Meet Abigail Flowers | Jazz vocalist, arranger, songwriter, and teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Abigail Flowers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Abigail, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I think the most important factor that has allowed me a career as a freelance musician is a diverse skill set. Unless you’re the absolute best at what you do, it’s almost impossible to be a specialist these days. It’s important to have a range of skills. For me personally, I’m a skilled vocalist. But I’m also a skilled songwriter and I’m also able to accompany myself. I’m also able to record from home, to arrange background vocals, and tune other people’s vocals for pop records. I’m also reasonably business savvy and can manage booking and leading bands and update my own website. I’m also a skilled arranger and can sell arrangements on my website. When one area of my creativity feels like it isn’t bearing fruit, I can pivot temporarily. That keeps things interesting and gives me an ever-expanding web of skills that will help me maintain a career long term.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m proud of a lot of things, but the ability to build community is high on the list. I’m very passionate about pursuing my music career. That comes first. But it’s hard for music to feel satisfying if it’s not experienced in the context of community. I love learning from others, teaching what I know about jazz, creating space for people to share experiences, and organizing events that serve my musical community (like affordable headshot days and jazz musician meet-ups). When you’re on stage, communicating through music, there’s a deep connection that can and should be continued off stage, and I love facilitating that.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love to see live jazz at Rudy’s Jazz Room and the Nashville Jazz Workshop! As the parent of a toddler, I can’t resist a trip to the zoo on a beautiful day! For food, I love exploring the taco trucks here in Madison. EVERYONE should make a visit to Plaza Mariachi if they can!! You never know what kind of incredible event might be happening there on a given weekend–sometimes it’s a giant concert, sometimes it’s a salsa dance, sometimes there are fire jugglers hanging from the ceiling… You just have to go see it yourself!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe a great deal of gratitude to so many people. To Alex Graham, who hired me for my first jazz gig and sent me to the Nashville Jazz Workshop to learn more. To Lori Mechem at the Nashville Jazz Workshop who gave me a scholarship so I could take classes for a year and study the jazz tradition more deeply. To Liz Johnson, my voice teacher who helped me reconstruct my voice after a difficult tonsillectomy. To Charlie Peacock, who hired me to collaborate on a pair of songs that opened doors for me in the streaming space several years ago. To Otto Gross, who got my foot in the door as a songwriter with Quaver Ed and has been a constant encourager and collaborator for years now. To Katie Blomarz-Kimball, who has been an amazing friend, musical collaborator, and encourager, especially in the jazz space. To my husband, Quentin Flowers, who has been my partner as I pursued music for the past 10 years.

Website: https://www.abigailflowersmusic.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailflowersmusic

Facebook: https://facebook.com/abigailflowersmusic

Youtube: https://youtube.com/abigailflowersmusic

Image Credits
Studio photos by Seiji Inouye
Stage photos by Fern Welch