Yahzarah (aka Purple St. James)

May 17, 2009
Posted by Musicman
- 0 comments

YahZarah? Most shoppers don’t know the name, the sound, whether YahZarah is a band or solo artist, or how to pronounce that complex-looking name.
When she decided to pursue a musical career full time, Williams became YahZarah as a tribute to her grandmothers, Yah and Sarah. In August 1997, she came to the Bull City to study at North Carolina Central University, where she won a full scholarship to the jazz program. Her talent had won her acceptance letters from the prestigious Juilliard and Carnegie Mellon music programs, but she came to N.C. Central because all eight members of her band got accepted there. Now with established roots in Durham, she’s played regular dates as part of her former band Hidden Image at Talk of the Town and at Durham’s now-defunct The Lounge at Cosmic Cantina.

A classically trained vocalist, YahZarah is also noted for her ability to sing in the whistle register, displayed on tracks such as “Baby” (from the Blackstar album) and a rendition of “My Funny Valentine” on jazz pianist Marcus Johnson’s In Person - Live at Blues Alley LP. YahZarah is featured on the albums Connected and Leave It All Behind by The Foreign Exchange and the Little Brother album The Minstrel Show. Re-introducing herself by the new stage name Purple St. James, she released an eight-song EP, The Prelude, in September 2008.

Read the full story here: Neo-SoulGroove.com !!

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Yahzarah (aka Purple St. James)

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