One of Denver’s well-known musicians, Dzirae Gold, is contributing to keeping alive one of America’s greatest art forms—jazz. With her unique, soulful voice and her creative variations, Dzirae is reminding us why jazz will forever and always be so influential.
Q: What was your backstory before you became a musical artist?
A: I started singing when I was a kid. At eight years old I got my first solo in my school choir and immediately knew that that was something that I wanted to do with my life. I did, of course, have periods of occasional doubt and would convince myself that maybe I wanted to be a veterinarian. However, I ended up doing four years of classical study and vocal performance with a focus in opera. I wasn’t sure what to do with that so I figured ‘Why not get into teaching?’ I spent three years teaching full-time. Once I moved to Denver in 2019, I told myself that I was going to hit the streets and bust my derriere to be a full-time musical performer.
Q: How did you go from doing opera to now doing jazz and R&B styles?
A: Jazz and R&B were always preferred genres for me. I grew up listening to artists and music along the lines of Norah Jones. It’s just what was accessible to me. I continued with opera in college and throughout my career because it was what I was trained in since high school. It became a comfort zone for me—something that I thought I had to do because it was all I knew as a seasoned artist. Or so I thought anyway.
Q: Rather than saying you specialize in R&B and soul, you’ve defined your genre as ‘Rich Modern.'
A: I say Rich Modern because it's representative of my voice itself. It has a richer quality that a lot of people equate to a jazz style—even if my technique or production isn’t necessarily jazz-based. I employ a soulful style, regardless if my performance is an intent to sound jazzy or not. If you hear my voice, it hints at that style without me having to claim that style up front.
Q: You have been described ‘as smooth as liquid gold’—why is that?
A: Funny enough—it has been more than one account where my voice has been specified as liquid gold by someone in the audience. If you think about what color liquid gold is, it’s this warm, rich color that is shimmery; and I think that is exactly how my voice sounds. The color gold stands out to me because colors are so communicative, and that is something that I hope to offer my audience—something that they can resonate with and be transmitted by.
Q: Why is it important to keep jazz alive?
A: It brings defined melodies back to life. It is a genre that not only allows us to reminisce on the classics, but it also allows us to take something old and turn it into something new and modern. Music has been an important part of our history for a long time. Hearing a certain song or artist from a certain period recounts our experiences as a single person, a generation or a nation. We have to keep telling those stories. I love that Jazz does that and that I can take those older melodies and turn them into something new and relatable to today’s period.
Keep up with Dzirae Gold and her upcoming performances by following her on Instagram at @DziraeGold or by visiting her website at DziraeGoldOfficial.com.