Sizzling Suzy Eises

AFTER a welcoming round of applause, the crowd stills as she walks onto the stage. The expectant silence is pierced by the mellow and soothing sounds of a tenor saxophone. The light is fitting to the atmosphere, and just enough to reveal who is giving life to the breathtaking sound. Her name is Suzy Eises.

This is just one of the many settings one can place the saxophonist in as she has become a household name amongst session musicians. Although the saxophone is more popular in jazz and those golden oldie love ballads, Suzy proves that she cannot be placed in a box as she has collaborated with hip hop musician Nasha Blaque and rock musicians Famaz Attack.

“I listen to almost every genre of music, the new and the old. Coldplay, Bob Marley, electro music, hip hop, R B, neo soul, house music, South African music, lots of jazz music such as Miles Davis, Christian Scott, Ivan Mazuze and Kamasi Washington, ” Suzy said.

Although she only picked up the saxophone at the age of 16, music is not something too foreign for the instrumentalist as one of her uncles, Dennis Eiseb, is also a very well known and celebrated musician in the country, especially on the live music scene. Her late uncle Gabes Amunyela was also a well known vocalist and guitarist in the industry back then.

“I started playing piano when I was around nine years old. I had a keyboard at home that I fooled around with and I participated in the school choir and various singing competitions, ” Suzy said.

Admitting that more males than females were recognised as saxophone players in the past, Suzy was never intimidated by this status as attending an all girls’ school made her used to seeing females playing the instrument. She added that more women have started playing the saxophone these days.

Her musical education did not just end in high school, she went on to receive a one year certificate of merit from the London Centre of Contemporary Music in 2010. She is also currently studying towards a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies and Music Performance from Brigham Young University in Idaho where she is enrolled in online lessons this semester.

Suzy has made it a point to bless the Namibian audience with her talent by performing at various platforms including the prestigious Namibia Annual Music Awards held recently.

Believing that she has a lot to contribute to the Namibian music industry, Suzy wants to share her musical knowledge and will be hosting a jazz workshop on 30 May at the FNCC for only N$10.

Growing up with two older sisters and two older brothers and being the youngest, Suzy says she always longed for attention and to get attention she and her friends would perform for their parents.

“I knew I wanted to perform as I loved acting, singing and playing the keyboard but it was in high school when I made the decision to make music my career. ”

Watching her high school jazz band perform a latin tune immediately drew her to the sounds of the saxophone. She asked the director of the band to start classes immediately to which the director agreed on condition that Suzy bought her own instrument. Skipping the baritone, suprano and tenor, Suzy settled for the alto saxophone, started classes and the rest is history.

Apart from her studies taking her far beyond Namibian borders, Suzy also lived in Kenya for 18 months serving as a missionary for her church. Evidently passionate about travelling, she also spent two years after high school in England working as a waitress to earn money to travel the world. Although back in her home country for now, she is currently based in Rexburg, Idaho in the United States for studies which she plans on completing in 2018.

Having cemented herself as one of the names to look out for when considering music greats in the country, the only way for Suzy is up.

Suzy has always and still believes that she was made for the stage. She is currently working on her debut album and is planning on touring Africa and the rest of the world while completing her qualification, as well as after she graduates. Setting her sights on taking her music to the rest of the world, Suzy says that her plans all lead to her settling in Namibia.

“I definitely want to settle down at home eventually and teach music and mainly jazz in schools and wherever I can. ”

Emphasising the importance of music education pointing out music theory, sound engineering and performance, Suzy says a unified industry as well as support from different institutions and organisations will definitely guarantee a bright future for the industry.

“I feel we are growing and developing slowly. We are experimenting with new genres and we have a long way to go, but we are on the right track. We need a lot more education in brand management. I am very positive things will fall into place very soon as long as we are unified and help each other develop.

“We need to keep the faith that all will be well if we work hard to become successful musicians. Often we can feel we are disadvantaged because the industry is small, but we should remove all negativity and be positive about the future of music in Namibia, ” she said.

In an industry where jazz music is fledgling, Suzy is a jewel. Her readiness to tap into other genres is also refreshing. With great plans ahead, fans and music lovers can look forward to more soothing sounds from this 25 year old stunner.

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