An extraordinary jazz vocalist, Sue Oatts (formerly Sue Tucker), comes from a family of known jazz musicians. She didn't have to look far for encouragement when her love for singing took off. "My father, Jack Oatts, was one of the first jazz educators in Iowa. Music was always around... mostly jazz." Her brothers, Jim and Dick Oatts, are also internationally known and respected jazz artists.
Before she took up singing, Sue was blowin' her tenor sax in jazz band and playing a duet with Clark Terry at a jazz festival on her clarinet. "I think playing a horn has had a great influence on my singing. I've tried to approach singing from an instrumental mindset. Space is just as important as sound and attention to the lyric is paramount . The focus of my music is to capture emotion instead of constant embellishment."
After attending college, Sue began a studio career producing and singing jingles and industrials with a voice-over thrown in on occasion. She spent seven years teaching music theory, vocal studio techniques and coordinating the ensemble dept. at McNally Smith College of Music in downtown St. Paul and six years as Assistant Director of Education and Registrar at the Institute of Production & Recording in downtown Minneapolis. Sue has finished her B.S. in Business Administration and is currently back at McNally Smith College of Music as the Associate Registrar. Sue has been a board member of the Twin Cities Jazz Societyand you'll find her at various night spots in Des Moines and beyond singing her cool jazz.
All of Sue's CD's are available at this web site, Amazon.com, CDBaby, iTunes and at all live performances.