love New Orleans. This is our
home.”
With all three daughters now
grown into adulthood and living on their
own, Zardis felt it was time to resume
her singing career. “Now that everybody’s
out of the house, my responsibility is to
me,” she said. “I always knew singing was
something I would get back to eventually
and I finally decided to do it.”
Zardis headlined her comeback show
at the New Orleans Jazz Market in
December 2016 and followed
it with the Nina Simone tribute
this past March. “It’s been really
great,” she enthusiastically
commented. “And so now that
I’ve got the wheels churning, I
plan to do more but I don’t want
to overkill. I’m going to be very
selective about where I perform
and how often I perform. There
are so many fabulous venues
here in New Orleans. I just
want to do something
maybe twice a month and then
culminate in a big show that I
do at least once a year.”
Following up her sold-out
homage to Simone, Zardis is
considering a similar tribute
show to her favorite singer,
Sarah Vaughan. “It’s only in
the planning stages but it’s a
possibility,” she said.
“Whenever I perform, I
try to honor those who came
before me,” Zardis said. “Even
if I don’t do a tribute per se,
my music selection will come
from one or more of the people
who I learned from, and I
always throw a nod to them
when I perform. The people
who carved a path for me to
follow.”
Eventually, Zardis said she
would like to follow another
path: the path paved by such
icons as Louis Armstrong,
Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint
and others. “I would love to be
a New Orleans Ambassador.
I love this city and I would
love to represent it around the
world like them.”
But, for her, family is –
and always will be – first and
foremost. She and Lance are
equally proud of their daughters
and their accomplishments.
In addition to Voice Monet’s
career as an emcee, music
producer, and documentarian, Indigo is a
noted actress and KiKi is an R&B singer
and writer in L.A.
“I love them all and everyone else who
has been there for me. I have been really
blessed in my journey to where I am
now,” she said.
Zardis is now in the planning stages,
along with the Historic Carver Theater,
for the official reopening fundraiser,
to be held October 27, honoring
another great influence in her life, the
legendary treasure of Tremé and New
Orleans, Chef Leah Chase. She has
created her program Spotlight™ with
plans to implement it into the Carver’s
community outreach.
“I want to be for others, what my
mentors were for me,” Zardis concluded.
Stay tuned! ��
COVER STORY
Zardis and Dee Dee Bridgewater
Dwight Fitch Jr. and Zardis
18 | BREAKTHRU MEDIA | breakthrumediamagazine.com S E P T E M B E R / O C TOB E R 2 0 1 8
/breakthrumediamagazine.com
