- ♪ That day comin'... ♪
- [Leigh] For 17 year old Anais Reno,
jazz soothes her soul.
- [Anais] It's one of the only things
that makes me feel like I can actually be a teenager.
♪ Ain't got the change of a nickel ♪
- [Anais] The reason that I perform isn't
to get people's attention.
♪ Ain't got no fancy to tickle ♪
- [Anais] And it's also not for people to be watching me.
That's not the point of it.
♪ Ain't got no coffee that's perkin' ♪
- It helps me feel the most understanding of myself.
One, two, three, Frank Sinatra. (clap)
(upbeat jazz music)
- You are in my bedroom right now.
- [Leigh] For the past year and change,
Anais's singing has been relegated
to her New York City apartment bedroom.
- Ella Fitzgerald,
maybe I'll play some of Ella Fitzgerald for you.
- [Leigh] Where she spent much of her time
listening to the jazz greats.
(Ella Fitzgerald record plays)
- This is such a good record.
These are some of my favorites, Mel Torme and Buddy Rich.
I love Mel Torme.
This is Emmet Cohen Trio,
who I've had the pleasure of working with recently.
We got some more Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn,
and more Frank Sinatra.
I have a problem.
There's a lot of Sinatra in here.
That's a little concerning, but oh well, this is me.
- [Leigh] She practices for the school musical,
"The Wizard of Oz."
- And I'm the Scarecrow.
It's a little messy right now, but we'll make it work.
It's like, you put it on your head.
You put the hat on.
We have lighting over here for that too.
- [Leigh] In front of the green curtain,
that literally takes up the entire room.
- I feel like she lost a little bit
of herself during this time.
- [Leigh] It's not the way Anais planned her senior year,
her mom explains.
- [Julie] It's not easy to just stay in your room
and have to take classes and all her lessons,
all her communication has been from her room.
So it's, it's been hard.
- I miss you.
- [Leigh] We're at your high school.
- Yeah.
- [Leigh] What does it feel like to just be outside,
and you can't even go in?
- Nostalgia and...
relief.
There's a little bit of grief as well,
because I know I won't be able to go inside,
and I have a million things in my locker
that I never got to clean out
- [Leigh] Boggles my mind,
the fact that you're gonna do your final senior show,
"The Wizard of Oz," playing the lead, the Scarecrow,
and you can't even do it on stage.
- It hasn't hit me yet, to be honest.
I'm a little bit numb to the prospect at the moment.
We'll see how that goes. (laughs)
- [Leigh] Anais admits the past year has been a struggle.
- I won't lie, I have been very down about it.
You know, not being able to perform
on a stage has admittedly taken a toll on me,
artistically, but mainly mentally.
So when you don't get to be on stage for over a year,
you start to question who you are.
♪ Until the pale light of dawn and then daylight ♪
♪ Hearts will throbbing guitars. ♪
♪ Morning may come without warning, and take away the stars. ♪
- When did you fall in love with jazz?
- It wasn't an all at once experience.
It was more so over a few years,
I realized how much a part of my life it had become.
- [Leigh] Anais's mom chokes up
over her daughter's love for it.
- It, I get tears in my eyes.
Yeah.
I really do.
'Cause I, I feel that her soul is coming out
through, through the lyrics and through the music,
and I feel the passion that she feels.
♪ Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be ♪
- [Leigh] Anais started sing when she was five.
Jazz came into the picture at eight.
(Anais scatting)
- [Julie] I noticed this very unusual sound coming
out of her mouth.
She never sounded her age.
You know, she always sounded much older.
She's really an old soul.
(Anais and her father sing "Autumn Leaves")
- [Leigh] After all music runs in the family.
Her dad's a retired opera singer,
Mom's a violinist.
(Julie plays violin)
- So they signed me up for voice lessons.
♪ How long blue ♪
(upbeat jazz music)
- [Leigh] Anais got one of her first big breaks
performing here at Bird Land,
a legendary jazz club in Times Square, when she was 13.
The venue does about 1500 shows in a normal year.
- And she was just magnificent.
The experience level was well beyond her years.
- Gianni Valenti is the owner of Bird Land.
- We have been in the business a long time,
and she started singing,
and the one thing that I always remember was the poise
that she had on stage and the delivery.
I had to go over and introduce myself and meet her.
- [Leigh] Anais finds comfort here.
It's like her second home.
Images of jazz greats beam down from the walls.
- There's one over here of my love, my life, Frank Sinatra.
That's the first one I noticed.
There's Duke Ellington there.
Just, I've had a lot of memories in here.
It has been a good time in here and I miss it,
and this is actually the first time I've come in here
since the pandemic started.
- [Gianni] This is where it all happens.
- This is, oh, I missed this sight.
- You're part of history now.
You've played on the great Bird Land stage with so many.
I miss you on our stage,
I can't wait to have you back.
- [Anais] Admittedly in the past,
I have had a habit of isolating myself
from my peers a little bit,
and I've gotten better at it since then.
But in those times where I felt understood the least,
this place has been a rock for me.
♪ Nothing but the blues ♪
- And I don't know what else would have happened
in my life had this place not been a part of it.
- [Leigh] Gianni helped Anais produce her debut album,
Lovesome Thing, Anais Reno Sings Ellington & Strayhorn.
- [Announcer] The famous Duke Ellington, band leader,
pianist, and composer.
- [Leigh] Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn are two
of the most influential icons in jazz history.
- [Gianni] She came to me and said she wanted
to do an Ellington and Strayhorn album.
And I'm going, you know, that's pretty heavy stuff.
And she came in with the charts and pulled it off.
- [Leigh] Even Anais herself has trouble believing
she has her own jazz album out at 17.
- Once I get to actually celebrate it,
I think it'll feel more real, and I'm very excited for that.
- [Leigh] Recently, Anais performed
in front of an outdoor audience.
She's hoping for an album celebration to happen,
nowhere other than Bird Land of course.
- This is the place.
This is everything.
That's why we came here today.
- [Leigh] What would it be like to perform here again?
- It would be exhilarating.
It would be home.
It would just be like stepping into a living room,
because we walked in here today to come do this interview
and instantly I felt more comfortable
than I've felt in weeks, to be honest.
- [Leigh] Anais will be studying jazz
at the State University of New York at Purchase.
Best scenario for 2021, 2022.
For you?
- Full time in college, in-person learning.
- You need it.
- I want it.
I need it.
My soul needs it.
I think everybody's does.
(upbeat music)
- You've performed in so many iconic places,
I can't even list them all.
What is your dream?
- I don't have any dreams for "success"
because I think I'm still learning the definition
of that word.
My dream is to perform.
♪So wrap up some of that sunshine ♪
♪ It will come in handy on a rainy day ♪
(jazz piano plays)