Patricia Bahia

Patricia Bahia is a singer, songwriter, businessperson and attorney living in Oakland. She lives with her filmmaker husband Gregg and their dog April. You can hear her sing with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and in Bonnie Hayes's songwriting workshops. Soon she will be in the studio and then back out in the cafes and clubs performing her unique blend of powerfully soulful original songs and classic jazz, blues, and R&B tunes. Here is her Blue Bear story:

"I first learned about Blue Bear almost 20 years ago after graduating from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. I had always been a singer and musician, but during school I focused almost exclusively on academic pursuits. In my third year of law school, I began thinking, 'Is that all there is?' and started looking for a music school. Thankfully, I found Blue Bear and it literally changed the course of my life.

"One of the great things about Blue Bear is that it is part of the larger Bay Area musical community. By hooking up with Blue Bear, students can learn about lots of other opportunities outside Blue Bear as well.

"For example, at one of my voice lessons, my teacher Sandy Cressman and I were talking about singers and music we like. She told me about Tuck & Patti and an upcoming concert they were having. I went to the concert and fell in love with their music.

"After the concert I went backstage and met Patti. I started studying jazz vocals with Patti as well. Patti told me that in order to really learn the roots of jazz, I needed to sing black gospel music. I laughed and asked how I could possibly join an African American church, given my decidedly pale complexion. She told me about a new interracial interfaith choir being started in Oakland. I called the next day, auditioned that night, and have been a member and soloist with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir for the last 19 years.

"With the choir, I have sung all over the U.S., as well as Australia, Canada and Israel, and with artists including John Denver, The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Walter Hawkins and Love Center, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Lyle Lovett, Linda Ronstadt and Carlos Santana, and have recorded CDs at Fantasy Studios and Skywalker Ranch. I've also been singing solo with my own trio, performing a variety of jazz music-- bebop, bossas, ballads, as well as blues and R&B at Bay Area clubs and restaurants. It never would have happened without the Blue Bear connection.

"About 10 years ago, my husband and I started a legal technology service business called Fast Track Litigation Support. The idea in starting the business was to have more control over our work lives so that we could pursue our respective artistic careers. But as the business grew (at our height we had 75 employees and a wall of awards for being a fast growing business, being one of the largest women-owned businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area, and more) I had less and less bandwidth for music. So in 2000 when my 12-year run of monthly gigs at a San Francisco café ended, I limited my singing to the choir.

"Then, in 2003 everything in my life changed. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and underwent surgery and chemotherapy, and was unable to work. I believe that the stress of running an all-consuming business, combined with turning away from my love of music, were the causes of my illness. The silver lining of getting sick, though, is that about mid-way through my chemo treatments, songs started coming to me. I had always wanted to write songs but hadn't known where to start. Back when I was taking voice lessons at Blue Bear I had taken a songwriting class, but it was all about writing from chords, which is not my process, so I didn't think I could be a songwriter. But when I had cancer, the words and melodies started coming through and I started recording them and writing them down.

"In January 2004, as soon as I was done with chemo treatments and strong enough, I came back to Blue Bear after almost 20 years and took the intermediate songwriting workshop with Bonnie Hayes. Bonnie is a wonderful teacher – very knowledgeable and supportive – and because of her class, I have been writing more songs, finishing them, and getting them arranged. My goal is to get enough material arranged to record a CD and start performing my own songs. So again, Blue Bear has changed my life.

"There's something at Blue Bear for everyone, and I recommend the Blue Bear experience to students of any age and any stage of musical development. Try it – it just might change your life!"