Broadway junkie
Jaimie Roberts “Broadway Junkie”
Jaime Roberts is a Florida native, growing up in Daytona Beach. Her mother thought she was part Ethel Merman and part Andrew Sisters, booming vocals around the house every day. Her mother performed frequently in theater and Jamie was always by her side. She said theater became her baby sitter.
After graduating from Bruce Creek High School, Jamie attended Florida State University, graduating in 1987 with a degree in musical theater. She took a job with Disney so she could make enough money to move to New York and become a Broadway star. Disney treated her so nice that she ended up working there for the next thirty plus years, as an acting equity performer.
She learned many different acts and performances at Disney and toured events all over the country. She applied for, and was selected, to do improv and standup comedy at Disney’s Adventurers Club on Pleasure Island. Jamie says that changed everything for her as a musical performer. She became much more comfortable on stage with her bands.
Like the rest of the world, Disney shutdown for COVID in March 2020. A month shutdown extended into a year, and her husband, a veterinarian, was offered a job at the Dolphin Research Center near Marathon. After a successful Disney career, she decided to retire and move to Marathon, thinking there would be plenty of opportunities to perform – Wrong! Marathon pretty much rolls up the sidewalks around 9 pm and there are not many opportunities to perform Broadway or anything else.
She attended one of the first Mango Festivals in Key West and heard live music and waited for the trio to take a break. She spoke to Joe Dallas who invited her to sit in at his gig at Viva’s where she met Larry Smith. He asked her to perform at his showcase at the Little Room Jazz Club. Later, Joe Dallas featured her with the Paradise Big Band. Jaime has been commuting from Marathon on a regular basis to perform in Key West.
She met two of the best in Key West – Joe Dallas and Larry Smith. Hooking up with Larry Smith and his piano expertise was really special as he can play anything including cabaret music. Joe Dallas is just smooth; he’s tasteful, he gets it. She loves when he does standup bass, doubling with his trombone, as it brings so much color to the music set. Joe plays interesting little riffs for each song without overpowering anyone else in the band.
One Saturday, Jamie and her husband decided to drive into Key West. She contacted Larry Smith to see where he was playing. He had the day off and suggested she go by the Hemmingway Social Club and introduce herself to Larry Baeder. She was able to sit-in with Larry for a couple of songs and they hit it off musically. It was a musical “hang”. The two had a great chemistry and will continue to perform together.
Jaime says she grew up with an “old soul” – she specializes in older jazz. She is a self-described Broadway junkie inspired by Liza Minelli, Bette Midler, Rosemary Clooney and Peggy Lee. Her passion is not only singing but also performing and telling the story of the song. Jamie feels you can be a less talented vocalist and more passionate, enjoying the story of the song. It’s important for the performer to know and feel the emotion and story as opposed to singing notes.
Solo musicians performing around town are becoming more prevalent. Jamie understands completely, with the increased in expenses by the venues. Disney is now hiring solo self-contained contractors rather than the expense of producing a show themselves. Cruise ships are going with more solo players – it’s one cabin as opposed to four or five.
Jaime will be leaving next week for Idaho to attend the Sun Valley Jazz & Music Festival which brings people from all over the world. She’s been performing there since 2016. She has performed in other jazz festivals and looks forward to continued performances with a goal of putting together a cabaret in the Lower Keys.
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