Junior climbs her way to success after overcoming a series of personal tragedies
Musician Debbie Luna didn't expect to be a college student. She especially didn't see herself performing as a jazz vocalist. But after overcoming several personal tragedies, Luna, a music junior, is both in school and performing around Tucson.
Luna is finally cashing in on her love of music after, at the age of 8, her mother introduced her to jazz.
When she was 18, Luna, a California native, visited one of her sisters in Arizona.
"I came to visit, and I liked it so much I decided to stay for a few years," Luna said.
After attending college off and on, Luna decided to get her degree in music. At 32, she admits she was not sure if she would meet many students her age.
"I am a nontraditional student going back late in life," she said. "When I first came back, I wasn't sure if I was going to meet up with people over 18, especially at the undergrad level. And I've seen so many people of all ages going back to school. It's really inspiring."
Luna sings jazz standards and a style called "torch," which she describes as "smoky" and "sultry."
"It's laid-back, not too upbeat or swing," she said.
Although her voice is mostly suited for singing jazz, Luna does not limit her musical taste.
"I listen to all types of music - from reggae to rock to classical," she said.
Her musical idols include many legendary female vocalists, such as Etta James, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, along with modern-day vocalists, including Diana Krall, Fiona Apple and Alanis Morissette.
In addition to singing, Luna plays jazz flute by ear. She is now learning to read music and transpose charts. Although she mostly sings jazz, she also enjoys playing alternative, rock, jazz and blues on the flute, particularly at blues gigs.
Other inspirations are Jean-Louis Kashy, professor emeritus of music, (who Luna said gave her the chance to come back to school after auditioning for him on flute) and music professor Jeffrey Haskell.
"Jeff Haskell is an amazing, amazing professor," she said. "He's an incredible composer, piano player, singer, scatter."
Luna said she never thought about performing, because she always wanted to study music. She is still adjusting to the challenges of live performance, including overcoming stage fright, learning microphone techniques and getting the feel of performing with live musicians.
"It was just a year and a half ago that I first started going out to the local jazz jams here in Tucson that I became of aware of that and then really excited," she said.
Local jazz artists Pete Swan, who runs the Tucson Jazz Society, drummer Artt Frank and his wife Lisa all encouraged Luna to pursue singing after she gave them a private performance.
"They really liked what I was doing and they said, 'Why don't you get up and do something sometime?'" she said. "I just kept going back because I enjoyed it so much."
Luna said she is grateful for the inspiration and support from her new friends, who encouraged her in the healing process during her first and second year back in college.
"When I met them, I had just come out of a recent loss of a loved one," Luna said. After coping with the pain of divorce, Luna's life took another traumatic shift when her second fiancˇ, who suffered from clinical depression, committed suicide.
"I was putting my life back together and that's one of the things that drove me to come back," she said.
Luna recently performed at the Old Pueblo Grille, and she will be performing at two private parties in April and June.
Luna also just recorded her first demo, entitled "Second Time Around," at the UA recording studio with help and encouragement from Haskell.
"I'm so glad I came back to school," Luna said. "I'm really glad I'm doing something with music. It's good for everyone to tap into something where they find joy, you know? Regardless of what it is. And it's better late than never as far as getting an education."
For more information about Debbie Luna, visit her Web site at debbieluna.com.