In the first episode of AfterEllen.com's new bi-weekly video blog All Access Pass, host Andrea Meyerson (Women on a Roll, All Out Films) visits with jazz singer, songwriter and actress, Sweet Baby J'ai at her home.

Sweet Baby J'ai shares stories about being an out lesbian on the jazz circuit, starring in the stage production of "Prove It On Me" and also talks about the influence and importance of queer women in jazz in the '20s, like Ma Rainey, Gladys Bentley, and Bessie Smith.

She also gives us a sneak preview of her one of the tracks on her soon-to-be released CD, Introducing J'ai Michel.

Want to see her perform live? Catch Sweet Baby J'ai at the upcoming Cambria Women's Weekend.

The young Soviet-born, British jazz and blues singer Katie Melua is an interesting anomaly in the modern music industry. Few of her singles have even grazed the Top 10 in the U.K. singles charts (though she did achieve a number 1 in 2007 with a charity recording of "What a Wonderful World"), and her public profile is nothing like as high as that of, say, Amy Winehouse.

Yet her three album releases so far have reached No. 1, No. 1, and No. 2 respectively; in 2006, she was the U.K.’s biggest-selling female artist, and Europe’s highest-selling European female artist. She seems to be an example of a generational split in the music-buying public, whereby singles are mostly bought by teens and twentysomethings, while albums are mostly bought by an older audience who put a premium on pleasant tunefulness rather than tabloid exposure and sex appeal.

Though for those who prefer exquisite natural beauty to panty-flashing antics, Melua probably has sex appeal to spare:

In terms of personality, as well, the quiet Melua seems like an intriguing paradox. The majority of her songs are so gentle and inoffensive that some critics see her as unbearably safe and bland. Yet she’s been quite frank about her past use of cannabis, has a taste for hang-gliding and bungee-jumping, appeared in a horror segment of the 2007 film Grindhouse, and mentioned the Babyshambles song “F--- Forever” as one of her 14 favorite pieces of music in a 2006 article.

In interviews, although she’s polite and articulate, there’s something inescapably enigmatic about her. Her long-time musical collaborator, Mike Batt, has been reported as saying in reference to her taste for high-adrenaline activities that “she enjoys extremes, but in life her emotions are always in check.” … continue reading