( ENSPIRE Music ) Sharon Marie Offers a Fresh Touch to Jazz, Soul, and Broadway Standards
ENSPIRE Contributor: Cailin Tennis
Sharon Marie Cline has unique song styling and sweet intonations. These combined with her sultriness leaves music aficionados with an experience they will never forget. Many music giants, including Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, Rachelle Ferrell, and Phyllis Hyman influenced her work. Her songs and sounds are becoming favorites in listeners’ playlists.
She can credit her outstanding musical skills to her music education as a classically trained musician. This hard work was pursued with ferocity and grace, which makes audiences admire her even more. Gifted with a five-octave vocal range, Cline also possesses a musical theater and regional theater background. Her perspectives on music and expression through artistry are a refreshing addition to today’s music industry.
Her journey into music began as a child. “I remember my parent’s hi-fi phonograph. They were always playing great classic jazz and soul throughout the house on the weekends,” she blissfully remembers. Artists like Count Basie Orchestra, Nancy Wilson, and Aretha Franklin blessed her ears and evoked deep emotion within her.
She then went on to study music and musical theater professionally. In the educational environment, she had a built-in team supporting her, ready to add to her creation and expression. One of her favorite parts of school was discovering a new song, and having time to deconstruct it, research it, and make it her own. She says, “Finally performing it for a group who can appreciate it, comment on it, and collaborate with you is just amazing.”
Conversely, her journey was sometimes difficult and unglamorous. Sharon emphasizes, “I just remember long nights in practice rooms working on my vocal runs or my interpretation of songs from great American Musicals, like Carousel.” With songs such as “If I Loved You,” she worked tirelessly trying to get just the right amount of emotion in her voice. “Boy, I was hard on myself,” she continues, “to meet the ideal I had set in my mind.”
Sharon’s artistry is unique because she authentically and honestly expresses who she is while she performs. She elaborates, “Most of us artists create something unique because we are all different. Each is expressed uniquely. So, my artistry comes from who I am, what I have lived, how I feel and process those experiences.” All of this informs how she expresses herself artistically.
In every artistic journey, there are silent, irreplaceable supporters. For Sharon, these were her parents, her family, her artistic community, and God. This valuable support system will launch her into new vistas in the future. We can expect collaborations on big music projects with extraordinary artists around the world. This includes recording films, and hopefully playing in the Hollywood Bowl. When asked where she sees herself in 5 years, she replied, “Most importantly, I see myself in a wonderfully fulfilling, creative, and supportive personal relationship. Our relationships fuel our artistry!”
Sharon Marie Cline is an exceptional artist, with a wide breadth of musical education. Be sure to listen to her complete discography to hear her sultry sounds, and be transported to a nostalgic era of music. Learn more about her through her website. You can find her newest single, “Love Will Follow”, on Spotify.
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