What captivates us is her fearless storytelling, the elegance and versatility of her piano playing, and the remarkable way her voice always finds exactly the right emotional shade\u2014tender one moment, haunting the next. Her songs feel deeply personal, inviting listeners into stories that somehow become their own. Somewhere between the melodies and the silences, listeners often discover fragments of themselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly remains beautifully true to her artistic voice, and together with her extraordinary quartet, she creates performances that leave a lasting impression long after the final applause.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When we spoke with Kelly before her concert in Slovenia alongside drummer Jean John, she was reflecting on the journey following last year’s deeply personal album Corner of My Dreams<\/em> while looking ahead to the release of Eat Your Greens<\/em>, arriving this August. Our conversation explored music, life, creativity, and the road ahead, offering a glimpse into an artist whose honesty is every bit as compelling offstage as it is in performance.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Concert Witness [TCW]: Let’s start with Corner of My Dreams. It’s a remarkable album\u2014not only emotionally, but artistically as well. We first heard it before knowing the story behind it, and it immediately stood out to us. As your first album consisting entirely of original compositions, it feels like a defining moment in your artistic journey. Looking back now, what does Corner of My Dreams mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly Green:<\/strong> Oh, yeah, it’s very special that it’s all original music, and it’s very personal. Even still, playing the songs is a little bit hard because it’s about such a personal subject \u2014 losing my mother. But I think it’s such a universal thing that it’s so important for me to share those feelings, and it kind of makes it a little bit more relatable in a certain way than, say, a straight-ahead jazz tune or a straight-ahead jazz album. Of course, that speaks to jazz fans, but I feel like Corner of My Dreams is more all-encompassing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It kind of speaks to people’s humanity. It’s more like songs, like singer-songwriter type songs. And yeah, I really enjoyed being able to actually hear my string arrangements played by real string players, and a choir with four voices singing. Actually hearing those arrangements fully realized was really, really special. And of course, the trio already knew my music, and then being able to expand it from there…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, I think it’s like… I mean, it’s weird to say about yourself, but I think it’s a masterpiece. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do that again, but I’m really grateful that my mom and what she went through became something beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TCW: Corner of My Dreams<\/em> feels like such a fully realized artistic statement. Do you see it as a completed chapter, or is it a musical landscape you hope to revisit in the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly Green: <\/strong>I would love to build on that eventually, but because of the monetary cost and how hard it is to book \u2014 especially live \u2014 it\u2019s difficult. I would like to do that live. I\u2019d love to make a new album in that style, but recorded live, with more pieces written for string quartet and more music expanded in that setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the next album I\u2019m finishing now is straight-ahead swinging jazz with our trio\u2014actually quartet\u2014featuring Elijah J. Thomas on flute, alongside Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, Scott Robinson on tenor saxophone, Steve Wilson on alto saxophone, and Wallace Roney Jr. on trumpet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two original songs, including our theme song\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n TCW: On the new album, do you think of the horns more as a section, or more as individual voices that shift from piece to piece?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly Green<\/strong>: Both. Some songs feature the full group, like my arrangement of The Very Thought of You<\/em> with the Poinciana<\/em> Ahmad Jamal groove. Others use different combinations. One is trio\u2014we did my contrafact on Milestones<\/em>. Some are quartet\u2014we did Solitude<\/em> with Scott Robinson, and that came out really beautifully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The title track, Eat Your Greens<\/em>, is my contrafact on Cherokee<\/em>. We go through all twelve keys, and everybody gets a chance to improvise and trade throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I also wanted to record material I\u2019ve been playing for years, like my arrangement of Nobody Else But Me<\/em>, which I\u2019ve performed for about ten years but never recorded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I wanted the opportunity to play with some of the great masters while they\u2019re still alive, to learn from them\u2014and to have that documented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, I definitely want to revisit Corner of My Dreams<\/em>. Even now, we still return to those songs and play them alongside the standards\u2014it hasn\u2019t closed for me creatively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TCW<\/strong>: You\u2019ve mentioned different aspects of your work \u2014 vocalist, pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader. Do you think of these as separate roles, or as different expressions of a single artistic identity?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly Green<\/strong>: That\u2019s a good question. If I had to define myself \u2014 although I think it\u2019s really up to other people to define for themselves \u2014 I would say I\u2019m an artist. I\u2019m just using all those different mediums to express myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether it\u2019s writing a song, or something like\u00a0Tea with Kath<\/em>ie\u00a0on\u00a0Corner of My Dreams<\/em>, where I\u2019m not even playing piano \u2014 it\u2019s a string quartet piece \u2014 that\u2019s still an expression of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I\u2019m playing or singing, those are all just different sides of my expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I see myself as an artist, more of a conceptual artist. That\u2019s also why I started wearing different clothes and collaborating with fashion designer Marissa Wilson. I think visuals are a really important part of being a conceptual artist, as opposed to just being \u201ca pianist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Which is already hard enough on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TCW<\/strong>: Corner of My Dreams<\/em> feels very much like a conceptual album \u2014 something we don\u2019t often associate so directly with contemporary jazz. At the same time, it doesn\u2019t feel limited by the genre or its traditional form, but rather expands beyond it. And yet that sense of openness also feels central to jazz itself. How do you see that relationship between concept, genre, and freedom of form in your music?