Music, medicine pair magically for Bill Kwan

San Francisco jazz singer Bill Kwan won’t be giving up his day job as a dermatologist any time soon.

The vocalist, who appears at Yoshi’s on Tuesday and Savanna Jazz on Aug. 6, says, “I could not imagine not doing medicine. I’m fortunate I get to do both.”

Thanks to a supportive staff that helps him manage the challenging task of finding time to see patients, take singing lessons, record albums, rehearse and perform, Kwan has been able to fulfill his dream of being a doctor as well as keeping music an important part of his life.

He grew up in the 1970s and ’80s in Southern California around music, singing in choir in elementary and junior high school, going to the Hollywood Bowl — where he saw Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme and Nancy Wilson — and taking in artists his parents enjoyed, such as Benny Goodman and Herb Alpert.

Kwan, who describes his own sound as “traditional pop,” has released a delightful easy-listening album called “Pentimento,” featuring tunes from the Great American songbook — “Love Letters,” “From This Moment On,” “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” — and newer selections from the likes of the Beatles (“In My Life”), Karla Bonoff (“Goodbye My Friend”) and Brenda Russell (“Get Here”).

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/entertainment/music/2011/07/music-medicine-pair-magically-bill-kwan#ixzz1T43e254I