Cross together two talented San Francisco musicians and out comes a sassy, smart, stylish performer.
Natalie Cressman, the 20-year-old, daughter of Jeff and Sandy Cressman, sings vocals, composes music and plays the trombone. Dad, a horn player, has toured with Santana since 2000 and was a one-time member of the Trey Anastasio Band. Mom, a talented vocalist, sings in perfect-pitch Portuguese.
“I actually didn’t have formal private lessons because my dad was just around,” said Cressman, who loves everything French, “when I felt like learning something, we would hang out.
“They were always trying to feel the vibe of what I wanted to do and helping me do it. It was never them pushing me to do anything. It was always my initiative and them following through on it.”
Cressman, a junior at the Manhattan School of Music, keeps a busy schedule. She takes 15 to 18 credits a semester and tours with Classic TAB as well as Wyllys and the New York Hustle Ensemble.
“You can’t learn how to be a good band member in the classroom,” said Cressman, who will perform at Wycliffe Gordon’s Jazz a la Carte, May 12 at New York’s World Famous Apollo Theater.
She also has her own band Natalie Cressman and the Secret Garden. Her debut album, Unfolding, is set for an August release.
Following a rehearsal, Cressman met up with jambands.com at the Manhattan Diner.
Were you destined to be a professional musician?
I kept in balance with a lot of things growing up. As a kid I was really into acting, singing and dancing. I started playing trombone when I was 9 or 10, but at that point I was in the San Francisco Ballet School four times a week and had a lot of stuff going on that I liked as well as music. For a while I tried to do everything and by the time I got to high school, it got really hard to do.
My sophomore year of high school, I was on track to doing the pre-professional ballet program and in the school musical, Fiddler on the Roof and I ended up injuring my foot and had to stop dancing for three months; and just started digesting all the music I could get my hands on and realized I really wanted to do music.
Are you the perfect mixture of your mom’s voice and dad’s playing?
I’m sure if you asked them, they would probably say ‘Yes.’ (laughing) They really are inspiring to me because I think they’re incredibly musical people. Besides from being great musicians, they’re artistic people and I will always find myself trying to play like my dad, because I think he has perfect time and the most amazing phrasing. When I play, I’m always trying to channel him in some way – he thinks about music in the most selfless way. He’s really adds to everything – he’s not trying to show off. It’s understated but so sick because it fits perfectly with everybody else.
I guess I’m trying to do what they do and I don’t think I can do it as nearly as well as of now, but I’m young (laughing).
As a 13-year-old, what was it like watching your dad play with Trey Anastasio? Did you know who Trey was and what he represented?
I was totally oblivious. I just thought it was amazing music and the whole event was pretty amazing. I hadn’t really checked out Phish before my dad started playing with Trey. I definitely was kind of oblivious to the scope of things.
Five years later you’re playing with Trey. How did that happen? Does Trey call you? Does Trey call your dad?
It was really funny. So Trey called my dad and my dad couldn’t do it. And he was like, ‘This might sound really funny but I have this daughter who lives in New York and she sings too and she might be a good fit.’ And I can’t believe it, because they actually took him seriously. They actually followed up on it. First, Trey’s manager called and asked me to send over some music and a bio. And then I remember, freshman year in my dorm room getting a call from Trey – no big deal (laughing).
He was so nice, he was like, ‘I really hope this can work out.’ We had a really nice talk about what it would be and then it wasn’t a done deal until he set me up to meet Jen (TAB vocalist/trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick). We played together – it was like a little audition and we really clicked.
Were you nervous?
Jen is so warm and welcoming that when you meet her, you feel at ease. Of course, I could have been totally scared but I had a great time meeting her.
Was Trey’s music difficult to learn?
It’s definitely an interesting mix of things, especially since so many people have written for the band and some of it is written down perfectly and a lot of isn’t and you just have to pick up on it and remember it. Actually starting on my first tour, we put together a book of all the music.
It’s definitely hard. His music is enigmatic – it’s kind of like how I am – drawing from a bunch of different sources of music and coming out with something that cannot be boxed in one genre, which is what I love and why it’s so much fun to play.
During your first tour with Trey, I was at the Connecticut show where your great-grandmother was in attendance.
It was amazing. I grew up not being able to see her a lot because she was East Coast and I was West Coast. I hadn’t seen her since I was 13. It was a big deal to see her and my great aunt brought her. She was standing up for a lot of it. She stayed for the first set and she loved the music.
Is it possible to describe in words what it was like to perform with Trey?
