Gretchen Parlato, who will be performing at LACHSApalooza on May 30, is a three-time Grammy nominated jazz vocalist and a proud LACHSA graduate. She took time out of her busy schedule to let us ask her a few questions. During our interview, she told us that LACHSA is where she found her artistic community and bonds that have lasted throughout her life. She also let us know how excited she is to be performing at LACHSApalooza. 

First of all, are you as excited about LACHSApalooza as we are? Can you believe it’s the 40th anniversary of LACHSA?

I am thrilled and honored to have been asked to participate in LACHSApalooza! I love LACHSA, I love the Greek Theatre… It’s gonna be a beautiful evening and remind us all of the importance of our artistic community. It’s such a necessary cause to fund and support our future artists. It’s definitely wild to think that it has been over 30 years since I was in high school! I know the 90s will be represented at this event, full force!!

What made you want to attend LACHSA?

I remember first hearing about LACHSA from my junior high drama teacher. I have a memory of being handed a paper flyer about LACHSA auditions and at that time I debated whether to audition in vocal music or theater… And my 14-year-old brain looked at the requirements and thought the music audition was easier! So that’s what I did! That truly and hilariously is the reason for going down that path! In hindsight, it’s very charming and funny, but also “meant to be” that I pursued finding my voice. Additionally, this is a wonderful example of a supportive and encouraging junior high drama teacher, and how one little action can truly change a young person’s destiny.

What do you think makes LACHSA such a special place?

When we are impressionable teenagers so many decisions are made based on our social scene–what our friends are doing. LACHSA provides a community of young artists who bond and realize that there is a collective community of like-minded people. I think it will help any student find their passion, path, realize their value and worth in this world. I think LACHSA has saved students lives. Students who otherwise might not have known their purpose, students who might otherwise have gone down a destructive path. LACHSA fosters students who continue to pursue a career in the arts, but it should be noted that LACHSA also fosters those students who just needed direction and a feeling of inclusion, support, and community in the transitional teenage years.

What was the most important thing you learned by attending LACHSA?

Something that started at LACHSA was the feeling of an artistic community. Beyond my own artistic family, I found bonds at LACHSA that have continued all throughout my life. I have always surrounded myself with other artists and it has enriched my life and my art.

LACHSA was the first place where I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in the arts. I think before LACHSA anything artistic that I did was more of a hobby. Studying in the classroom, as well as all the incredible performance opportunities, flipped a switch in me and I knew that I wanted and needed to transform my hobby into a career path.

Do you still stay in touch or collaborate with any friends from LACHSA?

Absolutely! I have many friends that I am in touch with from LACHSA, as best friends or colleagues in artistic collaboration. LACHSA friendships and bonds run deep and forever. My friend Nicolau Vergueiro made my last album artwork and we collaborated on a piece that premiered at Carnegie Hall! Currently he’s working on a video for my upcoming project. I’ve also been working with LACHSA alumni from other years like Gerald Clayton and Michael Mayo. Lauren Desberg is one of my favorite photographers and videographers, and we are currently working on videos for my upcoming album.

What has your professional trajectory been? Life after LACHSA…

After LACHSA, I continued at UCLA studying ethnomusicology specializing in jazz studies. Following, I was the first vocalist to be accepted in the Thelonious Monk Institute (now called Herbie Hancock Institute). I then moved to New York City in 2003, shortly after winning first place in the Thelonious Monk Institute vocal competition, which led to recording albums, gathering a team of agents and management, and led to decades of albums and touring all over the world. All during these last decades, though, I made it a point to come back to LACHSA and connect with the vocal jazz students and give a hug to our beloved Miss B. Having amazing teachers like her inspired me to always give back and teach and pass on all that I have gathered. I was on faculty at Manhattan School of Music and now I teach at UCLA in the Global Jazz Studies Department.

What has been LACHSA’s impact on you and how has your training there helped lead you to where you are today?

Something that has always stuck with me from LACHSA is the feeling of being inspired and motivated by my friends, my teachers, our artistic community. That feeling should never go away… in reality, of course, our lives might go up and down in artistic waves of inspiration or feeling stuck or blocked in creativity. Being in the LACHSA environment, everything was exciting and we almost have this feeling of invincibility! Though that’s a little bit of a fantasy concept, I feel like that feeling should never fully go away. We should always be able to tap into this idea that anything is possible, that any challenge can be met… that anything we dream about doing, we can actually achieve.

You’ve been nominated for a Grammy three times now! That’s so exciting. How does it feel to have your work validated like that?

Indeed, a Grammy nomination feels amazing. I am grateful to be recognized in that way. It’s something, as an artist, that should never be the only thing that validates or motivates who you are and what you do, however. That validity comes from within, of course. But I will always be excited if I am included in the Grammy nominees, for sure!

What’s up next for you? Can we look forward to a new album any time soon?

Yes, I have an upcoming album to be released in the fall. It is called “The Wise Ones.” Much more to say about that in the next coming months. Stay tuned!