Miya Collins

I'm a singer/songwriter from the Seattle, WA area. I started singing when I was 9 years old almost by accident when tagging along to my father's operatic voice lessons. My very first musicial experiences were playing the piano and violin starting at age 5. My first love has always been songwriting, I started writing neo-classical instrumental songs when I was really young and won some local awards, eventually getting into writing songs with vocals later on.

I am currently DJying and Hosting Karaoke to keep my vocal chops up and to pay the bills. I've had the experience of fronting my own live Jazz Trio doing standards, bebop and latin covers in a night club setting but discovered to my pleasant surprise that I really should be promoting a cd at the same time, so now I'm concentrating on writing stuff for my jazz projects. (I'll be better prepared next time!) Special Moments: I've got the opportunity to sing some Soul in the outskirts of Oklahoma City infront of a predominately black crowd (good ol' juke joints) and I was appreciated by the fact that I was graciously embraced by that crowd. It has really taught me that music truly has no color. The most commmon comment I get is I don't look the way I sound....I think that's a compliment :-o I seem to often be compared to Teena Marie or sometimes Phyllis Hymen when I'm singing infront of Black People...Where as White people tend to say Mariah Carey probaby because of the vocal range and being able to hit the colotura notes. I think I sound like myself though.... The biggest crowd I've ever performed infront of was a crowd of aprox. 2,000 at the former Seattle Opera House for a Jazz Festival when I was 17 singing a Diane Schurr/Count Basie number. I haven't been performing any of my original material in public, but that will change when I have a studio quality CD ready to promote.

I listen to almost every imaginable music available criss-crossing all different genres (Old School, Hiphop, Smooth Jazz, Traditional Jazz, NeoSoul, Rap, Classical, Rock, Classic Rock, Alternative, Country, Triphop, Funk, Dance, Latin, etc, etc., etc.,... + plus being a DJ i play everything anyway) but as for as being actually influenced by what I hear I would have to say the following: Vocalists: Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Teena Marie, Chaka Khan, Rachelle Ferelle, Sade, Anita Baker,Janis Siegel(Manhattan Transfer), Sarah Vaughn, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Debelah,Ella Fitzgerald, Diane Schuur, Phyllis Hymen, Barbra Streisand, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye, Steve Perry (Journey), George Michael, Freddy Mercury (Queen) Donna Summer, N'dea Davenport(Brand New Heavies), Mariah Carey and recently Eva Cassidy I love the Old school groups: Earth Wind and Fire, Manhattans, Confunkshun, The Emotions, Sugar Hill Gang and Grand Master Flash. I love tight vocal harmonies as in: Take 6 and Manhattan Transfer Songwriters/Producers/Musicians: Marcus Miller, Jam and Lewis, Babyface, David Foster, Gershwin, Horace Silver, Jobim, Duke Ellington, Art Blakely and the Jazz Messengers, Chopin, Mozart, Wagner,

Well I definitely want to and need to upgrade my equipment!! I use a Roland VS 880 EX, Alesis SR-16 Drum Machine and a Korg X3. I would love to get my hands on a Korg Trition when I have the money so I can incorporate some samples in mix or have the capability to use live samples of i.e. funk guitar riffs or strings or jazzy saxophones riffs, but for now I try to do the best with what I have. I guess it's a blessing in disquise because I'm forced to come up with my own "licks" and "grooves."

I am currently working on a dual project which consists a cd of original contemporary urban jazz music and another cd of originial neo traditional jazz standards that way I can focus on two different radio markets. (smooth jazz) and (NPR) I am currently developing the rough mix on my computer but plan on using live musicians for each of respective projects. (There's nothing quite like "live" baby...;-) Well I think my worst personality trait which probably is a very good thing for the studio is that I'm my own worst critic. I tend to pick every single line or phrase apart and it is often hard for me to be completely satisfied with the end result. I guess that why it's good for me to perform live because I'm forced to live with it. :-) I think eventually I want to professionally get into the production side of things more, I enjoy singing up to a point....... but the process, putting it all together is where it's at for me....really.;-)