Bailey Hinkley Grogan Making a Name
When did you first get into music? Please explain. I first got into music before I was even born to be perfectly honest. My mom was a full- time musicians, playing piano at hotels, bars, in musicals, you name it! She played 6 nights a week at a hotel in downtown Denver when she was pregnant with me. When I was born, I was immediately immersed in the sounds of Motown, Elton John, Billy Joel, and other singer-songwriters. Who or What inspired you to pursue a career in music? My mother for sure. She has always been very supportive and given me a strong education as to what it means to be a musical artist. She knew how much I loved to sing and had me audition for children’s choirs across Denver when I was six. From then on, I was singing or playing some kind of instrument.
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How has your music evolved since you first began creating music? I began as a classical singer actually! I’ve was singing classically with a very strict and rigorous training since childhood. I was singing arias and classical masterworks through high school when I realized I LOVED jazz. I started jazz when I was 16 (which many consider “late”), and pursued gigs at places like Dazzle in Denver. Nina Simone played a huge role in my transition from classical to jazz after I heard her song “Feeling Good”. I did a lot of R&B and Motown stuff around then. When I got to college at Indiana University, there was a STRONG bebop educational influence. I started learned more Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane stuff and dug more into the craft. As I grew with my music, I began to work through various Chick Corea formations. I LOVE his fusion stuff with Return to Forever—that’s where a lot of my music has been recently.
