f living through a pandemic was an example of the youth in America learning to be resilient and patient, then Kansas City-raised, Brooklyn-based jazz singer and visual artist Lucy Wijnands fits the bill perfectly.
"To be completely honest, it has been really difficult. I graduated from school in 2020 and I was already freaked out to start my life and then everything shut down," said Lucy, "I didn't think graduation would mean so much to me, until it was taken from me in a moment.”
Over the course of the lockdown, she kept having a recurring dream that she was either falling off the stage or forgetting the lyrics to her songs. Something that never happened in her real life. Yet, she kept pushing through and at the urging of her mother she found an outlet that provided her a great deal of comfort.
"The good thing that came out of it is that I started painting. I wasn't singing at all. My mom told me to just get out of bed and start throwing some paint and said that it might be fun for me." Lucy beamed, "That has become my side gig and something that I'm taking pretty seriously now."
Lucy has deep roots in the world of jazz. Her father is veteran Kansas City jazz pianist Bram Wijnands. (why-nands) She grew up sitting on his lap as he played the keys.
"I really do have a special musical bond with my dad. I'm grateful for that. He’s so passionate about what he does. It's like a religion for him," explained Lucy. "What’s amazing to me, is that it seems like he is reincarnated from another lifetime."
She has always been singing. Since she was young, it was through her father that she started her singing career. Yet, she was extremely shy and never really thought about being on stage. That was until she was in her early teens and a moment arrived.
"My dad's friend had an inauguration party for Obama in 2008 and that was the first time I sang with my dad. I remember thinking how much fun it was. Then I started singing at the Majestic," Lucy said. "I would bring all my friends from school to drink Shirley Temples. I was always going to my dad's gigs."
Over the pandemic lockdown, she thought she might stop singing. It was her father that urged her to not quit, and it was then that the stars aligned for a big competition: In the spring rebirth of New York City, Lucy Wijnands became the Winner of the 4th Annual Ella Fitzgerald Competition, on what would have been Ella Fitzgerald's 104th birthday, April 25th, 2021.
"I haven't done a real performance in a long time and now I have my debut at Mezzrow—because of winning this competition," said Lucy, "It feels good to wake up every day and know that I have a project to work on."
Along with new gigs, the world of New York is fully open again, and she is feeling that excitement. "Once COVID passes I think there is going to be a renaissance," said Lucy, "I feel it within myself. I feel like I am going to creatively explode." At the end of the day, Lucy Wijnands is a survivor, she has a very simple need as a multi-dimensional artist. "I am just someone that wants to create and be happy, someone that wants to live in nature, be barefoot and create."
—Joe Dimino
Hear the full Neon Jazz interview with Lucy Wijnands:
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