Barbra Streisand Talks 'Music and Voice' to The New York Times

In what promises to be a once-in-a lifetime thrill for a hundred of her luckiest fans, Barbra Streisand will celebrate the release of Love Is The Answer---her new album of jazz standards and classics--- by singing a selection of these songs at New York's legendary Village Vanguard on Saturday, September 26, where she last performed in 1961 as the opening act for Miles Davis.

The entertainment icon is featured in The New York Times discussing her voice - that VOICE - with music and opera critic Anthony Tommasini.

It is a must read for Streisand and music fans alike, here is a brief excerpt from the feature:

Did Ms. Streisand, like an opera singer, think incessantly about breathing deeply from the diaphragm, about using the diaphragm as a natural support for her voice?

"Never," she said, sitting up straight on a couch in the living room of a friend's Upper West Side apartment, looking elegant in a dark dress and lacy shoulder wrap. Everything about singing came to her naturally, she explained, adding, a little sheepishly, that she hardly ever does vocal exercises. She was giving a rare interview, in person, apparently curious to speak with a classical music critic about vocal technique.

"I'm terrible about warming up," she said. "That's just too boring to me." Years ago Tony Bennett sent her a tape with vocal exercises on it. "I listened to it once," she said. She does keep handy one tape with solfège vocal routines that a voice coach made for her. "It's very simple," she said. "But I find myself doing the exercises only in the car on the way to the recording session." That is too last-minute to do much good, she added.

Whatever vocal power, finesse and richness she has was not the product of traditional study and analysis, she said.

"I didn't do it intellectually," Ms. Streisand said. "I did it intuitively, unconsciously. I kind of like that."

To read the entire interview in The New York Times click here.

Soon after her performance at the Vanguard some 48 years ago, Streisand began to build a reputation in Greenwich Village as an extraordinary newcomer on the scene, a not-to-be-missed star on the rise singing in clubs like The Lion and The Bon Soir. With its astounding acoustics and intimate vibe, The Village Vanguard--an epicenter of the New York jazz scene since an all-jazz policy was implemented in 1957-- was, and is one of the most renowned musical venues throughout the world.

According to the RIAA, Barbra Streisand is the #1 best selling female recording artist in history and the only woman to make the Top 10 all time best selling artists list, which includes Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Over the course of her career, Streisand has recorded 50 gold, 30 platinum and 13 multi-platinum albums. An artist of unparalleled accomplishments in multiple entertainment fields, Streisand has made her mark as an award winning actress of stage and screen, recording artist, concert performer, movie producer, film director, screenwriter and songwriter. Having earned two Oscars (Best Actress and Best Song), five Emmys, 11 Golden Globes, 10 Grammys including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement and Grammy Legend Awards, a special Tony Award (in 1970 as "Star of the Decade"), two Cable Ace and three Peabody awards, she is the only performer to hold honors from all of those institutions. In addition, Streisand is a recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, America's National Medal of Arts and France's Legion of Honor. In December 2008 she became the first female director to receive the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor.