The Patti Austin Podcast

Today we revisit some of Patti's plans to get a tour going later this year with some of her female singing companions to encourage everyone to vote. She talks about who she plans on having on the tour, how she met these talented ladies plus some of her favorite New Yorker cartoons. It's all about women, we got the power.

Today we revisit, Patti's attempt at running for president and she clarifies the important keys to her presidential platform. She questions whether we should be experiencing social media in real time, how Germany is dealing with social media and whether hatred should be illegal. She gives her personal parameters for being president and her generational perspective on particular #MeToo situations.

Today we revisit, Patti talking about growing up in a multi-racial home, how it played a role in her career and the recent swing of integration in advertising. She lectures on the importance of a person's environment for their future and how we all need to analyze our lives to see how we became the person we are today. Don't make Patti get on her dragons, she's got dragons.

Today we revisit, Patti speaking about singers and some of her words of wisdom while teaching mater classes around the world. She talks about the influence of Lena Horne on jazz singers, the importance of figuring out what kind of artist you are and how you want to project that. She lays out how she goes about teaching her master class, how she got started with it and the importance of picking your song. 

Today we revisit, Patti focusing on her experiences performing around the world and singing in different languages. She talks about singing in Cantonese and the unbelievable response from the Chinese audience during a popular song of the country. There are different approaches when singing in different languages and Patti gets into some of the specifics including phrasing and some of her favorite places to perform.

Today we revisit, Patti sharing her adventures in Brazil while competing in a song competition. She had drama on the plane ride over, the audience threw stuff at her and Alan and Marilyn Bergman mistakenly cursed at the press at the hotel. Not only that, Patti got confused for a lesbian because of her outfit and was accused of having an affair with the married orchestra conductor and that's just part of the stories from Brazil.

We revisit Patti reminiscing about her trip scheduled to attend a friend's foundation with James Taylor and Hugh Jackman and how things didn't go quite as planned. Her beloved singing partner James Ingram passed away and she reminisces about their history together, the story of how James and his wife Debbie met on the playground and how she and James teamed up for “Baby Come To Me.” She circles back to her trip and having to address James passing, going to Germany and Italy plus a great story about how the drums were played on the “Birdman” soundtrack.

Today we revisit, some of Pattis' mom's greatest sayings; she fires off a bunch of them and the back stories behind those words of wisdom. She talks about her mom, what kind of women she was and how it shaped Patti's upbringing. There's a story about a few encounters in an elevator, how she helped a girlfriend get glasses and how she tricked a man into getting a dental procedure.  

Patti has plans to get a tour going later this year with some of her female singing companions to encourage everyone to vote. She talks about who she plans on having on the tour, how she met these talented ladies plus some of her favorite New Yorker cartoons. It's all about women, we got the power.

Patti takes another trip to Russia and she tells of all the goings-on while she was there. She had an awkward question while doing an interview on a Russian TV show and a tense moment that occurred outside her hotel that was very telling for the presence in that country and how it's making its way to the US. She did a concert in Moscow performing a pair of Russian songs and she taught a master class with a lot of talented young musicians.

Patti talks about her recent trip which became completely different than what she expected because of her own preconceived ideas. She talks about one the most polite run-ins she's ever had in a grocery store, her show in a small venue in Boston and the roll out of her “Love Tour”. She talks about why the answer to everything right now is: women, her mentoring foundation and she spends way too much time talking about blueberries.

Today we revisit, Patti sharing some stories of singing background while performing on Saturday Night Live including an iconic episode with Joe Cocker. She shares a tale about spending an evening with Jonathan Winters and enlisting Robin Williams aid for a show in South Africa. Patti reminisces about all the times she was on SNL, the behind the scenes experiences and a tour with Roberta Flack in the Philippines.

Today we revisit, Patti talking about the music industry and the progression throughout history. She also gives her perspective of the how the industry has shifted today and how it's both good and bad. There is a special perspective Patti gives to her students about “being a star”, how the successful artists she knows share a common mindset and her unbelievable moment of clarity while singing at a terminal ward at a children's hospital.

Patti focuses on her experience performing around the world and singing in different languages. She talks about singing in Cantonese and the unbelievable response from the Chinese audience during a popular song of the country. There are different approaches when singing in different languages and Patti gets into some of the specifics including phrasing and some of her favorite places to perform.

Patti shares her adventures in Brazil while competing in a song competition. She had drama on the plane ride over, the audience threw stuff at her and Alan and Marilyn Bergman mistakenly cursed at the press at the hotel. Not only that, Patti got confused for a lesbian because of her outfit and was accused of having an affair with the married orchestra conductor and that's just part of the stories from Brazil.

Patti shares some stories from the road and how she's experienced some good luck/bad luck. She talks about the difficulty of flying recently and a story on how an Uber driver who was late taking her to the airport actually worked out in her favor. She's had her purse stolen but got everything back intact, she booked a flight on 9/11 but had to re-book it because of David Gest and she missed a train that went off the side of a mountain because she stopped to get lunch instead.

