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naomisusanisaacs-blog · 6 years ago

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• „And I'm still walking“ – Artist Naomi Isaacs' steps out into life Interviewed by Gaby dos Santos in 2017 Naomi Isaacs was sitting in the Wirtshaus Am Gehrenberg Beer garden one Sunday afternoon in 1984. According to Naomi, „I was sitting under the chestnut trees enjoying the pleasant atmosphere which reminded me of a pleasant summer day, complete with the chirping of birds and the sounds of children playing while their parents drank coffee. It was one of those rare, absolutely clear days, where one had a view of the entire Lake of Constance from the terrace.“ This grand view evoked a vision of unlimited possiblity in Naomi. „If I stood up right now and begin to walk, I would eventually get to the lake, cross it with the ferry, keep going and going, and who would be able to stop me? Right then and there a part of me stood up and began to walk, and this part has kept going ever since.“ Naomi had already begun to get restless a year earlier. It was on her fortieth birthday, the perfect time for reflecting and taking stock of her life. When she woke up that morning she wondered, "Yesterday was Tuesday, today is Wednesday. Do I feel different today?" She decided that she did indeed feel different. "I'm too old to let anyone tell me what to do and much too young to die." She and her then-husband had been meeting regularly with a group of friends for dinner. One evening Naomi realised that nothing on the menu appealed to her. „‚Steak would be nice, but requires too much chewing. Shrimp would be nice, but no, all that sauce and rice would be too much.' Nothing on the menu was the way I would prefer it. My inner voice told me that this was about more than just what food to order tonight. The truth was that, on several levels, I had simply lost my appetite. I felt: 'something is rearing its ugly head.' “ Who hasn't experienced this quiet uneasy feeling that accompanies one down the road of life, and quietly but again and again seems to ask, "Well, what happened to all the dreams and plans I made for my life? When did I lose the lightness of living in the present, without wasting a thought on whether or not the future is secure enough? Where is that youthful zest for life?" So much seems to be locked up, and one doesn’t even realize that one has done the locking up oneself. Naomi describes this process on the biography page of her website. "Gradually our interests changed and we stopped visiting the clubs. I had been working as a typist in a large company. Over the next fifteen years I worked for several different companies and worked my way up to department secretary.“ Back in 1984, when Naomi was sitting in the Gehrenberg beer garden and decided to follow her vision, she and her husband had already drifted apart and separated amicably. Back then Naomi's greatest fear was something she refers to as „the primary occupation of all single, middle aged women: having a cozy evening at home," accompanied by trivial questions such as, "'What shall I have for dinner tonight? Which tablecloth shall I use?' For me, that would be like dying a slow death." Evenings? Luckily there was still Gerry Hayes' Allotria jazz club on Türkenstrasse. Naomi was pleasantly surprised, „The faces were unfamiliar, but the atmosphere, the smell of beer and cigarettes, were exactly as I remembered them. And the sound of the music filled me again." The Allotria club would not be Naomi's only jazz hang-out. There was also the Unterfahrt, which is now one of the best-known jazz clubs worldwide. „It became my second living room. I helped out both in the kitchen and selling tickets at the door, and also joined in the jam sessions." Around that time jazz singer and actress Jenny Evans opened her music bar Jenny’s Place which stayed open till 3:00 a.m. In addition, Wolfi Kornemann's legendary Nachtcafé also catered to jazz-loving night owls, featuring live jazz, food and drink until 6:00 in the morning. In the mid 1980's, Munich's jazz scene became both a blessing and a curse for a dropout-to-be like Naomi. The nights were long, longer, even endless. „Shower quickly and then hurry off to work," summarised Naomi as she thought back to this special time. “At some point my boss admonished, 'Watch out Naomi, you'll soon have to decide between work and music.'" His world was so different to hers that he couldn't possible have imagined that Naomi had already said her goodbyes to normal, middle-class living; she had already acquired a taste for singing on Munich's stages. At the Liederbühne Robinson (then in Munich) Naomi reactivated her folk song repertoire from her youth, singing in duets with Gotte Gottschalk (guitar), „simply to see if I could still perform on stage." Not only could she, but she was so convincing, that she was invited by the head of David gegen Goliath (a local political party), Bernhard Fricke, to perform on stage for his founding celebration at the renowned Circus Krone. Naomi was in her office when Fricke called. When the politician explained how much effort he had put into finding her and asked her if she had time to sing that same evening at the Circus Krone, she thought he was a colleague playing a prank on her. But it wasn't a prank, and so that evening she went on stage together with guitarist Geoff Goodmann and Bass player Chris Lachotta as the closing act. "We came at the very end after Werner Schneider and Eisi Gulp and many other big names. I was supposed to sing a few American folk songs and get the audience to sing along with me.