CIM graduate returns to Cleveland with jazz, cabaret aspirations

Young singer-songwriter Stephanie Nilles isn't particularly fond of comparisons, even when names like Tom Waits and Ella Fitzgerald are tossed around."When people hear anything, their immediate reaction is to compare it to something they're familiar with," said Nilles, "and I'll be described as the 'female version of so-and-so,' which is unfortunate. But that's fair, I'll take whatever comparisons I can get."

Considering the direction that her music takes, combining resigned, smoky jazz with dark, Brechtian cabaret, the comparisons are not entirely unmerited. Even so, the manner in which she effortlessly fuses these two distinct moods results in a specific atmosphere, captured in her most recent album, 2009's The Off-White Album and Waltzes in the Key of Gypsy McGee.

Nilles didn't always picture herself a singer-songwriter, though. Having grown up in Chicago and taken piano lessons since the age of six, she eventually found herself studying piano performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music. While she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in piano performance, the experience left her wanting more out of life.

"I was just unhappy playing piano in this classical setting that revolved around merely recreating works from a specific community of old, dead, rich people," said Nilles, "and being in a socially and politically active place like Cleveland gave me a real need to be a part of the current world. I felt a great discomfort as a citizen."

Even as a CIM student, there were still few signs that pointed Nilles toward songwriting as a viable career option.

"I taught myself guitar at 18, just a few Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Ani Difranco songs," said Nilles. "Every now and then, a few of us would spend a weekend night in a practice room, playing songs on the piano. It was really a great release and time off from serious practicing."

Upon graduating, Nilles' continuous dissatisfaction with classical piano caused her to briefly quit music altogether and relocate to New York City. "I didn't want to go home," said Nilles, "and I had some friends in New York. It's a convenient place, and I was distracted from the fact that I didn't want to play music.it became a big adventure."

While working at various odd jobs over the next couple of years, she grew increasingly involved in New York's jazz scene, eventually meeting with jazz violinist Christian Howes. Howes worked with Nilles and gave her tips on improvising and in connecting with this music scene, disparate from her conservatory studies. Nilles gained a new interest in creating music.

Nilles' brooding jazz work, she notes, is merely a reflection of what she has been exposed to lately.

"I'm just borrowing from what I listen to, from Mozart rondos to jazz," she said. "I'm just quoting and flipping things around, turning them into my own tunes."

After releasing reDemo, a sparse collection of studio takes in 2008, Nilles set out to create final versions of songs in her back catalogue in addition to newer ones. The Off-White Album and Waltzes in the Key of Gypsy McGee was the final result of the initiative. Featuring loose, yet melancholy barroom piano odes like "A Great Notion" and "Boston" alongside the minor-key oompahs of "Rat Pack" and "Overeasy Eggs," The Off-White Album proves to be an engaging listen. The album's centerpiece, the nine-minute lament to the Bush Administration, "Oh, George and his Funeral Procession," concludes with a New Orleans-styled jazz march.

While her efforts haven't completely paid off yet, Stephanie Nilles is far happier in her current environment than she has been in prior years.

"This is a much better fit for me," she said. "The classical setting lends itself to a very sterile performance in a very polite atmosphere, while here I need to make people be quiet and listen. It's a lot more challenging, but I love it more."

Nilles' love for her craft will be on display at the Barking Spider this Sunday Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. While she may be on the receiving end of comparisons now, her performance will leave few surprised if others might someday be compared to her.