By Michael Gaither

Being raised locally, studying music in Miami and then evolving into a triple threat vocal instructor, jazz singer and recording artist in New York is not a path many local artists would take. But June Cavlan is no ordinary artist.

The Soquel-born singer returns to the Bay Area this weekend for an album-release show at Oakland’s Sound Room and a small, semi-private show in Scotts Valley. I caught up with her this week to recap the route she created for herself.

“I was born and raised in Santa Cruz,” she recalled. “We lived off Thurber Lane, and I went to Soquel High School. I grew up listening to a lot of Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald. My dad used to work a little with the Monterey Jazz Festival, so I grew up with jazz in my life.”

Singing came along when June was in her early teens. “I started in musical theater during middle school. When it comes to jazz, especially the ‘Great American Songbook,’ musical theater is definitely the next-door neighbor to jazz,” she laughed, adding, “When I started high school, I really wanted to get into choir.” She worked hard, and it paid off. “I auditioned for the upperclassman ensembles, and I got in. I was 13, a freshman, I ended up singing lead soprano in the jazz choir.”

While she continued singing in local ensembles, June decided to further pursue her love of jazz when she made her first big move, attending University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. “I really wanted to be an educator and teach,” June said, “but in college I also fell in love with being a solo performer and telling a story (through song). Up until then, I really didn’t have a lot of solo performance experience.”

“Find something to fall back on” is an overused phrase, but it’s not necessarily bad advice for an artist pursing what they love. In June’s case, however, she began with teaching as her initial vocation, since performance came later. Teaching and performance definitely complement each other. After Miami, she was awarded a scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music, where she’s working on her master’s degree. “When you graduate in jazz, it’s New York or bust,” she laughed. “You really don’t have a lot of other options if you want to pursue performing this music.”

New York was another good move for her. When not on campus learning, she teaches both in person and remotely over Zoom. She has students from her Miami days, in addition to students who’ve found her on social media. In the evenings, the jazz songstress admitted, “I’m out at jam sessions or out singing. Part of going out is also just enjoying the music, but it does help when you organically meet other musicians.”Although she’s New York-based these days, she definitely misses Santa Cruz. “I love New York, but it’s fast-paced, and it does wrap you up. But I also can’t think of any place that’s as unique as Santa Cruz. There’s an aspect of Santa Cruz that lets you breathe a little bit and just, well, cruise. The thing I do miss about Santa Cruz, though, is that it’s easy to just sit back and take a breath.”

She continued, “I miss my family most of all. They’re all very supportive.” Fun fact: Her brother Raymond is also a talented musician. “He plays trumpet, and I’m going to start training him in jazz voice. He also just got into the Kuumbwa honor band!”

Last Friday, her debut album, “A Portrait of June,” was released on the Brooklyn label, La Reserve Records. You can purchase “A Portrait of June” at junecavlan.com or listen to it on your favorite streaming platform.

Michael Gaither is a performing songwriter, DJ at KPIG radio, and in a previous life was also a writer for The Santa Cruz Sentinel.