“ It was a smart move on Fricke’s part. I bet that by the end of the evening the mood was bombastic, since Naomi is capable of dealing with practically any audience. I too have gladly included Naomi in similar situations at jour fixe events. It is also typical of Naomi not to be intimidated by such a location. On the contrary, she reported that she felt the surroundings were "comfortable, a large audience but I felt close to everyone because the building is circular. There were no dark remote corners. And afterward the party continued at Jenny’s Place.“ This performance was motivating. It no longer seemed impossible to establish oneself on the music stage and it became clear to Naomi that, „I couldn't keep working in an office. There was nothing more for me to learn there, or rather, there was nothing more there that I wanted to learn. And I had become too independant to keep taking orders from my boss every day." It wasn't long before there was an incident. „We had all hung postcards, drawings and fabourite sayings on the office walls. I had hung up several funny cartoons from Mordillo. One day I entered my office and half of my cartoons were missing from the wall. As I was asking around about the missing cartoons, my boss came over‚ 'Have you seen my cartoons?' asked Naomi. 'Yes. I took them down because I couldn't stand looking at them any more.“ Naomi's response was appropriate but contrary to how one normally speaks to one's boss. “Werner, you're my boss, and if you tell me to take down the stuff I put up on the walls, I have to do it. But what you have done is stealing.” He turned white as a sheet, went into his office and returned with a few pictures he had thrown in his waste basket.“ Naomi submitted her long overdue resignation shortly thereafter. „I was driven by the fear of what would happen to me if I didn't move on," explained Naomi thinking back. „Another twenty years of this nonsense and at the end of it all just a bouquet of flowers and a handshake, a shallow retirement party and then I'm simply checked off the list?“ She asked herself what she really wanted to make out of the rest of her life, and realised, „Actually, I want to be a singer.“ „The thought of looking at myself in the mirror at 65 and having to say to myself, ‚and you didn't even try!‘ frightened me beyond words.“ The fear was stronger than Naomi's need for relative security, a fear which hinders many people from making a drastic change of course in the middle of their lives. Resigning from her office job on April 1st, 1986 marks the beginning of Naomi Susan Isaacs’ singing career at the age of 43. Looking back to that time, Naomi wrote on her website, "... I quit my secretarial job and allowed myself a sabbatical year to devote myself completely to music and to find out whether the music world wanted me." The music world didn't immediately welcome her with open arms; just the opposite. Newcomers, especially previously unknown "normal" people were generally shunned by the established music scene in keeping with the motto, „If we make it easy then everyone will want to join!“ And even today the music scene sometimes presents itself as a sort of "macho country ". And then this unknown forty-something-year-old just shows up out of nowhere, with little musical background to show for herself, but with a desperate desire to become part of the Munich jazz scene. Of all things! Also, there is a sort of "jazz police" which patrols our swinging city of Munich, which is of the opinion that they know how jazz should be presented and attempt to protect it as if it were somehow holy. Someone like Naomi didn't necessarily fit in. Furthermore, a surprise is waiting for those intending to live the bohemian lifestyle: Despite rumours to the contrary, there isn't much money in this way of life. Naomi has openly talked about there being times when she quite literally "ate from the dumpster." She describes it without self-pity, since there is no room for self-pity when one has been drawn to this way of life. Naomi didn't sit still but took action to reverse the downward trend. She looked for a lodger to help cover the rent, and began to give singing lessons. Naomi made a name for herself in the scene practically right out of the gate, and at the same time her singing career took off. She writes on her website biography: „By the end of the first year I had completed a short tour of Italy and had collected a small flock of singing pupils. Through them I discovered my passion for teaching. During the next several years, I constantly attended jazz workshops, both in Germany and abroad and in addition acquired skills through educational seminars in Kinesiology, Systemic Family Constellation work (as taught by Bert Hellinger) NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming), ESP and many others. In 1990 I founded New Vocal Center, a center for teaching and workshops 'with, for and about the voice'. In addition to my own teaching, I organised workshops and was privileged to host famous jazz and blues singers, including Mark Murphy, Jay Clayton, Theo Bleckmann, Angela Brown and many others who enriched the lively atmosphere of New Vocal Center. My travels eventually became so frequent, that in 1998 I had to close New Vocal Center in order to concentrate fully, for a while, on my own career.