Camille Bertault started out on her jazz career by posting a few fun videos on YouTube.
Apparently, after having failed a final exam at the Conservatoire de Paris for music and dance, in which her attempt to transcribe the notes of a famous John Coltrane solo left her with professors who called the final project too theatrical, she took to a bit of YouTube revenge by actually singing the notes that she’d transcribed and posting it online.
If you don’t know much about jazz, then think about it this way: it’s pretty easy to sing along with a song that someone else is singing right? You can belt out Taylor Swift’s lyrics or yell “Put a ring on it” with Beyonce’s. But have you ever tried to sing along to an orchestral track? It gets more complicated to follow the ever changing notes, tempos and melodies. Now, imagine trying to sing along with the greatest jazz musician (don’t fight me on that) that ever picked up a sax. It’s really hard, and you have to have some serious skill.
Bertault obviously has some serious skill because a week after she posted her revenge video, it had gone totally viral. Since then, Bertault has gained a following and most recently has been singing with some great musicians, like the French-American pianist and composer Dan Tepfer.
Check out Bertault’s skills below, and her viral vid here (complete with a guest appearance by her cat).
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFb0s_WdbyY&w=560&h=315]
