Arts & Entertainment Homegrown Diva Birminghams Kathy Kosins introduces her new jazz CD. SUZANNE CHESSLER Special to the Jewish News IC athy Kosins hasn't released her new CD yet, but she's already broken a record. Kosins is the first female vocalist to be featured by Chiaroscuro, an independ- ent jazz label in business out of New York since 1971. Mood Swings, Kosins' second CD, will be debuted 8-10 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, during a party at La Dolce Vita in Detroit. Of the 11 songs on the recording, seven are her originals, and she will be performing them with instrumentalists Cliff Monear, Nick Calandro and Gerald Cleaver. "I've been working on new compositions since 1996, when I came out with my last CD, All in a Dream's Work (Schoolkids Records)," says Kosins, a self-taught singer and composer. "When I got together enough material that I was really happy with, I picked which songs I wanted to record. I thought the title Mood Swings was appropriate for the different types of music. " In The Mood For Jazz Songs written by Kosins, in collaboration with oth- ers, include the swinging "I Was There"; the wistful bossa nova "Paradise," featuring a harmonica solo by Howard Levy, formerly of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones; the ballad "Love Me Like a Song"; and the jaunty "No Ordinary Joe," based on the changes of the classic "Pennies From Heaven." Among the titles by other composers are "Melancholy Serenade," the TV theme of the late comedian Jackie Gleason, who also composed the tune, and "Foxey Lady," the classic rock hit of Jimi 2/1 2002 00 Hendrix transformed into jazz. The CD project, for which Kosins hand- picked the musicians, spanned two years. • "Do you know anyone who wouldn't have a mood swing or two tak- ing this long to make one record?" Kosins asks. "In the case of my origi- nal compositions, I sometimes went back to the drawing board to enhance a lyric, change the instrumentation or rerecord the entire song with a different arrange- ment. " Kosins wanted com- Kathy Kosins: "Do you plete control of this know anyone who wouldn't recording and made her- have a mood swing or two self producer. In addition taking this long to make to the players, she picked one record?" Kosins says the studio, artwork, about "Mood Swings." graphics and layout. She also struck a deal that will let her license the CD through independent contracts in other countries. Taking Charge Kosins has been taking charge of her career since graduating from Southfield High School, where she sang in the choir. She got her professional start singing with rock and R&B bands in and around the Motor City, and received her introduc- tion to jazz from leg- endary Detroit trum- peter and educator Marcus Belgrave. L a y Ktls iii s Hanging out with a `Mood Swings consists of 11 Jewish crowd that songs, seven of them written included future hit by Kosins. producer Don Was (Don Fagenson, a 1970 Oak Park High School grad and member of Was/Not Was), she showed up at his studio one day and asked to do backup singing on his rock record- ings. That professional relationship lasted eight years. "It was through Don that I got my first taste of free-style jazz, and that's when I started listening," says Kosins, who has lived in Birmingham for more than 20 years. "It's freer than other musical forms. You can play with the melody, phrasing and timing more than you can with pop and R & B. "I began writing R & B and pop music for vari- ous groups and moved on to jazz with the idea that I would pitch those songs to established artists. Instead, I wound up using them for my first CD." For a time, Kosins sang with Johnny Trudell's band. Then there was work with the J.C. Heard and Nelson Riddle orchestras. Later, she decided to become a band leader in her own right and hire musicians as she got bookings around the country. An opening act for the likes of composer-pianist Marvin Hamlisch, trumpet star Maynard Ferguson and pop singing quartet Manhattan Transfer, Kosins has entertained at the Detroit International Jazz Festival, Muskegon Summerfest and the Grand Rapids Blues and Jazz Festival. In Detroit, she has performed with Belgrave, Michael Henderson and Gregory Hutchinson. A Teacher, Too "Because I was doing the legwork getting the book- ings, I developed a class called Gainful Employment and Hustling the Gig," Kosins says. "I decided this is something I could go out and teach to college students in the music business so they don't have to wait around for the phone to ring: "It's not just enough to practice your instrument. You have to go out there and find work. I've taken my own experiences and come up with a three-hour master class. Students go home with printed materi- als and an outline of how to do all this." Kosins, who recently received an award for corn- posing from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, long ago decided on the single life to have the freedom to tour. Describing herself as more spiritual than religious, she has attended High Holiday temple services with her morn, Marilyn Schaefer. She also is the daughter of the late clothier Harry Kosins. When this jazz singer is off the road, she pursues an interest in painting. The freedom of abstractions suits her personality. "One day, I just woke up and decided I wanted to start painting," she recalls. "I took a few classes at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, got can- vases and acrylics and came up with a definitive style all my own. "When my instructor left, I formed a group that had been taking classes with him year after year. It's an independent studies group that's been around for 12 or 13 years. For me, painting is a hobby, therapy and release. I sometimes get ideas for songs from my paintings." ❑ A CD release party for Kathy Kosins' Mood Swings runs 8-10 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, at La Dolce Vita, 19546 Woodward, Detroit. Reservations: (313) 865-0331. To order a copy of Mood Swings, go to Kosins' Web site at www.kathykosins.com .