I think what strikes me the most about playing with him is that at every moment, I can tell that there is so much joy in the music that we are making. I think that’s a big secret as to why it resonates with the audience.
Was there a song that was your favorite number?
“Shine” was kind of the anthem of the first tour and we kept opening up with it. And Peter Apfelbaum, my godfather, wrote a lot of those horn parts, and I just thought the horn writing on that is some of the best stuff I ever heard. “Night Speaks” and “Flock of Words” are also two of my favorites.
On the road, did Jennifer become your mentor?
My life would not be the same without her. At this point we play together in three different bands (TAB, Wyllys and Van Ghost) and it’s all due to her. She’s a great role model – she’s so strong at being a woman and she doesn’t make it a big deal. She’s just making music at the highest level she can.
What’s it like performing with Wyllys?
It’s a really hard job playing with vinyl because the tracks are almost always out of tune. Sometimes we’re playing directly in between two keys. A lot of it you can’t chart out because you’re dealing with a vinyl that’s in a weird key. A lot of stuff that Jen and I do is making up music on the spot and a lot of what Wade does is vibe with the crowd and figure out the order of the sets. There’s a lot of room to write stuff on the spot and it’s really good for my ear.
How do you balance your career with school?
Early on I saw this train wreck was going to happen so I arranged it so I had classes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and no classes Thursday and Friday because I knew I would be on tour for three weeks. They kept flying me back into town so I could go to school. It worked out perfectly but I’m always on edge at the start.
When the (Trey) dates get announced I have to clear it with my dean. Usually they’re happy and sometimes they’re not; like I got kicked out of the big band I was supposed to play lead in because I was going to miss three rehearsals for Trey shows.
They also don’t understand the scope of what I’m doing. They haven’t ever heard about Trey and have no concept of how much of an impact Phish has had on the music world.
What are your classes like and what are you studying?
My degree is in jazz performance and the Manhattan School of Music wants everyone to be able to write, perform and teach. I really like Brazilian music, so I’m in a Brazilian combo; I’m taking an arranging and composing class because I like to write. You have improv classes where you have to learn 30 jazz songs by memory; rhythmic analysis where we listen to everything from Michael Brecker to Frank Zappa; and I was also in an Indian music combo and learned their scale structure and singing style.
Tell me about your own band, Natalie Cressman and The Secret Garden. Take me through the decision process to start your own group.
I was writing these songs and I thought ‘I really like to sing’ and I wasn’t taking it seriously until Trey’s band. I started writing music with vocals and I wanted to be able to have an outlet. And because I’ve been doing all these different projects, the music that comes out is pretty unique and hard to classify and I think it’s something that people might be interested in hearing. So a year and a half-ago, I started playing these gigs but I didn’t have a real personnel settled. And through playing with friends, and friends of friends, came up with this band of people that I’m really close with.
I think what I’m trying to do is make jazz relevant because I feel like jazz musicians are living in this little bubble and they’re not trying to connect with the audience. I want to bring the audience in.
How do you go about creating that vibe?
I don’t write anything that swings. I listen to so much indie and Latin music that I’m trying to put that altogether in a way that is refreshing and different and so far it’s working in the very embryonic stages. We just recorded our first album and it’s coming out this summer. We had a lot of fun and it shows on the record.
What did you learn about being a band leader from Trey and Wyllys that you can take back to your own band?
Trey’s not afraid to try out new ideas. He’ll go out on a whim and if he hears something, we’ll take a whole half hour and follow through with it and see if it works and I think that’s important and Wade (Wyllys) is kind of like that too.
Also the way Trey runs rehearsals – it’s like a hang. I’m really into baking, so I’ll bring everyone warm chocolate chip cookies and milk. We’ll hang out, talk and play and then eat some more.
What’s it like being in charge and being the decision maker?
It’s hard because I’m also a little indecisive and I like reasoning things out. I like going with things that are rational. And sometimes being a creative person involves being very irrational, being intuitive and following what feels right.
It’s hard to be in charge and make those calls and what gigs you should go for and what gigs you shouldn’t do.
What’s the significance behind the meaning of the album title: Unfolding ?
What I’m trying to say with the title is that it’s the beginning of a story that is being written about …. I feel all the music I wrote is really personal and really me. I wasn’t trying to do anything with it – it was stream of consciousness writing. The story is unfolding because a lot of people know my name but don’t really know what I’m about. I feel like I’m a good sideman and I love doing that so much, but I wanted a chance to show people how I write and what my project is. The Unfolding is the blooming of a project.
