Live & Local: Camilla Vaitaitis releases debut jazz album “I Grew Up”
"It's been a long time coming, I think." Pianist, vocalist, arranger, and composer Camilla Vaitaitis says it's finally the right moment for her to release music with her longtime quartet made up of saxophonist Adam Gang, bassist Patrick McDevitt, and drummer/engineer Kevin Matthews. The title of her debut jazz record, "I Grew Up," took its inspiration from a photograph: a young Camilla and her sister banging pots and pans. Camilla chose this memory as the cover of her record set to be released on March 3.
Camilla Vaitaitis: It all stemmed from finding this photo when my family and I were hanging out on my mom's birthday, kind of sifting through some old photos. And I saw this one, and I still make this very face when I play piano when I'm super locked in, which is hilarious, that I still... like that has transcended time. But I was thinking about why it's taken me so long to put out a jazz record, because I've been doing it for so long. And I think I was never confident enough. And I think I always was suffering from imposter syndrome enough that I was like, no, I shouldn't put anything out. And I shouldn't put my voice out there. It's not good enough, right? And so, I think “I Grew Up” as kind of a sentiment of like coming into my own and standing behind my work and just saying like, it is what it is. I hope people like it, but I'm feeling good about it and comfortable with myself now. And so, I feel like I've grown up musically and kind of as a person in my confidence.
Check out our full conversation below, diving into “I Grew Up,” which features songs dedicated to her monstera plant companion, to her bandmates in her indie-psych rock band Barbara, and to Camilla’s community as a longstanding fixture in the Denver music scene.
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