It is rare to hear a vocalist who makes you feel every note in your heart, but WashU has one right in its music department: Candice Ivory.

Ivory, who is a teacher of jazz and contemporary voice, performed on Friday, Oct. 17, for this year’s second edition of Kemper Unplugged, which is a monthly concert held at the Kemper Museum in partnership with WashU’s music department. Among the numerous free concert events hosted by the music department, Kemper Unplugged is unique in that it is held in the lobby of WashU’s own art museum, positioned right in front of and under art pieces. For last week’s concert, Ivory and two of her music students sang songs from the Great American Songbook, a term used to describe the canon of significant 20th-century American jazz.

The two student performers were not merely openers for Ivory, but standout singers who held their own on a stage — the Kemper lobby — shared with their more experienced instructor. Sophomore Katya Cavanaugh and senior Natalie Green take voice lessons with Ivory. All three singers brought their own unique vocal quality to their songs.

Back in September, Kemper Unplugged hosted local professor-led band The Wire Pilots for the first installation of this year’s series. The band played all original songs with a more folk-inspired jazz sound, which contrasted nicely with Ivory and her students’ set of traditional and more soulful jazz covers.

Cavanaugh opened the show with “Satin Doll” and “In a Sentimental Mood,” both of which were composed by jazz legend Duke Ellington. With a smooth, deep voice, she set the tone for the show, concentrating on and perfecting the melodies that icons such as Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone made famous. Surprisingly, Cavanaugh only started singing jazz last year, after becoming involved with a capella on campus and wanting to expand her genres.

“I started by taking vocal lessons with Candice Ivory last semester, and I really enjoyed it because of the ability to improvise by skatting, and the jazz scene in general was really interesting to me,” she said.

After Cavanaugh’s beautiful opening numbers, Green took to the stage to perform “How High the Moon,” “On Green Dolphin Street,” and “Lover Man.” Green’s songs were more upbeat and showcased her impressive vibrato. It was clear from her ever-present smile, especially during her last song, that she was enjoying herself.

As expected, the Grammy-nominated Ivory sounded amazing and carried her charisma throughout her set, and she couldn’t help but smile and snap along to instrumental breaks. An experienced performer, Ivory recently released her album “New Southern Vintage,” which she hopes will be considered for a Grammy. 

When introducing herself, Ivory said she has become known as a blues vocalist, which she finds ironic. Her set consisted mainly of American jazz tunes, plus the Brazilian bossa nova song “Wave.” She sang six songs total, including standouts “Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise” and “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” all of which are slower and sadder than most of the songs that she has released on streaming platforms. Ivory sang with a lot of power and character, using stylistic freedom to ad-lib and skat, along with her full voice and moving tone. She talked to the audience extensively before each song, engaging the crowd by providing context about herself and her song choices.

“You haven’t been blue until you’ve had the seasonal allergies that St. Louis provides,” she said before singing “Mood Indigo.” 

During her set, Ivory urged the audience several times to applaud again for Green and Cavanaugh, showing her pride in her students’ performances. She also repeatedly praised the accompanying instrumentalists, alum Matthew Galik on keys and teacher Jeffrey Anderson on bass, who altogether made the event a showcase of the past, present, and future of WashU musicians. This community is something that José Garza, the Academic Programs Coordinator for Kemper, appreciated.

“The great thing about the University is that we have very well-respected faculty, and it’s great when we can integrate their research and, in this case, their performance. That’s super exciting because you start to see a lineage of learning and mentoring,” Garza said.

In his role, Garza works to bring more of the campus community to Kemper, and Kemper Unplugged is one means of doing so, combining both music and visual art. 

“With our programming and partnerships, the other thing that we want visitors to take advantage of or to enjoy is also the exhibitions,” he said. 

The audience was full of listeners of all ages, from little kids with their families to students with a free afternoon, all the way to local adults, many of whom are regulars. The concert was a representation of just how strong the arts are on campus, both among faculty and students. 

The next Kemper Unplugged performance features the Perseid String Quartet on Nov. 14.