More Than Words

Sara Serpa may be turning heads internationally, but jazz music actually came late to the talented Portuguese songstress. Not so many years ago Serpa was looking at a career in social work, so how did she end up in Boston in 2005, studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music?

“I think that music has always been part of my life, but because it’s always been so present it wasn’t something that I thought I could follow as a career. It was so close to me that I couldn’t see,” she laughs down the line from her current hometown of New York.

“I went to college in Lisbon to study social work, which I really enjoyed, but then I didn’t imagine myself working in psychology or social work, so by the time I was almost graduated from school I entered the Hot Club jazz school in Lisbon, and suddenly everything made sense. I had some friends who came to the United States to study, and it made sense to come here because it was where jazz began. All the great musicians live here.”

In the last couple of years Serpa has taken the Boston and New York jazz scenes by storm, as well as recording two albums. To this point, most of her work has forsaken lyrics, Serpa making a habit out of utilising her superb voice purely as a musical instrument.

“Sometimes I try to understand why I’ve felt attracted to singing without words,” she says. “I think it was partly because it made me just another musician rather than the main star of the group. I had to know exactly what I was doing: learning harmony, improvisation and reading music. I think the other part was that only now I’m more connected to the English language. But mainly it was just about making music that felt natural coming out of me.”

The 31-year-old is now looking forward to her first Australian tour, performing at the Brisbane Jazz Festival later this month with Andre Matos and the Aaron Choulai Trio.

“Andre’s my husband so he plays my music all the time! Aaron Choulai I’ve never met but I’ve heard his music and I really enjoy it. So I suggested to Adrian Jackson [Artistic Director of the Wangaratta Jazz Festival] to call Aaron and it ended up that we’re playing with his trio.”

Sara Serpa performs at the Brisbane Powerhouse as part of the Brisbane Jazz Festival, October 24.