Grammy-nominated singer Carolyn Malachi headlines Gardner Museum concert

Colette Greenstein

Colette Greenstein has been a contributing arts & entertainment writer for the Banner since 2009. VIEW BIO

Carolyn Malachi is proving the old adage, “If you love what you’re doing, you’ll never work a day in your life,” to be true.

The Grammy-nominated R&B singer is a full-time independent artist who has been able to design the life of her dreams. It hasn’t been all glitz and glamour, though. In 2011, shortly after receiving the Grammy nomination for her single “Orion” in the category of Best Urban/Alternative Performance, she decided to leave her desk job, which she realized wasn’t where she wanted to be. “If I’m talking in my music about being your best self, following your beautiful dreams, and everything’s gonna be alright, then I have to live that,” the musician says, talking by phone recently from Washington, D.C.

Malachi and her management team plotted an exit strategy where she could live her dream of working full time “in the craft of sound.” It took four years to execute.

Since then, the D.C. native, who will be performing on Feb. 27 in Boston as part of the ‘Thursdays Live’ concert series at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, has been able to create a life on her own terms. In her 2016 album, “RISE: Story 1,” she reflects upon the transition from 9-to-5 job to full-time musician. She tours and collaborates with other musicians, as well as working as an engineer and an educator. Malachi sums up her working life as “being able to create, design, produce, mix and teach sound.”

Malachi teaches audio production courses at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Being at Howard fills her with joy, she says, because she’s able to share with her students, many of whom are women of color, “the technical tools that will help to translate their ideas and their stories to the general public.”

It’s almost a full-circle moment for the singer and songwriter, whose great-grandfather was John Malachi. A self-taught musician, he was one of the most renowned local jazz pianists of his time, backing the likes of Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. Generous with his time towards younger musicians, he later taught Jazz Studies at Howard University.

Looking back at her decision to leave her office job, she says, “I’m so happy. Honestly, it’s been a real joy to join the ranks of other women who are killer engineers in the music industry.” Providing her with inspiration and encouragement throughout her career, she says, are two women: Emily Lazar, the first woman to win a Grammy Award in 2018 for Best Engineered Album, Non-classical, for her work on Beck’s album “Colors,” and powerhouse mixing engineer Marcella Araica, who has worked with Beyoncé, Madonna, Missy Elliott and Britney Spears. Listening to these women’s work and using their results as references has made her a better engineer, Malachi says.

Joining Malachi for her upcoming Gardner Museum appearance will be singer/songwriter Aleecya, whose music is a mix of soul, hip-hop, jazz and a dash of funk; the D.C.-based duo BOOMscat, comprised of keyboardist/drummer/producer Asha Santee and vocalist/songwriter Jennifer Patience Rowe. Also accompanying Malachi will be Dokun Oke, a Nigerian-born international performer, arranger and composer. Malachi says she hopes the concert will create “a state of peace and calm and healing and joy and gratitude,” and adds, “I hope we can all share in the good vibes together.”