The Young Lions Collective (YLC) at Kerrytown Concert House brings in the next generation of up-and-coming jazz musicians in the local music community, and in this performance, the YLC featured award-winning, Detroit-based recording artist, pianist, and composer, Emma Aboukasm. With the hope of inspiring other female artists, Aboukasm dedicated her entire performance to “The Divine Feminine,” where she played renditions of well-known female musicians in the jazz industry.
Aboukasm, a recent graduate of the Jazz & Contemporary Music at the University of Michigan, is an established artist in the Detroit area with experience performing from intimate venues to expansive stages. She won the Youth Vocal Jazz Competition in Detroit in 2014, and the next year, she was a top finalist in the International Sarah Vaughan Vocal Jazz. Recently, Aboukasm co-produced her debut album “Rise To It” with a mix of piano, bass, drums, and alto saxophone.
In this performance, Aboukasm was the vocalist alongside Jordan Anderson on the piano, Aidan Cafferty on the bass, and David Ward on the drums. Aboukasm focused her concert on female jazz vocalists; including Cécile McLorin Salvant, Bernice Petkere, Carmen McRae, and Nellie Lutcher to name a few.
The concert began with notes from the piano, with the bass and drums in the background. The rhythm of the music intensified until the instruments came to a full stop—signaling the beginning of Aboukasm’s vocal performance. She played a collection of songs by female artists, incorporating French into several of the renditions she sang. Each song told a different story about the women’s experience, and after each song, she shared why each piece stood out to her.
Aboukasm’s dynamic, soulful performance was one that spoke to all women in the music industry. As one of only five women in her graduating class, she hopes to serve as a voice for women in the jazz community and inspire young musicians to follow an unconventional path similar to her own.
The Kerrytown Concert House radiated with energy, with the audience fully immersed in the sound and nodding their heads to the beat of the music. The entire performance was an experience, with a mix of dynamic, sassy, upbeat sounds that got the crowd energized.
As an individual with limited knowledge of the music community, Aboukasm really sparked my own interest in the jazz industry. Often, this genre of music can be overlooked amidst all of the modern music today, but Aboukasm reignited the fire in her jazz performance. Her performance served as a testament to all the outnumbered women in the jazz music industry, and it is my hope that she continues her work inspiring young musicians like herself.
