Jill Zadeh Returns to Harbor View For An Encore

Last Saturday night, Island girl Jill Zadeh took the stage at the and wowed a packed house. Zadeh has been home for the past four months after backing up Janet Jackson on her 2011 “Up Close and Personal” world tour and at the end of this month, she’ll head back to Los Angeles.

Janet Jackson is hardly the only mega star on this singer’s resume. Zadeh has traveled the world backing up pop superstars like Mya, Christina Aguilera, , Joss Stone, Maroon 5, and Brandy and she has sung background vocals for Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Jennifer Lopez, Diana Ross, Oleta Adams, Patti LaBelle, and Natalie Cole. But last weekend was her first ever solo performance on Martha’s Vineyard.

 “I didn’t know what to expect,” Zadeh said of the show, “but I wasn’t expecting such a warm welcome. They ended up turning people away at the door.”

Zadeh graduated from in 1994 where she describes herself as being a “music nerd.” She went on to Berklee College of Music in Boston where she joined the school’s gospel choir.

“I wanted to be with the best and technically and stylistically, gospel singers are the best,” she said.

After college she found her way to Los Angeles in 2000 and began working steadily as a back up singer. While on tours she became close with another background singer named Erin Stevenson. The two decided they would form a group called SoulCrush and try their hands as lead singers instead of back up singers.

“SoulCrush is really a different spin on R&B with a heavy rock drive,” said Zadeh. “Erin and I are total opposites in a lot of ways, but even though I from here and she’s from Texas, we could have grown up together musically. We have the same sensibilities and we’re both singer singers. We want to create pop music without having to sacrifice the musicality. We want to make songs that are fun to sing along to.”

Zadeh says she’s looking forward to getting back into recording and writing at full force. She said that if she could work with anyone in the business it would be Adele or Stevie Wonder, noting that she loves doing music that is more live than staged. While she is excited to get back into it, she reflected on how hard show business can be. Whitney Houston was her first inspiration as a singer.

“The first tapes I ever bought on my own were Whitney Houston’s and Janet Jackson’s,” she said. “It’s really hard for me to believe that she’s actually gone, but it sort of encourages me to keep doing it. I know I have something to give. It’s a shame when people die when they still have something left to give.”

This Friday night, the audience at the Harbor View can expect more original songs and classic standards. Zadeh calls herself “old school,” and her voice has been described as soulful.

Zadeh will be playing with a band made up of well-known Island musicians including Phil DaRosa, Jim Parr, Matty Rosenthal and Adam Lipsky.

“I grew up with these guys. Phil and I used to ride the Chilmark bus to school. Although back then, it wasn’t a bus, it was more like a station wagon,” said Zadeh. “They are great guys and really great musicians.”

The performance at the Harbor View has been a tremendous send off for Zadeh.

“I never really thought of myself as part of the artist community here before,” she said, “but this experience has definitely changed that for me. I don’t feel like the uncool pop princess anymore.”

Jill Zadeh's encore performance will take place on Friday March 9, 2012 at the Harbor View Hotel. Doors open at 8 pm and the performance begins at 8:30 pm. Tickets for the performance are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. All ages welcome. For more information, call 508-627-7000