“ The sabbatical year that Naomi began in 1987 has continued until today. In the meantime, the Munich cultural scene has said "yes" to Naomi. The road has been quite rocky though, requiring persistence and an unconventional lifestyle which characterizes Naomi. On her homepage she writes, „Life as a musician can be lonely at times, and the traveling is not always as glamourous as it is reputed to be. I have slept on a cold, hard attic floor with no bathroom, miles away from a cup of coffee or a piece of bread. I've had to listen to comments like, 'musicians prefer simple accommodation, because they would feel out of place in a proper hotel'. I've slept in my car in public parking spots, and sought out hotel restrooms to wash myself in the morning. On the other hand, I've also been invited to stay in people's private homes and have experienced wonderful hospitality and generosity, and in the process made some friends for life.“ By the end of the nineties, Naomi had permanently established herself in the Munich music scene and had the same idea that I had, to establish a place for artists to meet. At the same time that I began with my Jour Fixe in the Nachtcafe, Naomi started her Kultursalon in the café of Theater Drehleier. Our two concepts were totally different. I presented small show blocks. Naomi hosted a talk show. Both events were well attended. My shows received more media coverage due to the widespread notoriety of the Nachtcafe. Naomi, however, definitely won points for herself, which was amply confirmed on the occasion of her one year anniversary gala, which was attended by the who's who of the cultural scene, first and foremost Helmut Ruge, the famed cabaretist. The then Bavarian cultural advisor (later Bavarian minister of culture), philosophy professo Dr. Dr. Julian Nida-Rümelin was spotted billing and cooing with his future wife, author Natalie Weidenfeld. At the piano sat none other than grand seigneur of jazz Piano, Joe Kienemann! This event developed into what I've always dreamed of, but which I never quite achieved in this magnitude, despite all my efforts or perhaps because of them: a glittering, glamourous bohemian celebration! A while later, I felt better about it, and I was able to feel good about what I was doing at the Nachtcafe, instead of begrudging the success of a colleague! I decided to return to being a Naomi fan rather than become bitter. That was a good decision, because over the years Naomi has become one the few people I really trust, and has recently become a neighbour of mine here in the Haidhausen quarter of Munich. I love to lose track of time chatting and philosophizing with her in her kitchen. In addition, for years now Naomi has belonged to the small, committed circle of members of the organization jourfixe-muenchen e. V. and frequently has stood by me with help and advice. Furthermore, in one of her seminars several years ago, she helped me to conquer my horrendous stage fright – permanently. oooo „I like to change horses in midstream,“ says Naomi even today, surprising us, her fans, friends and companions again and again. For example, on the occasion of her 70th birthday she gave us, "Postkarte aus Bali -- ein Kinderbuch für Erwachsene“ (English: Postcard from Bali -- a children's book for Grownups). How the book came into being is typical for Naomi. She gives projects space to develop and follows the development step by step. „I never intended to write a book. It came about 'chapter by chapter', based on my life and my experiences.“ Originally, she set out to develop a concept for a music project for children which she intended to realize with her colleague, trombonist Christopher Varner. On the inside cover text, we read that the original idea developed into, 'Twelve children, twelve encounters, twelve adventures – How to discover your strengths, learn to believe in yourself and find your way in life“, brought together in a captivating storybook illustrated by Samar Ertsey, which she presented at both the Frankfurt and Leipzig book fairs. Over thirty years have passed since Naomi's departure from her "9 to 5" life, during which she has never regretted her decision. She believes that „Life is an adventure. I am grateful for everything I have learned, experienced and have been allowed to share, to pass on." She has produced five CD's under her own name, has led workshops and given concerts worldwide, including the U.S. and the Far East. Behind this seemingly enviable lifestyle, however, are a lot of pragmatism and discipline. The famous "dumpsters" didn't only feed Naomi for several years, they also co-financed her retirement plan which gives her financial independence today, an accomplishment which doesn't in the least reduce Naomi's zest for action. On her birthday in 2018, she launched her newest project, the Institute of Charismology, of which she is the initiator and founding member. More about Naomi Susan Isaacs and her current offerings can be found on her websites: charismology.com and https://goo.gl/jsZqYp. R.HH.Biswurm, writing in the cultural magazine APPLAUS says „… No other singer who belongs to the so-called Munich Scene displays as much individuality as Naomi is able to.“ 00000 The Hannoversche Zeitung (English: Hannover Newspaper) writes: „(Naomi Isaacs is) a singer of disarming honesty and authenticity, who can cast a spell on her audience. Not just one mood permeates the evening, there are so many, that they could fill an entire life …“

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