Over three decades, Los Angeles vocalist and songwriter Susan Krebs has created a captivating body of work, combining a free-ranging imagination with a supple sense of swing. Dubbed the Jazz Gardener, both for her lovingly tended musical bouquets and the inspiration she draws from cultivating her small plot of land, Krebs has sown a brilliant array of projects and recordings with a regular cast of L.A. jazz luminaries.
Interview with Susan Krebs
An Artist in Every Sense of the Word
— H. Allen Williams | Jazz Times
Jazz is so much more than improvisational music, it is a lifestyle and many times I find that jazz musicians are also socially conscience and activists, which lends itself to the thought process of being in the now, a core principal in jazz improvisation. Rooted in many principals of the arts – artist (in all sense of the word), Susan Krebs exhibits a particular understanding that jazz is about much more than complex structures and heady notes. It is a reason, a lifestyle, a language and an emotion, which Krebs certainly displays in her latest offering Everything Must Change. Quoting I Ching, “The Only Constant is Change,” truly is a proper descriptive for Krebs textural and inviting way of interpreting different tempos and moods with confident command and prowess. Krebs vocal style is decidedly modern, but comfortably assured and relaxed. Backed by an ensemble of seasoned veterans; Rich Eames (piano), Jerry Kalaf (drums), Ryan McGillicuddy (bass) and Chuck Manning (saxes), who offer rich imagination, fast instincts, assured and distinctive surrender to the moment of improvisation which are explored best in the Susan Krebs Band.
Allen Williams: Growing up on the east coast, how do you feel it has influenced the way you hear the jazz language, in comparison to the West Coast jazz scene you are a part of now??
Susan Krebs: Honestly, I’m not sure how or if it has influenced me one way or the other! I grew up in Baltimore and found my way to the recordings of Billie, Bessie, Memphis Minnie, Ella, Nina and Sarah in my teens, and I heard their call! Then while living in New York after college, I had the opportunity to hear many of the great ones – Duke, Carmen, Sheila Jordan, Count Basie, Mose – as well as the very fine unsung musicians at NY’s thriving venues for jazz — such an education! I’ve lived in Los Angeles for over 35 years, gradually learning about the history of the vital West Coast jazz scene, which continues today, and taking inspiration from those who’ve been playing here for over 60 years as well as from the newest generation who are pushing the envelope – and everybody in between! There is a wealth of talent out here!
In this modern era of the internet, the world has become quite small — we are one big neighborhood — and I think that the music being made is much more globally influenced now than coast-ally so.
How do you feel your stage experience influenced you as a jazz musician?
Well, I’m very comfortable on stage and therefore, on the bandstand as well. But the strongest stage influence on my work as a jazz musician is the over 30 years of improvisational theater work: individual expression in the moment in collaboration with the collective whole. I learned to be in a place of “Yes and…”!
I noticed you call your ensemble, “Band” distinguish your choice and how it relates to the collaborative spirit of your latest release, Everything Must Change?
We are all dear friends and colleagues — some are longtime collaborators — and we’ve played together in different configurations over the years. The 5 of us who make up the Susan Krebs Band on our new recording have been playing all kinds of gigs for a couple of years – including my jazz salon, ThemeScene — and we roll easily with each other! We just feel like a “band”, you know — a “band o’ brothers and a sister”! Making the recording last summer was grand fun because we enjoy making music together – and the food was really good! Jazz Band Camp! My hope – my intent – is that we may continue as a working band.
There are so many sides to your talent, which are so well rounded in the arts. Tell us more about Susan Krebs the actor?
I’ve been fortunate to be a working actor since my early days in New York in the 1970’s: TV Guest Spots (most recently “Mad Men”); TV and Radio Commercials; Animation; Film (i.e. “28 Days”); Theater work including my solo show “LUNAR”; the contemporary opera “String of Pearls” at the Weill Theater at Carnegie Hall; and years of Improvisational Theater work, both in the comedy short form with War Babies for 10 years, and 15 years of collectively exploring dreams, politics, myths, and personal stories through the long form with the all-women’s company, the Wims – some of the most satisfying and growth-producing work I’ve experienced.
You seem to be quite interested in nature from aviary to gardening. Tell us how this influences the music you perform or how it might influence the way you interpret music?
I have been an “outdoors” person since I was very young. I also come from a long line of gardeners and I am myself a gardener. Working daily in my garden is the closest thing to a meditation for me — short of making music. I am continually reminded of nature’s life cycle — including my own! On my walks and hikes, the sights, sounds and smells of Nature compel me to be present – and quiet my mind. I am often moved to vocalize as I walk along – whether non-verbally or exploring a tune. These outings feed my muses!
Your project Jazz Aviary was a mixed media presentation. What originally inspired this idea, and how did you incorporate other talents you have into this presentation?