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly Green: <\/strong>Exactly. It\u2019s a concept of freedom \u2014 opening up, exploring yourself, expressing yourself so others can see themselves reflected in it. We are mirrors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TCW<\/strong>: As you\u2019ve mentioned before, there\u2019s also a difference between composing and songwriting, especially since you also write lyrics. When you\u2019re working on a piece, does the text usually come first, or does it evolve together with the music?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly Green: <\/strong>It\u2019s different on every song, but usually it all comes at once for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TCW<\/strong>: Do you think of lyrics as essential for communicating emotion and meaning, or do you sometimes feel the music alone can carry that just as strongly?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly Green:<\/strong> I think both are important, and as a listener I enjoy both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes when you\u2019re listening to a vocal album, it can become overwhelming hearing the same voice over and over again. Sometimes you want an instrumental reprieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And instrumental music can sometimes emote more than lyrics can, because lyrics can box you in. But at the same time, the human voice really speaks to people, and that\u2019s important too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why I love being able to do both \u2014 it gives me the freedom to move between instrumental and vocal tunes, because they resonate with people differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TCW<\/strong>: You\u2019ve worked with the same musicians for a long time \u2014 your trio, and with Elijah as well. That kind of continuity feels increasingly rare today, although in jazz history it has often been central to how a band\u2019s identity is shaped, sometimes as much as the individual voices within it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly Green: <\/strong>I a thousand percent agree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TCW<\/strong>: Today, it feels more common for musicians to come together just for individual recording projects or short sessions, rather than building a long-term collective sound.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly Green: <\/strong>Yeah. Their individual sounds \u2014 Luca, Evan, Elijah \u2014 and then the sound they create together is something really beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s that intangible thing again: if you work together, listen to each other, and give each other space to speak musically, then the collective becomes more powerful than one person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I write music, I have them in mind. I know what they sound like, and I know it\u2019s going to work for those voices and for us together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They all read my mind by now. It\u2019s something really special, and I plan to play with that quartet for the rest of my life no matter what it takes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes I even lose money because I have to pay more to keep the band together. But sacrificing their sound for something different on a show presenting my own music just isn\u2019t worth it to me. Their voices are the essence of the music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there are so many obstacles now that make it difficult for people to maintain bands, so I understand why people struggle with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m just very intentional about it \u2014 I will make this work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TCW<\/strong>: You mentioned your upcoming project Eat Your Greens<\/em>. When is it set for release, and how does the quartet \u2014 alongside the expanded horn lineup \u2014 shape the concept of the album?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly Green<\/strong>: August this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The quartet is really at the core of it, which is nice \u2014 the same trio plus Elijah \u2014 and then we added the horns. Ideally, whenever possible, I want Scott Robinson, Wycliffe Gordon, Wallace Roney Jr., and Steve Wilson all together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But every additional person adds more time, more logistics, more space. That\u2019s also why sometimes I like to do a solo piece during shows \u2014 sometimes you just need one voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I think mixing it all up makes for a really good show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TCW<\/strong>: Maybe one last question. We live in a time where attention is constantly competed for, and artists are often part of that struggle too. What do you see as the value of jazz today, especially in a culture that demands constant visibility, while jazz asks listeners to slow down and stay present?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly Green<\/strong>: I think a lot of people still don\u2019t really understand what jazz is. Sometimes it can feel exclusive \u2014 like you have to be \u201chip\u201d to it, or know bebop, or know certain things to participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But at the same time, the positive side is that it\u2019s actually very inclusive. Once people hear it live and experience what\u2019s happening, they really appreciate it and love it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know visibility is hard now, but I think sometimes you just have to go out there and do it, even if only three people are there. Those three people will tell three more people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a slow, person-to-person process. Slow and steady wins the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s also why I\u2019m not constantly posting on social media. I post when I feel like it. If you suddenly force yourself to do it every day just to fight for attention, it becomes fake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019d rather people discover me naturally and say, \u201cOh my God, I\u2019ve never heard you before,\u201d instead of being pushed onto everyone constantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And musically, you also grow slowly. You don\u2019t become good overnight. It takes a lifetime \u2014 more than a lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TCW<\/strong>: Jazz really asks for patience \u2014 from both the musician and the listener.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelly Green:<\/strong> Exactly. It takes time. And that\u2019s also the beauty of it \u2014 you don\u2019t have to follow whatever the newest trend is. You can just express yourself. That\u2019s the freedom in jazz, and I think that\u2019s one of its greatest strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theconcertwitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Kelly-Green-Press-Photo-MA-7-copy-1-scaled.avif\")
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