Leandra stars at MovieTowne

PATRICIA MESCHINO, a Billboard contributor, described LeAndra Head’s voice as “inspiring, able to communicate emotions that are well beyond her years; she possesses the ability to sing anything.”

That “inspiring” voice will feature at Women in Jazz tomorrow. She will be accompanied by guitarist Judah B, bassist Rodney Alexander, drummer Dareem Chandler and pianist Jeanine Ruiz. Her sister Tylah Head and Maya Guerra will provide background vocals.

The 24-year-old soprano’s musical identity has been shaped by female jazz legends Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald.

A release to media about Head said, “(Her) powerful vocals evoke the inspired passion of soul diva Etta James and the melodic phrasings of the first lady of jazz Ella Fitzgerald, both of whom have been very influential to her musical identity.”

The release quotes Head as saying, “People say I am an old soul when they hear me sing.”

She is the daughter of professional photographer Andrea De Silva and former US Marine Corps Master Sergeant Leroy Head Jr.

The family recalled when Head was just three-years-old, she sang Whitney Houston’s Run to You “successfully scaling high notes even grown folks are afraid to attempt.”

Head’s father knew then that that she was headed for stardom. “Her father looked at her and said she sounded so beautiful that she was going to be a star. We knew she had a special talent because she was always singing,” De Silva said.

Her climb to musical stardom continued throughout her primary school years, with her getting best soloist honours at SanFest music festival for three consecutive years.

Her first public performance was at children’s talent contest Twelve and Under.

Then only nine, “she placed second with a spellbinding rendition of Somewhere over the Rainbow and won the Joy Caesar trophy, which is awarded to the series’ most outstanding vocalist.”

The host, the release added, recognised her vocal talent “as coming from a higher source and told her mother. ‘Her voice is a gift from God’.”

In 2004, she won the St James WeBeat festival’s amateur night competition, beating several adult contestants.

Also at the San Fernando Jazz Festival that year, she shared the stage with the late world-renowned South African performer Hugh Masekela along with other international acts. She then performed a “soulful rendition” of James’ signature hit At Last. “After my performance, as I was going to get something to drink, two men came up to me and said that I was talented and that I had an old spirit in me. Then they started to pray with me; I was both scared and amused,” Head recalled.

Head’s extraordinary vocal ability has been acknowledged by some of TT’s musical icons.

“Her great, great, voice will take her where she needs to go,” says Mungal Patasar.

In her early teens, Head took a break from performing “but reignited her passion in earnest four years ago.”

“On a trip to New York in March 2013, she sang at an open mic event at Sugar Bar in Manhattan which is owned by American duo Ashford and Simpson, and was immediately asked to return to do her own set on another night, performing to rapturous applause from a completely full house,” the release said. Head’s musical trek continued in 2013 when she was chosen by American production company, Living Arts International Inc, to take part in the opera Porgy and Bess in Budapest, Hungary, where she was the youngest member of the cast.

Her music accomplishments are many. “She received an honourable mention when she took part in the Trinidad and Tobago Classical Music Development Foundation’s 2015 opera competition for her performance of Les Berceaux and Batti Batti O Bel Masetto.”

She has also shared the stage with sister Tylah at the 2017 National Music Festival in 2017 and they won the Anne Fridal cup for Operatic Duet. Head also won best folk choir performance with the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) choir, where she sang the solo. In 2017 she graduated from UTT with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in music with specialisation in voice.

The list of people Head performs with continues to grow. She has performed back-up vocals for calypsonians Shadow and Chuck Gordon. She was featured in classmate’s Tammico “Spicey” Moore’s Missing You, getting a semi-final place in the 2017 Calypso Monarch. Head’s also did back-up vocals this year with reigning Calypso Monarch Helon Francis.

She also performed as part of the J9 vocal quartet led by Jeanine Ruiz at this year’s Jazz on the Greens at St Joseph last month.

Her musical’s tastes are wide and varied. From operatic singers like Maria Callas, Anna Moffo, Jesse Norman and Leontyne Price to pop singers like John Mayer, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Amy Winehouse and Adele formed the singer she is today.

“I really have no preferences in music. I like singing and listening to all genres but I don’t want to be classified as any ‘type’ of singer. I’m a vocalist and I do what I like.

“I want to be versatile and creative in using what I’ve learned in new ways,” Head said.