regardless of origin, these songs belong to Nancy Harms alone, a set that exudes a sweet confidence that comes from self-appraisal and commitment to both art and craft.”

Jazz writer Pamela Espeland said of Harms, “She shapes words as if they taste delicious. Her swing is innate and roomy.

“Somehow she combines sultry with cool. Each song is a confidence whispered in your ear, intimate and alluring. The first time you hear this voice, you’ll wonder, ‘Who’s that?’ The next time, you’ll think, ‘Ahhh…Nancy Harms.’ That’s how exceptional she is, and how memorable.”

Harms continues to teach music lessons, but said, “This is my life and this is what I want to do and where I feel my gifts lie.”

When you purchase Harms’ CD, you’ll agree, it truly is where her gifts lie.