Camille Bertault: 2 Views of a Secret
Camille Bertault: 2 Views of a Secret
It’s as though someone fused Audrey Hepburn at her most beguiling, with Ella Fitzgerald, scatting her ass off at The Apollo Theater in Harlem, while jamming with Gilberto & Jobim in Sao Paulo.
It’s seldom you’ll see this trifecta of traits in one human being, as they co-exist in Camille Bertault. In fact, her talent, effortless beauty, and charm are such that they almost cancel each other out. It would be easy to just watch her sit, legs folded in a lotus position, as she holds close and pets her cat, and then forget that you’re watching a savant-like talent, scatting one of the most complex jazz solos imaginable, as she does, in what looks like a cellphone video shot in her apartment.
Is it her face that demands your focus? Or is it her musical gift? Both things vie for your attention, almost hypnotically.
How do you market a phenom like Camille Bertault? Should you even try? I can see a million reasons why you should. And, another million why she should be left alone, like a beautiful, unique butterfly, left to fly wherever her talent takes her. To limit her gifts would be to squander a natural phenomenon. And, since marketing always requires a niche, which, do you market, the Audrey Hepburn? Or the Ella Fitzgerald? Does she sing hummable pop tunes for the masses? That would be like Stephan Hawking teaching high school physics.
Watching her sing to herself, lost in her own head, singing softly, swinging gently, but effortlessly, improvising like she was inspired by some inner spirit, speaking in tongues. It’s those moments, where she captures herself on a homemade video, that really shine—less so on a stage with a band, or in music videos, where there are extraneous things that distract from the intimacy of her artfulness. Accompanists, and especially, audiences, just get in the way.
It’s as though someone fused Audrey Hepburn at her most beguiling, with Ella Fitzgerald, scatting her ass off at The Apollo Theater in Harlem, while jamming with Gilberto & Jobim in Sao Paulo.
It’s seldom you’ll see this trifecta of traits in one human being, as they co-exist in Camille Bertault. In fact, her talent, effortless beauty, and charm are such that they almost cancel each other out. It would be easy to just watch her sit, legs folded in a lotus position, as she holds close and pets her cat, and then forget that you’re watching a savant-like talent, scatting one of the most complex jazz solos imaginable, as she does, in what looks like a cellphone video shot in her apartment.
Is it her face that demands your focus? Or is it her musical gift? Both things vie for your attention, almost hypnotically.
How do you market a phenom like Camille Bertault? Should you even try? I can see a million reasons why you should. And, another million why she should be left alone, like a beautiful, unique butterfly, left to fly wherever her talent takes her. To limit her gifts would be to squander a natural phenomenon. And, since marketing always requires a niche, which, do you market, the Audrey Hepburn? Or the Ella Fitzgerald? Does she sing hummable pop tunes for the masses? That would be like Stephan Hawking teaching high school physics.
Watching her sing to herself, lost in her own head, singing softly, swinging gently, but effortlessly, improvising like she was inspired by some inner spirit, speaking in tongues. It’s those moments, where she captures herself on a homemade video, that really shine—less so on a stage with a band, or in music videos, where there are extraneous things that distract from the intimacy of her artfulness. Accompanists, and especially, audiences, just get in the way.
Giant Steps
Camille Bertault is a work of art, both in terms of her talent, which is stunning, but, also because she has a face like an angel. A playful, mischievous, very gifted angel. In the video below, she sings John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” the last word in bebop, and a significant stumbling block for anything less than the very best of the very best, musically speaking. For a singer, however, even that is an understatement. Singing with the kind of flawless pitch and vocal range she exhibits, is almost non-existent, even among the very best singers.
Accompanying her in the video is Nelson Faria, one of Brazil’s finest jazz guitarists, who can only smile listening to her perform, as he functions as a one-man band. No easy feat at this or any other tempo, but, especially, at this tempo. Faria is a subtle and tasteful accompanist, giving her a platform that is open enough to let her talent breath. Guitar is, I think, the perfect instrument for Bertault’s voice. It’s at once elegant, percussive, and intimate.
Her vocal performance on Giant Steps is a note for note recreation of Coltrane’s famous melody and solo, which was, and still is, one the great achievements in jazz. She also wrote the lyrics (which are sung in French,) crafting each word, as well as the sound of the words, to precisely mirror Coltrane’s extraordinarily complex, groundbreaking improvisation.
