Press Kit
Bio
It’s easy to be wary when a musician is described with a long string of superlatives. But one listen to jazz and blues singer-songwriter Barbara Martin and you will believe what the critics say about her. Witty. Intelligent. Sultry. Down-to-earth. Insightful. Ironic. Polished. Slice-of-life. Sensitive. Provocative. The list goes on. Barbara Martin is the real deal; a true renaissance woman in genres prone to stereotypes and pigeon-holes. Barbara’s soulful voice and skillful songwriting reveal the essence of her life experience, her creativity and her joie de vivre. And in that very honest and open place, Barbara Martin doesn’t just entertain us; she helps us remember how to dream.
Over a career spanning more than twenty years, Barbara has covered a lot of musical ground, unafraid to explore new territory at each turn. In the early years, she performed country, folk, New-Wave rock and toured the singer-songwriter circuit. But when Barbara began listening to Bessie Smith, Sippie Wallace and Billie Holiday and working with blues and jazz guitarist Mac Walter and bassist Steve Wolf in the early 90’s, she realized blues and jazz were her musical raison d'être. Among her plentiful talents, she had found her most compelling and comfortable niche.
Today Barbara is best known not only for being an accomplished vocal interpreter of the great jazz and blues standards; but also for her ability to stretch the boundaries of the female jazz and blues singer image. She writes award-winning songs. She plays guitar. She collaborates with other acclaimed artists to produce engaging live shows and music education programs. She’s as comfortable in a New York cabaret show or a major venue like The Kennedy Center as she is in an intimate house concert or a bohemian cafe. Barbara’s expertise and talent place her squarely in the company of the legends she teaches about in her educational series “Women of Blues and Jazz,” but it’s her ability to transition smoothly from chanteuse to girl-next-door to perceptive poet that makes her so delightfully her own woman. Barbara Martin’s comfort with all these sides of herself and the way she articulates it in song shows us that being true to ourselves is the fulfillment of our oft life-diverted dreams.
The Woman
Barbara moved to her current home in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia via Indiana, Iowa and Boston. She took classical piano lessons and learned to play the guitar in adolescence, and says she has acquired her substantial musical skills through workshops, music camps, other musicians and self-disciplined experimentation. In 1988, after dabbling with playing music part-time, she left the security of a career in social work to become a full-time musician.
When she’s not performing, Barbara really enjoys putting people together who can help each other and practicing meditation and yoga. As adventuresome in her personal life as in her music, she loves exploring new places, walking in the woods, strolling around town and observing life happening all around her. As for her choice to live in the Shenandoah Valley she says, “It's the longest I've lived anywhere. There is a mellowness and warmth here that feels calm and secure and like home.”
The Recording Artist/Performer
“Listening to Barbara Martin’s sultry sound makes me want to lean back in a room with low lights and sip a martini,” said one arts aficionado after a concert, and Barbara’s records and performances have impressed critics and fans alike. Named one of ten worthy jazz singers by Jazziz Magazine and garnering a Parent’s Choice Silver Honor Award for her children’s recording From Ragtime to Rock and Roll, Barbara has recorded and produced seven albums, with the eighth, Eyes on the Horizon due out in late 2010.
The Songwriter
The Washington Post describes Barbara’s music as “slice of life songs that ring with truth, wit and experience” and her body of work “... as American in style as it is universal in emotional intelligence.” Geoffrey Himes of the Baltimore Sun touts Martin as “…a songwriter with an unexpected gift for sultry melody.” Barbara has been writing and performing original songs since her teen years, when even then a high school rock band took notice of a song she performed at a talent show and asked to use it. Since those early beginnings she has won numerous awards, the latest a Silver Award in the Vocal Blues and Jazz category at the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest for her song “Kaleidoscope,” and she has placed songs with other artists and in TV and film. Barbara has also written scores for theatrical performances.
The Collaborator
Barbara credits much of her musical growth to the synergy that occurs when working with other innovative musicians. She has incorporated many tips learned from studying with jazz vocalists Sheila Jordan, Stephanie Nakasian, Jay Clayton and Madeline Eastman. She has co-written songs with jazz pianist and film/TV composer Joel Evans, singer-songwriter Greg Trafidlo and country singer-songwriter Rachel Owen. Teaming up with veteran jazz and blues pianist-songwriter Liz Barnes and Barbara’s long-time performing/writing partnership with guitar virtuoso Mac Walter whose “… original repertoire is a study in contrast, not only for its variety of musical styles but also for the depth and range of emotion he conveys through his playing” (Sue Trainor, Hot Soup) allow her to mesh sophisticated and expertly-executed music with the soft human touch of close friends sharing a moment.
The Educator
Dedicated to introducing new audiences to blues and jazz, Barbara has created an educational music history series for young and adult audiences that includes “Women of Blues and Jazz” and “From Ragtime to Rock and Roll,” plus age-specific workshops in making music, songwriting, blues and jazz, guitar and vocals. She describes her love for teaching as a way to expose kids to more than commercial radio and TV and give them the roots of popular music—blues and jazz. “Kids are a great audience. Their response to the music is honest and unencumbered with the value judgments that many adults have. I've done educational programs all over Virginia from urban areas toAppalachia. It's very interesting to see the cultural differences between kids and how that affects their musical experience.” Blues and jazz couldn’t have a better torchbearer to the next generation of performers and fans.
Recent Performances
Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
Herndon Jazz Festival, Herndon, VA
Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival, Reston, VA
Columbia Pikes Blues Festival, Arlington, VA
Jazz By Night Celebration, Towne House Restaurant, Forge Room, 117
Veterans Square, Media, PA
Mainstay Theater, Rock Hall, MD
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Annapolis, MD
Jefferson Center, Roanoke, VA
Low Country Blues Festival, Charleston, SC
Fleet Blues Festival, Albany, NY
St. John’s Theatre, Listowel, Co. Kerry, Ireland
The Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland,
Williamsburg Regional Library & Art Center, Williamsburg, VA
Palace Theater, 113 W. Broadway, Maryville, TN
About Barbara:
“Her voice has become lilting and uplifting, giving off an aura of happiness, similar in register and tone to that of Ella Fitzgerald. It’s a joy to hear. The ten-song setlist is all originals, filled with a lyrical sophistication and playfulness that continues to unfold with each listening.” -Jim Newsom
"Fresh, intelligent and engrossing...music to savor again and again." -Portfolio Magazine
"Jazzy originals in a torch style grace... Martin's distinctive low voice and great band tag these songs with a light spirit." - Blues Revue,
Picked as a recent release by worthy jazz singers by Alexander Gelfand, Jazziz Magazine
“This singer-songwriter’s artistry is as American in style as it is universal in emotional intelligence…” Washington Post
“She is carrying the torch of Ida Cox, Bessie Smith and Sippie Wallace and beautifully evokes their styles into her own compositions.” -Blues Rag, Baltimore Blues Society
“Barbara has the ability to capture the tradition of the blues and make the music come alive for her listeners.” -Patrick Golden, Williamsburg Regional Library and Arts Center
“Whether she’s singing a smoky blues number or a gentle ballad, her wonderfully versatile and powerful voice pulls you in and makes you listen.” -Brenda Barkley, Tidewater Friends of Folk Music
“Your extraordinary performance upheld the high quality standard of our mission. We received rave reviews from our audience.” -Garrett Lakes Art Festival, McHenry, MD
“articulate, focused, polished and engaging” -Performing Songwriter
Lady Sings the Blues, Ed Tutwiler, May/June, -Americana Rhythm
Music Magazine
http://www.americanarhythm.com/Current_Issue.html