Live & Local: “It’s been a long time coming, I think”: Camilla Vaitaitis releases debut jazz album “I Grew Up”
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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