How are you and what have you been up to recently?
I’m fine thanks! Things are very busy right now what with finishing Errol Brown’s tour, starting my solo UK tour and recording my third EP. I am also getting ready for upcoming festivals as well as continued research for my PhD. 
 
What are the five albums that have most influenced you?
Monty Alexander - Yard Movement
Michel Camilo - Triangulo
Blackstreet - Another Level
Casino Lights ‘99 (Montreux Jazz Festival 1999)
Alicia Keys - Songs in A Minor
 
Where did you grow up? What was it like for a budding musician?
I grew up in Gants Hill in Essex. I was very fortunate to go to a school that had an amazing music department and so the idea of playing and creating music was very natural. Music was always a hobby, I had no idea that it would be my career.

If you could be a musician in any era when would it be and why?
I would love to be a musician in the Motown era, and working with Berry Gordy. The music was so free and full of expression. Although it was not an easy time, I love how the music bought people together and the family / soul element of the genre.

Is there any particular venue you’d like to play and why?
The Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House, Australia with a full orchestra! I can imagine the acoustics there would be magnificent, and the architecture and design is beautiful.
 
What was your first musical instrument?
My first musical instrument was the piano which I first started playing at the age of six. I learnt to play an electric keyboard that my Dad had which was older than me and then we had an old upright a while after that.
 
What books have you read and what films have you seen recently?
I like this question as I am part of a small book club with some friends and we have read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne, Beloved by Toni Morrison and are now reading We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. I have not seen many up to date movies but have recently watched the films for the first two books mentioned. I am now watching Season five of 24!
 
If not a musician, what job would you have had in the real world?
I would still be in the final year of my PhD in Management Science and once completed I would maybe have stayed in academia or gone into management consultancy. My childhood dream was to become a Formula 1 racing driver! 
 
Do you prefer playing live or recording in the studio?
Definitely playing live. I love the interaction with the audience and band members and how the music is special and unique to that moment. Recording can become quite frustrating and the feeling of spontaneity can be lost - but I do enjoy the creative side of writing my own songs.
 
Any burning ambitions?
Wow, many! My overall musical ambition is to make YolanDa Brown a household name, introducing all generations to my music and bringing the solo sax to the mainstream.