Photo Credit: Jeffrey Kliman
Karen Briggs
Violinist Karen Briggs brings incredible virtuosity and versatility to an instrument that has held an alluring, yet sometimes precarious position in jazz. While extremely well-versed in the jazz repertoire, Briggs’ music transcends a vast array of musical genres and styles. In a sense, Briggs own style epitomizes jazz itself, with its ability to synthesize a wide variety of musical influences to create something fresh and original. Karen’s warmth and charisma further enhance the excitement of her performance. She enthralls this Kennedy Center audience with an evening of music as varied as the changing seasons, starting with the Gershwin classic, “Summertime.”
Early in the show, Dr. Taylor asks Briggs why she chose the violin, noting that it is not often considered a “jazzy” instrument. Briggs replies that, in junior high, she was originally more interested in Home Economics than orchestra, until her mother convinced her to choose the latter. Briggs’ music teacher, Geraldine Hardy, dispelled any notion that an orchestral ensemble must confine itself to a limited, traditional repertoire. Hardy taught her students to learn music they loved, whether jazz, pop, R&B or an upbeat version of Beethoven’s 5th. Because relating to the music was emphasized, Briggs says Hardy enticed a lot of students to better understand and appreciate all music.
Music appreciation was also integral to young Karen’s family life. Growing up in Portsmouth, VA, Karen comes from four generations of musicians. Her father was a saxophonist and played keyboards and clarinet. Like her grandfather, Karen’s father was also a preacher. The church would inform Karen’s spiritual sensibilities as a musician; it was also one of the first places she performed in front of a large group. She recalls playing “Amazing Grace” at church; unbeknownst to her at the time, she was developing an ability to play with such feeling that it moved people. Later, she would play this spiritual on stage at Harlem’s Apollo Theater and win four amateur contests with it. “‘Amazing Grace’ put me through college,” Karen tells Dr. Taylor.
At one point, Dr. Taylor enumerates various genres and styles with which Briggs has proficiency, mentioning Latin, funk, world music and European classical. He asks Briggs what enables her to take a serious approach to so many musical categories. “Nobody told me I couldn’t,” is her understated and unassuming reply. She drives the point home more emphatically with a stunning rendition of the rhythmically challenging “Mr. P.C.,” a tune that Dr. Taylor considers extraordinary for a violinist to call. No ordinary violinist, Briggs admits to being motivated by the fact that she realized becoming a jazz violinist made her unique. After having decided to go down this path, Briggs became familiar with her predecessors, like Stuff Smith and Ray Nance; she was duly inspired to continue the legacy.
Engaging the audience, Briggs responds to a gentleman who notes that she makes playing violin look “effortless.” Briggs explains that there is no lack of effort; the violin requires regimented development of arm, hand and finger muscles. Without constant exercise, she says, she would cramp and be unable to achieve the level of musical expression she strives for. When asked, “What makes you different?”, Briggs says her ability to play with feeling was imbued in her through the church. But she credits other life experiences to broadening her vocabulary, noting that she even enjoyed playing along to television commercials as a kid, a practice which helped her learn to interpret a wide range of tunes and sounds quickly. She also notes the violin’s effectiveness at communicating human emotions, such as humor.
A mother herself, Briggs shares insights on encouraging “budding young violinists” with another mother in the audience. She then discusses managing her own career with her responsibilities as a parent. Briggs also shares her affinity for Latin music and rhythms, and explains her love for playing ballads because they “provide space for interpretation.” She demonstrates her own interpretive abilities with a gorgeous rendition of "Here's That Rainy Day," on which she vividly depicts the sounds of rainfall. Later, Briggs and the Billy Taylor Trio close out the show with a rousing version of Miles Davis’ “So What?”
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