Brisa Roché

by Margaret RegesBrisa Roché made a name for herself as a sultry indie songstress while she lived in France in the early 2000s. She was born in California, where her next-door neighbor taught her how to play the drums on a homemade practice pad. Roché eventually switched to the guitar, which she played incessantly while living in her mother and stepfather's electricity-free cabin in northern California. She moved to Seattle when she was 16 in order to be with her ailing father, who passed away soon after she moved there. She managed to finish high school in Seattle, earning her keep as a live-in nanny, and played with a band called the Amazing Dimestore. At 18 Roché moved to Paris, where she formed a roots trio, but she returned to the States soon after in order to attend Reed College, where she played with an emo group called Bing Ra. Frustrated with the band, she left and temporarily gave up music altogether. Then she discovered jazz, taught herself some standards, and started gigging around town. She fell in love with a bassist soon after that and moved to New Mexico. When the relationship ended, she moved back to Paris in order to pursue a career as a jazz vocalist. The industry took notice of Roché (she gained quite a following at her Paris gigs), and she was signed to Blue Note in 2005. Her debut full-length, a retro-loungey indie pop affair called The Chase, was released the following year.