Because I have spent much of my life outdoors, birds have always been a presence in my life. For example, being serenaded with birdsong as I garden is a grand pleasure! And on a full moon midnight, awakening to the mockingbird high on a wire just thrills me as he offers his extensive and adamant repertoire of birdsong! So, I think I had always been taking notice of the “avian musician”!
But in 2005, I wanted — I needed — a project that would transform my despair and anger over the continued abuse and gradual destruction of our environment – into a joyful concert celebration of the beauty and wonder that Nature arouses — and birds seemed like Nature’s perfect representatives and guides! I spent months happily researching and gathering music and poetry about birds, basic ornithological facts (I confess I am more of a “poetic” than authentic birder!), and new studies about the only animals known to sing and to make – some would say “compose” – music: birds, humans, whales, dolphins and mice! I am fascinated by this provocative concept of a “universal music” shared by these creatures – a music made up of all the same and/or similar elements: scales, harmonies, rhythms, patterns, melodies, pitch etc.
So, the concert includes actual birdsong surrounding the audience, which the musicians mirror and transform into their own music. There are also beautiful visual projections throughout the concert and wide-ranging musical arrangements – from Hoagy to Vaughan Williams to Hank Williams to 17th C Catalonian Traditional! The concert arrived at its present form after many incarnations over the years as we created a structure — within which we could jam with the material.
What does the word jazz mean to you?
Oh my — that’s difficult for me to try to articulate. It’s such a personal feeling, you know…and a lifestyle, for that matter! Well OK, what comes to mind: the now expressed sonically – let’s leave it at that!
If a room was filled with an audience that had never been to a jazz concert before, what message would you desire the listener to leave with after your performance. What would be the defining meaning you would want them to remember?
I would hope that we might have shared an authentic “heart/mind” connection and be lifted by the underlying joy of the music and its immediacy and its intimacy – and its passionate demonstration of the “freedom of expression” that most Americans treasure.
What does the future hold for Susan Krebs?
Let’s see: more work with the Susan Krebs Band; continuing to present my jazz salon series, ThemeScene, in theaters and living rooms, where we explore a chosen theme through music and song, spoken word and poetry; performing “Jazz Aviary,” especially as a fund-raiser for Green causes; beginning to work with a piano and horn trio; and forever growing in and practicing the Schubert Lied, “Du Bist die Ruh” (You Are Peace), which I offer publicly every now and again! AND, I hope to travel more! AmenAwomen!
Whew! Thank you for all your thoughtful and provocative questions, Mr. Williams!
Thank you for taking the time with all of us Susan.
Susan Krebs
Jazz Gardener
at Work:
Biography
Over three decades, Los Angeles vocalist and songwriter Susan Krebs has created a captivating body of work, combining a free-ranging imagination with a supple sense of swing. Dubbed the Jazz Gardener, both for her lovingly tended musical bouquets and the inspiration she draws from cultivating her small plot of land, Krebs has sown a brilliant array of projects and recordings with a regular cast of L.A. jazz luminaries.
A restlessly creative artist, she's covered a lot of sonic territory over the years, and her latest album, 2025's Little Did I Dream, marks a return to her straight-ahead roots. Eschewing the kind of crafty conceptual frameworks that have defined most of her previous albums, she simply revels in interpreting a set of songs that provided pleasure and succor during the pandemic's chaotic hangover years.
"During lockdown, I listened to a variety of music spanning centuries and genres, while also revisiting my fat folder of 'Tunes to Work,'" she says. "The eventual tunes on Little Did I Dream eagerly called to me to be included!"
Krebs introduced herself with 1999's Jazz Gardener, an impressively poised debut album featuring the veteran front line of trumpeter Joe Romano and reed legend Gary Foster. She followed up with 2002's What Am I Here For? which confirmed her status as a song stylist whose supple phrasing and emotional acuity turn familiar standards into bespoke jazz vehicles. Both projects were created with her stellar ensemble, which includes her longtime drummer/producer Jerry Kalaf and pianist/arranger Rich Eames.
The collaboration continued to bloom with 2007's Jazz Aviary ~ A Celebration of Birds and the Universal Music We Share, a critically acclaimed ongoing multimedia concert and recording project with the Soaring Sextet. She returned to a quartet setting with 2012's Everything Must Change, featuring saxophonist Chuck Manning.
For the next five years, Krebs focused on the Susan Krebs Chamber Band, a group that applied its unusual instrumentation (piano, percussion, woodwinds, violin, vocal) to a wide-ranging repertoire. The sound was calibrated for the intimate space she cultivated in her ThemeScene salons, a concert series that became a beloved underground L.A. treasure in the years before the pandemic.
