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Joanna Eden live at Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho, London. With Jonny Gee (double bass), Carlos Fuentes (percussion), Luìz D'Almeida (guitar) & Gerry Hunt (fl...

I’m playing my songs at Joanna’s Place in Saffron Walden on Saturday 14th October with top UK Latin artists Carlos Fuentes (percussion), Andrés Lafone (bass) and Gerry Hunt (sax, flute and guitar!)... Can’t wait! You can get tickets here:- http://buytickets.at/joannaeden/103526

#Joanna Eden #sam smith #samsmithteacher #latin #latinjazz #saffronwalden

Sam Smith taught me!

Sam Smith… Teaching singing…. and the universe…..

Okay… so here's the thing.

My career was trotting along nicely at the end of my twenties with a successful jazz album under my belt and a nice little deal in the offing for an all-original album…

Then… out of the blue… Hormones kicked in!....I had to get pregnant…. Nothing else mattered….

And I did… (with a little help from Charlie my ex-husband, ex-drummer… he still drums… but not for me!)

And Drousha my daughter is the most amazing person... watch this space!

But unfortunately babies and singer/songwriter careers are not always the best of friends…

So when Fred Smith called me up and asked a bleary-eyed new-mum if she taught singing… and had time to listen to their ten year old boy… my gut instinct was "NO NO NO!" I'm ashamed to say.

Why no? Because:-

A) I was K N A C K E R E D!

B) I didn't know if I could teach what was never taught to me; how to sing and

C) I missed being a performer SO much and somehow teaching felt like I was being demoted…. like I'd failed as a performer and all I could do was pass on the baton to the next generation.

Of course… this was all ego-driven, neurotic nonsense… but you'd be surprised what sleep deprivation can do to a brain!

So Fred and his little boy Sam turned up at my toy-strewn house… Politely ignoring the chaos… and Sam started to sing....

At the end of an hour (which flew by) Fred returned to collect Sam saying "we think he's got a good voice… what do you think?". And - still in a state of shock - I replied "I've never taught before… so I have nothing to compare him with BUT I think he’s incredible!"

Many years later I’m so glad I trusted my instinct. With Sam’s help!... His talent, enthusiasm, courage and dedication made me forget all my fears about my new-found role. I could teach… or rather 'share'. For the next nine years our lessons were never like lessons. We just shared songs… our gifts - what a joy! How lucky am I?!

Spring 2014 I went to see Sam at the Shepherd's Bush Empire and sat next to Kate his mum. A packed house of doting fans sang his songs along with him. I tried to… But singing and crying are hard to do simultaneously…

I cried with pride... and gratitude... Because little Sam brought me back to singing... Refilled the empty batteries... And now... here I am... bands, projects, albums, new songs pouring out of me….!!

Whenever Sam sings… You forget other stuff. You're lifted into a different place and all you want to do is sing along. Is that why he's a superstar? I hope so… Cos that makes me feel great about the human race!

GO SAM !!!

#samsmith #joannaeden #samsmithteacher #samsmithsingingteacher #samsmithjoannaeden