"Antoinette Montague “has a powerful voice and she’s not afraid to use it, belting out the more up-tempo songs and bringing soulful underlying emotion to the quieter songs.” — Sound Bytes
“Montague’s interpretative powers reign supreme.” — John Gilbert, eJazzNews
My Early Years
I was raised in Newark, New Jersey, the youngest of 7 children. My introduction to music came from my mom, who was always singing and sounded a lot like Ella Fitzgerald. With six older siblings, there was always music in the house. I listened to Nat King Cole, the Ink Spots, Motown and Paul Robeson. If you came through the Newark school system, you learned about Paul Robeson.
He graduated from Rutgers University and Rutgers has a campus in Newark so I felt a connection to him. I remember the first time I heard his voice. It was almost like he was singing directly to me. On Saturdays my dad would drop me off at the Newark Public Library on his way to work. There I would listen to Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. The pictures of Duke Ellington from the 20's and 30's with his top hat on blew my mind. He was gorgeous!
First Steps
At my high school graduation, my music teacher had me sing, “Send in the Clowns”. But my first time singing on stage was for a high school salute to Walt Disney, “When You Wish Upon A Star”. My knees knocked so hard, the kids could see my pant legs trembling. It took a lot of heart to sing. I went to Seton Hall University, I heard a Gospel choir and joined it.
I found that it was possible to take the spirituality of gospel and infuse it into jazz and blues. I began to go to the Peppermint Lounge in East Orange, a local jazz and blues club. My friends would get the musicians to let me sit in. That was my introduction. I began to listen, learn, practice and figure it all out.
Musical Inspiration
My mother was diagnosed with breast and brain cancer during my days Seton Hall. Concentrating was difficult at best. I decided to let my full academic Martin Luther King Scholarship go, and get day job. I got involved with a little R & B band. I heard a woman named Carrie Smith, who was performing on Broadway, and fell in love with her sound.
I volunteered to work with her and made it my own apprenticeship, a way to learn all aspects of the business. If she were appearing at the Blue Note, I would handle everything from soup to nuts, getting to see what it is to be a foot soldier working for an artist. When she went to Europe, where she was incredibly popular, I used my vacation time to travel with her. Carrie Smith was ready to retire when I met her, but we kept her working for another 10 years mostly based on relationships she had established with Dick Hyman and other people. She was my first mentor.
Joining the Scene
I was on a jazz cruise with Carrie Smith in the mid 90’s when I met the great Etta Jones. Etta had a lot of patience for up and coming talent and invited me to sing at jam sessions. There was an instant connect between us. She took me under her wing and often came to hear me perform and provide pointers. Etta mentored me, encouraged me, mothered me.
She gave me confidence and introduced me to Myrna Lake and Della Griffin (who sounds like Billy Holiday). Both Myrna and Della mentored me when Etta was out of town. I also filled in for them when they were traveling. Etta pushed me to schedule more performances and develop a career. She died in 2001 and I miss her every day. I wear her ring that I got from her granddaughter along with the ring from her two dear friends. I think about Etta, her life lessons, her kindness and her toughness if you got on her bad side.
She encouraged me when others were being uncool. She would say, “I hear it Annie. It is coming along, and it’s going to be wonderful. Not everybody wants you to sing like they did me. Keep doing it and don’t quit, or I will come back and haunt you.” Her memory haunts me in a most profoundly loving way. I appreciate and cherish every life lesson I learned from each and every one of my Jazz family members.especially Etta Jones.
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