Patti talks about her exploration through show business at a young age and she offers some suggestions on how to cultivate that talent. There is a discussion about indigenous people, creating a community and her plea to bring back discussions. She talks about Sundays around the house with her two grandma's, first learning about race and being a young black kid on TV.

Patti talks about growing up in a multi-racial home, how it played a role in her career and the recent swing of integration in advertising. She lectures on the importance of a person's environment for their future and how we all need to analyze our lives to see how we became the person we are today. Don't make Patti get on her dragons, she's got dragons.

Patti is in a very reflective mood with the New Year coming up and she's ready to share her grief. 2020 is going to be a heavy year and Patti has some bad news but also provides a silver lining. Just remember, we want to keep living, we want to keep breathing and to elevate our stature.  And DJ Patti?

Patti is running for the President of Christmas and she's got some ideas for the holidays. She shares what Christmas was like in her household growing up and how the holidays progressed as she got older. She talks about the importance of helping others on this holiday, some of the Christmas music she's recorded and adventures on the road during Christmas tours.

Patti reminisces about singing at the “Singers for Songwriters” benefit and a mishap on stage while singing a Barbara Streisand tune. She shares a horrible experience while performing during the play “Ain't Misbehavin'”, her experiences working on the movie “Cotton Club” and being added to another Coppola film. She shares how he created parties that were in-line with the movie setting during “Tucker”, how he didn't recognize Patti when they ran into each other later and a few more stories about Francis Ford Coppola.

Patti recently attended Quincy Jones' birthday party and she shares some stories from the soiree. There were discussions about the documentary “Leaving Neverland” and the effect it has had on Michael Jackson's music. She reminisces about the antics on the “Budweiser Superfest” tour on stage and on the tour bus and a fascinating connection between John Legend and Harry Belafonte.

Patti is thinking about running for president and she clarifies the important keys to her presidential platform. She questions whether we should be experiencing social media in real time, how Germany is dealing with social media and whether hatred should be illegal. She gives her personal parameters for being president and her generational perspective on particular #MeToo situations.

Patti's mom used to have the greatest sayings; she fires off a bunch of them and the back stories behind those words of wisdom. She talks about her mom, what kind of women she was and how it shaped Patti's upbringing. There's a story about a few encounters in an elevator, how she helped a girlfriend get glasses and how she tricked a man into getting a dental procedure.  

Patti speaks on singers and some of her words of wisdom while teaching mater classes around the world. She talks about the influence of Lena Horne on jazz singers, the importance of figuring out what kind of artist you are and how you want to project that. She lays out how she goes about teaching her master class, how she got started with it and the importance of picking your song.  

Patti reminisces about her recent trip scheduled to attend a friend's foundation with James Taylor and Hugh Jackman and how things didn't go quite as planned. Her beloved singing partner James Ingram passed away and she reminisces about their history together, the story of how James and his wife Debbie met on the playground and how she and James teamed up for “Baby Come To Me.” She circles back to her trip and having to address James passing, going to Germany and Italy plus a great story about how the drums were played on the “Birdman” soundtrack.

Patti shares some stories of singing background while performing on Saturday Night Live including an iconic episode with Joe Cocker. She shares a tale about spending an evening with Jonathan Winters and enlisting Robin Williams aid for a show in South Africa. Patti reminisces about all the times she was on SNL, the behind the scenes experiences and a tour with Roberta Flack in the Philippines.

Patti chats about a passionate topic to her personally - the Women's Movement. She talks about her involvement in the Women's Movement and participating in the Women's March plus there is a message about education, freedom and democracy. She also shares a story about being on Dr. Ruth, singing for various commercials and trying to receive more love.

Patti talks about the music industry and the progression throughout history. She also gives her perspective of the how the industry has shifted today and how it's both good and bad. There is a special perspective Patti gives to her students about “being a star”, how the successful artists she knows share a common mindset and her unbelievable moment of clarity while singing at a terminal ward at a children's hospital.

Patti shares her recent travels to Russia where she performed for “Jazz Day” honoring the music of Ella Fitzgerald. She talks about her gastric bypass surgery, how Randy Jackson gave her guidance and how she turned other people on to it.  She reminisces about the time she had an asthma attack in China and how her band hated her the next day, how CNN called her for an interview while on that trip and more about Russia.

Patti is joined by one of her fans Annette who wanted to ask her about keeping the love alive in a marriage. They riff about jazz, Patti shares a story about performing Sinatra's “My Way” and they both discuss the importance of teachers. They then get down into it and talk about Annette's marriage and how to keep the music playing.

Grammy Award winning artist Patti Austin has a lifetime of stories to share. Her pedigree gave her access to some of the greatest legends in show business. From top call studio session singer to recording artist, to international touring artist and teacher, her gift as a master story teller is on abundant display on the introductory episode of the Patti Austin Podcast.