Interview
Estelle Reiner Comes Of Age
September 1999

By Paula Edelstein

Many music teachers would not want you to know this, but you don’t need years of weekly singing lessons to
learn to sing. If it’s a natural gift or if you know enough secrets of the great jazz singers as a result of some
“serious listening,” then a song in search of a voice will get its just desserts. The wonderful, delightful,
Estelle Reiner, accompanied by her trio, Tom Garvin on piano, Tom Warrington on bass, Joe LaBarbera on
drums, handles a song with a down to earth, honest approach that can’t be learned. Her latest CD on Clear
Productions, HURRY HOME, is packed with great songs stripped of their sugar coating and bared down to
their emotional core. These 17 songs pair her with arranger Tom Garvin and for her ‘coming of age.’

Estelle Reiner was born in New York City and suprisingly did not begin her jazz singing career until after she
had raised two sons and a daughter. Her early influences included Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Anita
O'Day. She studied with such greats vocal coaches as Phil Moore, Nathan Lam and Keith Davis. Ms. Reiner
also has phenomenal credentials in musical theatre, acting and improvisation obtained from the likes of
David Craig, the world renown Lee Strasberg and Viola Spolin. Her theatrical training makes a surprise
appearance on several tracks from HURRY HOME, resulting in a delightful and welcome change for the jazz
standards. Estelle Reiner lends her provocative phrasing and nuance to such standards as “Darn That
Dream,” “Just A Little Lovin’ and “But, Beautiful,” with enough secrets to revitalize the most obscure song.
“He’s Yours, He’s Mine,” finds Reiner swinging enthusiastically as Pete Christlieb plays a soulful saxophone.
Her musical comedy training shines through on the Alan Arkin tune, “I Like You,” and David Frishberg’s “Let’
s Eat Home,” as she maintains a high level of theatre over the good improvisation. Ms. Reiner also
produced HURRY HOME and has clearly come of age.

Two previous albums, JUST IN TIME and PARADISE reside on the Clear Productions label. I KNOW HOW
TO DO IT, to be released in time for the holidays, promises to fulfill Estelle’s fans with a collection of great
songs that are sung the way they like them. In an interview for All About Jazz.com, we caught up with Estelle
Reiner between dates on the West Coast and the East Coast! We discussed her current release HURRY
HOME, song selection, her influences and upcoming personal appearances.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: Hello, and thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to talk to ALL ABOUT JAZZ.
com. We appreciate having someone of your stature join us in our online universe.

ESTELLE REINER: Hello, my pleasure.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: HURRY HOME, your latest release on Clear Productions, is packed with some really
great songs ranging from vintage jazz to more contemporary tunes. With so many good ones to choose
from, what song selection criteria do you use to determine what makes the CD and what doesn’t?

ESTELLE REINER: First of all, any song I sing can be included on the CD, because I choose songs that
touch something in me and songs that I get pleasure out of singing because they mean something to me. I
never feel so, so about anything that I sing. I try to choose songs that aren’t done too much and people, at
least in the club where I sing, feel they are hearing something new even though they know it isn’t new.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: Did you enjoy the producing aspect of HURRY HOME?

ESTELLE REINER: Yes I did, because it enabled me to choose the people that I wanted to work with and I
was able to stay close to the project through all of its phases. In fact, I love being in the studio.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: Your trio composed of Tom Garvin on piano, Tom Warrington on bass, drummer Joe
LaBarbera, heard lately on HERE & NOW, the new Steve Korn CD, along with Stacy Rowles on trumpet and
Pete Christlieb on sax ‘comp’ the session with tremendous improvisations. How did your trio get together?

ESTELLE REINER: Well I depend on Tom Garvin. He has very good taste, and knows all these people. And,
he gets me the best musicians! I hate to sound immodest, but one of the biggest pleasures that I have is
that these musicians enjoy playing for me. That gives me more pleasure than anything. It means a great
deal to me. They are all wonderful, as you can hear.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: Absolutely. You’ve mentioned that Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Anita O’Day are
among your favorite jazz singers. Let’s talk about them briefly. Like Billie, your style and approach to a song
bares its soul and strips it of any sugar coating. Which song, closely associated with Ms. Holiday, has had
the most impact on your style?

ESTELLE REINER: I can’t say that there is any particular song because I like what she does with all of them.
And if I had to pick, I’d say “Lover Man,” which is one that I sing on my first album. Incidentally, I’m going to
release it as a CD because nobody buys albums anymore. I listened to Billie Holiday and I thought she was
so wonderful, but I never tried to copy her because first of all, she can’t be copied. But the things I got from
her are the things you mentioned which was “an honesty” and nothing overly sentimental. That’s what I got
from her. That’s a big thing.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: It is. She was a pretty impressive singer. Ella Fitzgerald made more than a few records
on which the vocal is enthusiastic and powerful even though the song may have been humorous or corny, i.
e. she turned the nursery rhyme “A Tisket A Taskit” into a hit!! You have done that with humor on “I Like
You,” and “Let’s Eat Home.” Were the songs arranged to be interpreted as humorous or were they just
waiting for another definition?

