Homage, Inspiration & Imitation

If you don't know (and I don't see how you couldn't, as I've mentioned it about a BILLION times), Jill Scott is one of my musical idols. I won't say she's my ONLY musical idol, because I have many, but she's definitely WAY up there at the top with Ella and Aretha. Gosh, wouldn't it be great one day to just have people say, "Kat" and EVERYONE ON THE PLANET knows who I am? LOL. That's a ways off.

But I digress. I put that pic up because Hidden Beach Recordings is using it as her album cover for her previously unreleased work. What struck me as amazing was its similarity to MY OWN debut album.

Notice the black and white.

Notice the cat eye glasses (from the angle in mine, they're less obvious, but I assure you, they're awesome cat eye glasses)

Notice the close-up shot.

Notice the closed eyes in contentment with the music.

And this wasn't done by accident. No, I didn't find this picture and recreate it, but I did look at a lot of pictures for jazz albums that I love from back in the day and try to capture the similar feel with my own album cover.

I noticed many were close up, many were in black and white, and many were in retro clothing. None of that was difficult for me, as I am, as the album title implies, "An Old Soul", and it wasn't surprising that to create the same feel, it involved using the vintage styles as I do myself.

Very few people know that, for the longest time, this album was going to be called, "Homage". It's cover songs, and it's my way of paying homage to the greats. My producer felt it didn't give enough insight into ME, and why I, IN PARTICULAR, chose these artists and these songs. So "An Old Soul" was the choice, to let listeners know they'd be hearing vintage music, that I was a young person into that, and that, as I continue to create music, you're going to hear that in my voice.

But I don't want it to be lost on anyone that I HIGHLY revere the artists of the past that I chose to cover. I highly revered them, and they are a great INSPIRATION to me, but with cover songs, you don't want to have people go away thinking, "Wow, she sang Aretha Franklin's song pretty well." I want them to go away thinking, "Wow, that's one of the best versions of 'Until You Come Back to Me' I've heard!"

So it's a fine line between paying homage, and finding inspiration in your musical idols, and flat-out imitating them. For artists like myself, interested in preserving some of the genres of the past going into the music of the future, this is the fine line we must walk.

Agree? Disagree? Have a favorite song on the album or example for your argument? Chime in! I'm trying to get my fans more involved. This, like music, should always be a CONVERSATION. :)