jnj: You were born in the USA and grew up in Hawaii and Japan. What was the reason that you now live and record in Europe/The Netherlands?
Deborah J. Carter: After studying in Boston, USA I went to Spain for a three week holiday to stay with my Mom who was working there as a teacher. I ended up not returning to the States for quite a few years! While in Spain, I met my husband Mark Zandveld, who appeared at a club I was singing in. He came at the perfect time when we were desperately seeking a bass player. He's Dutch, so that's how we eventually moved to Holland.


jnj: Please tell me your motivation behind Girl-talking, your recent live album. Why did you choose songs like Billy Joel's New York State Of Mind or the Beatles' chestnut Yesterday?
Deborah J. Carter: I have always loved live albums. I always try to get live albums of my favourite artists because of the extra energy you cannot re-create in a studio. It is a "snapshot" of a particular night, totally spontaneous.
I chose those two songs because they are solid compositions. And they stand on their own no matter if you make a jazz, reggae, or bluegrass version of them. (Did I say bluegrass?!)
Even the majority of the 'jazz standards' exist thanks to Tin Pan Alley and Broadway musicals which had songs that the jazz musicians were able to take and convert them to their own style. So all this is nothing new.


jnj: So far you've recorded two of Carmen Lundy's song. Are there any other of today's jazz singers you admire?
Deborah J. Carter: I think Nnenna Freelon and Dianne Reeves are great. Nancy Wilson's earlier stuff with Cannonball is fantastic. Carla Cook and Gabrielle Goodman are fierce! There are a couple of "unsung heroes" who I absolutely love: Phillip Manuel and Nancy King. I also listen to Rosa Passos and Kevyn Lettau who do more Brazilian-fusion type things.
And who is the 'Elvis' of my world? Al Jarreau. And I am totally thrilled that he has finally come out with another album doing standards in the way that only he can.


jnj: Talking about cover versions...you have the ability to adopt even wrung out pop standards to give them a new dimension. What must a song have for you that you think it's worth and rewarding working with?
Deborah J. Carter: It must have a well-constructed melody and harmonies. If I can play a song I like on the piano with no extras - strings, horns, stuido effects - and still love it, then it passes the test. The next question would be whether you're a traditionalist - wanting to keep the song as the original version - or you choose to personalize it or give it a different "jacket". I always go for the latter. Sometimes making a different version of a song makes people pay closer attention to the composition or lyrics.


jnj: You've teamed up once again with musicians like Coen Molenaar or Mark Zandveld to record Girl-Talking. How did you find each other in the first place?
Deborah J. Carter: Eleven years ago Mark and I started out as music companions before we ever got involved with each other and married. We work fantastically together.(As a couple, working together can either drive you apart or bring you closer together. We've been very lucky.) We are like ying and yang, but share the same work ethic.Together we keep things rolling like a well-oiled engine.
With the other musicians Coen Molenaar and also Enrique Firpi, they were musicians among many from the music community that we used to call for performances until we realized that we only preferred calling them for the good chemistry and "buzz" between us on and offstage. Also for travelling on the road, the three of them together are BIG fun.


jnj: What or who has influenced you the most to become a singer and to pursue a career in the music business?
Deborah J. Carter: Well, as a child I was always singing, because, through my mother, we were always involved in church choirs and she was always the director. I have been doing music since I was three when I was learning from my Mom scales and silly songs on the piano.(I studied with her until I was 13 and believe me, that was not easy at all!) Every school I ever was in had at least one orchestra - the last one - my high school in Japan - had six. The hope in my family was that I would finish my studies and become a music teacher or director. I made the big leap - against my family's wishes - in deciding to become a professional performing musician. The first years were not easy, but it is more or less a good life now. They say you must "pay your dues", I think most of mine are all paid up ...quadruple!
I will say that I did not choose this career, it chose me. It's absolutely true. By the time I decided that this is what I want to do, I had already been working for 6 years or so.


jnj: Just for the record what does the J. in Deborah J. Carter stand for?
Deborah J. Carter: There are two reasons. One is that , for a period of time, I tried to stop doing any music at all. A sort of burnout occurred. I didn't think I'd go back, but my husband - boyfirend, at the time - gently coaxed me back in. The J means Joyce, which means 'Joy '. I never liked or used that middle name. However when I returned to the music world, I also returned as a new person with a new, more optimistic perspective. I felt that I had earned the J, because I was finally starting to grasp the concept of 'life rewarding you when you do what you love from your heart'.
It later officially became part of my professional name because we discovered that there is another American Deborah Carter working in Europe and we needed to make the distinction. Nevertheless, everytime I see the 'J' it reminds me of the period I returned to this world with a "new improved recipe".