ESTELLE REINER: No, I think they were meant to be humorous when they were written because the two
people who did them are both very humorous people. But the humor is subtle and therefore it’s more
delicious because it’s subtle. I enjoyed singing it because I sang it so straight and I just allowed the humor to
come through. I didn’t overlay it with anything.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: Tom Garvin treats the material with great piano and improvisational wizardry. Do you
work together on your club dates or is the trio assembled only for recording purposes?

ESTELLE REINER: I’ve worked with Tom Garvin every since I started to sing, which was about 18 years ago.
He’s been my choice all the time. I love the way he plays the piano. I think he’s a poetic player. Not only is
he a good accompanist, it is something he likes to do. A lot of piano players don’t like to accompany. They
like to be soloists. But he enjoys it. He’s also a solo musician and composer. Presently, I sing with a very
renowned guitarist, John Pisano and a bass player supreme, John Lightham. I appreciate these people very
much. I appreciate their playing. It’s really a pleasure to work with these wonderful musicians.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: You have been a welcome performer on the West Coast and East Coast jazz scenes with
dates at The Jazz Bakery, Catalina Bar & Grill and Luna Park and Danny’s Skylight Room, among others.
Do any of these venues hold any special sentiment for you?

ESTELLE REINER: I think I’ve enjoyed singing in all the rooms I’ve sung in. Luna Park, in West Hollywood,
CA, which is where I sing now, is one that’s at the top of my list because it has an intimate ambiance which is
very conducive to the audience’s enjoyment. I like singing there. I’ve got to say that all the places where I’ve
sung, I’ve had good audiences. But I’ve had a few that I remember that weren’t so good. (Smiles) Not
audiences so much as somebody who would be drunk and sitting right in the front row and talking loud.
(Smiles) And I figured, gee, if they want to be drunk and talking loud, why don’t they go to the back of the
club. (We laugh) So I finally said to one of them, (this was at the beginning when I started to sing), I said to
him, “don’t you ever go to the men’s room?” (More laughs)

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: “But, Beautiful” is full of harmonic savvy and melodic inventiveness. Are any of the tunes
on HURRY HOME part of your club repertoire or considered your “trademark” song?

ESTELLE REINER: Well, I think that most of them are in my show now. But if there’s such a thing as a
“trademark,” I think it would be the raunchy, early jazz songs that I sing and some of them are on the CD,
like “Jazzbo Brown,” “One Hour Mama,” “He’s Yours, He’s Mine,” “Is You Or Is You Ain’t Ma Baby,”....I sing
quite a few of those. Lately, this song, “I Like You,” which is very different, and it’s not really a jazz song,
seems to be enjoyed so much by the audience that if I don’t sing it, it’s missed. So I sing it a lot. It gets a big
reception each time.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: I understand there’s another CD in the works called I KNOW HOW TO DO IT. What can
your audiences around the world expect?

ESTELLE REINER: Well I think it’s my best one. It’s not quite finished. Some of the songs on it are “Sugar,”
“You’re My Thrill,” (which is a very sexy song), “Guilty,” “My Sweet Hunk of Trash,” “Lock and Key,” which is
a Bessie Smith song, “I Know How To Do It” and I have an arrangement of “I Can’t Give You Anything But
Love,” which I feel proud of.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: When will your fans get to see you perform again?

ESTELLE REINER: I’m singing again at Luna Park, in West Hollywood, CA on October 8, 1999 at 9:30 p.m.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: Thank you so much for talking to us. We wish you luck with HURRY HOME and look
forward to I KNOW HOW TO DO IT. Congratulations! Please don’t forget to post your website information in
the ALL ABOUT JAZZ.COM Artist Directory.

ESTELLE REINER: Thank you very much, you’re welcome. I’ve enjoyed it too.

Estelle Reiner, the jazz singer, has come of age. She “braked” her jazz singing career and chose an
extended appearance on the homefront with her husband and children. Now solid in her jazz singing career,
her charm, talent and impeccable taste in music has helped her to cultivate a loyal following for her jazz
albums JUST IN TIME and PARADISE. As Estelle Reiner continues to gain recognition for her earthy
approach to a song, HURRY HOME will help pave a path for her ‘coming of age.’ Keep in touch with Estelle
Reiner through the AAJ Artist Directory.