Post-pandemic she rechristened the concerts as the Salon on Buffalo Series, which is now in its 4th season (2025). Similarly, she's cultivated an intensely intimate body of material with Trio WoRK, featuring bassist Ken Wild, one of her longest running musical relationships, and virtuosic guitarist Tom Rizzo. The group released their eponymous debut album in 2018 and followed up with 2023's Dancing In the Dark.
Krebs' gift for uncovering new and unexpected layers of meaning in a lyric stems from her unusual creative path. A native of Baltimore, she grew up in a home filled with the sounds of Bach, Beethoven, Gilbert & Sullivan, Broadway musicals and the foundational American vocalists Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Graduating from Hollins University in Virginia with a degree in Drama and Dance, she moved to New York City in 1969 and studied acting with theater legend Uta Hagen. Appearing Off-Broadway in plays and musicals, she also worked in TV commercials and performed with the improvisational theater company War Babies.
Relocating to Los Angeles in 1976, Krebs continued to pursue acting, working in theater, animation, commercials, TV and film, such as Million Dollar Baby, 28 Days, Mad Men, and Shameless. A founding member of the all-women long-form Improvisational theater company, the WIMS, she also created and performed in her solo musical revue LUNAR I and appeared in the contemporary opera, A String of Pearls both in Los Angeles and at Carnegie Hall's Weill Theater.
Throughout all her dramatic activities, Krebs never lost sight of her primary passion for music, studying with the great jazz singers Sue Raney and Sheila Jordan and performing regularly as a vocalist. While it might seem like a leap from acting to singing, some four decades of experience in theatrical improvisation honed adjacent creative chops. "And I was always singing while I was a working actor,” she recalls. “I did occasional cabaret and musical theater work, but it was the WIMS who grew my music via our long-form improvisations – in which singing, percussion and free sonic work were a huge part – as we jammed on personal check-ins, dreams, politics and rituals. I am ever grateful for our 20-year collaboration and my WIM work continues to this day as a vocalist.”
In the mid-1990s, she experienced something of an epiphany during a four-month "late middle years" retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. An avid gardener and bird lover, Krebs came to see her relationship with music as a parallel creative pursuit. Rather than perfecting a polished project, music, like gardening, is an ongoing process "about the art of becoming – whether working with plants or music or with oneself – to dig down, to cultivate, to encourage growth, to thrive and flourish, and eventually to let go and begin the cycle anew," she says.
Performing regularly throughout Southern California, including venues such as L.A. County Museum of Art, Blue Whale, Jazz Bakery, Jazz Fresno, Vitello's, and The Grape, Krebs also hosts and performs regularly in her Salon on Buffalo series with The Local Outfit, comprised of musicians with whom she’s collaborated for nearly 25 years.
Wherever she performs, Krebs looks to explore new creative ground. She’s always digging in the soil, planting seeds, and tending the songs that emerge from her fecund plot of land. It's a body of work unlike any other artist in jazz, cultivated with care, in communion with improvisers and arrangers who recognize a kindred spirit.
Acting
A native of Baltimore, Susan grew up in a home filled with the sounds of Bach, Beethoven, Gilbert & Sullivan, Broadway Musicals and the soulful singers Bessie, Billie and Ella. Graduating from Hollins University with a degree in Drama & Dance, Susan went on to New York City – studying acting with Uta Hagen, appearing in Off-Broadway plays and musicals, TV commercials and performing with the improvisational theater company, War Babies. She relocated to Los Angeles in 1976, making it her new home – delighted that she could garden and hike daily — while continuing her acting career, including her work in theater, animation, commercials, TV and film (i.e. Million Dollar Baby, 28 Days, Mad Men, Shameless). She created and performed her solo musical revue, LUNAR I, and was a founding member of the all-women’s improvisational company, The WIMS, for 20 years, as well as appearing in the contemporary opera, “A String of Pearls”, both in Los Angeles and at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Theater.
Short Bio
Susan Krebs
Jazz Gardener at Work
A jazz artist with a singular creative pedigree, Los Angeles vocalist and songwriter Susan Krebs has created a subtly captivating body of work over the past three decades, combining fine-grained drama and free-ranging imagination with a supple sense of swing. Dubbed the Jazz Gardener, she’s sown a brilliant array of projects and recordings with a regular cast of L.A. jazz luminaries. Since introducing herself with 1999's Jazz Gardener, an impressively poised debut album featuring reed legend Gary Foster, Krebs has recorded a series of acclaimed albums featuring staunch collaborators such as drummer/producer Jerry Kalaf and pianist/arranger Rich Eames. Whether working with her Soaring Sextet, the Susan Krebs Chamber Band, or Trio WoRK with bassist Ken Wild and guitarist Tom Rizzo, she’s a jazz original who brings decades of experience in improvisational theater to the bandstand. Long committed to sustaining a lively scene, she produces the Salon on Buffalo Series, which is now in its 4th season. (2025)