The story goes, she created her version of the song after failing a conservatory exam. Apparently, in an effort to boost her spirits. Taking on such a technically difficult task as a means of raising her self esteem is telling, since she could have, like most of us, indulged in some entertaining but meaningless past time to soothe her wounds. Instead, we get this performance. Talent alone doesn't begin to tell the tale. You don’t get to that place without an obsessive need to work at getting at the music ruminating in your head.
A while back I saw her original version, which was shot with what looked like a cellphone. I thought that it was remarkable, but probably, a one-off trick. After watching her perform the version here, as well as a second song with Nelson Faria, the Antonio Carlos Jobim, bossa nova gem “Agua de Beber,” sung in Portuguese, like a native, (she’s actually French,) I knew it was no trick. She scat sings brilliantly throughout, too.
After watching the range of her work on her YouTube channel, running from straight jazz, to slightly off-kilter pop with a jazz/r&b flavor, some recorded with a cellphone, others are full-blown productions, her gifts seem as unlimited as her imagination.
In a different time, she would've probably been saddled with a recording contract that limited her output, for marketing purposes. She could also probably be a major film star, a throwback to a different era. Just watch her natural grace. She’s like a 1960s fashion icon, with a face and eyes like old Hollywood at its most subtle and elegant.
With outlets like YouTube, however, she can freely express herself like a painter, painting exactly what she feels, without concern for some corporate overlord limiting her creative voice. In that sense, she’s not alone. The existing technology has placed this kind of creative freedom in the hands of people who might never have been given an opportunity to be heard otherwise. Because they didn't fit a very narrow, marketing mold.
There’s talent, and there’s talent, and then there’s this other thing, which Camille Bertault has in spades. An abundance of spades, in fact.
Calling it real genius, in a world of fake geniuses, seems simple enough.
Mark Magula
Camille Bertault is a work of art, both in terms of her talent, which is stunning, but, also because she has a face like an angel. A playful, mischievous, very gifted angel. In the video below, she sings John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” the last word in bebop, and a significant stumbling block for anything less than the very best of the very best, musically speaking. For a singer, however, even that is an understatement. Singing with the kind of flawless pitch and vocal range she exhibits, is almost non-existent, even among the very best singers.
Accompanying her in the video is Nelson Faria, one of Brazil’s finest jazz guitarists, who can only smile listening to her perform, as he functions as a one-man band. No easy feat at this or any other tempo, but, especially, at this tempo. Faria is a subtle and tasteful accompanist, giving her a platform that is open enough to let her talent breath. Guitar is, I think, the perfect instrument for Bertault’s voice. It’s at once elegant, percussive, and intimate.
Her vocal performance on Giant Steps is a note for note recreation of Coltrane’s famous melody and solo, which was, and still is, one the great achievements in jazz. She also wrote the lyrics (which are sung in French,) crafting each word, as well as the sound of the words, to precisely mirror Coltrane’s extraordinarily complex, groundbreaking improvisation.
The story goes, she created her version of the song after failing a conservatory exam. Apparently, in an effort to boost her spirits. Taking on such a technically difficult task as a means of raising her self esteem is telling, since she could have, like most of us, indulged in some entertaining but meaningless past time to soothe her wounds. Instead, we get this performance. Talent alone doesn't begin to tell the tale. You don’t get to that place without an obsessive need to work at getting at the music ruminating in your head.
A while back I saw her original version, which was shot with what looked like a cellphone. I thought that it was remarkable, but probably, a one-off trick. After watching her perform the version here, as well as a second song with Nelson Faria, the Antonio Carlos Jobim, bossa nova gem “Agua de Beber,” sung in Portuguese, like a native, (she’s actually French,) I knew it was no trick. She scat sings brilliantly throughout, too.
After watching the range of her work on her YouTube channel, running from straight jazz, to slightly off-kilter pop with a jazz/r&b flavor, some recorded with a cellphone, others are full-blown productions, her gifts seem as unlimited as her imagination.
In a different time, she would've probably been saddled with a recording contract that limited her output, for marketing purposes. She could also probably be a major film star, a throwback to a different era. Just watch her natural grace. She’s like a 1960s fashion icon, with a face and eyes like old Hollywood at its most subtle and elegant.
With outlets like YouTube, however, she can freely express herself like a painter, painting exactly what she feels, without concern for some corporate overlord limiting her creative voice. In that sense, she’s not alone. The existing technology has placed this kind of creative freedom in the hands of people who might never have been given an opportunity to be heard otherwise. Because they didn't fit a very narrow, marketing mold.
There’s talent, and there’s talent, and then there’s this other thing, which Camille Bertault has in spades. An abundance of spades, in fact.
Calling it real genius, in a world of fake geniuses, seems simple enough.
Mark Magula