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Barbara Martin

Barbara Martin

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.

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Album Review

Vince Lewis & Barbara Martin: Fresh Air

Read "Fresh Air" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Guitarist Vince Lewis and vocalist Barbara Martin, longtime friends and musicians, join forces for an intimate trio recording of staid standards and compelling originals on Fresh Air. Joined by bassist Paul Langosch, who lends a solid and unobtrusive foundation, Lewis and Martin deliver a program this is as well crafted as it is spontaneous and crisply presented.. Lewis is an accomplished and precise guitarist, using all five right-hand fingers, eschewing a plectrum. This method of playing frees ...

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Radio

Rockwired.com's All New Jazzed and Blue Podcast Features Brian Landrus of The Landrus Kaleidoscope, Kenny Love and Barbara Martin

Source: Rockwired Media LLC

The weekly online radio series Jazzed and Blue: Profiles in Blues and Jazz is back and is now available for download at Rockwired.com. Todays' edition is a best of retrospective featuring music and exclusive interviews with baritone saxophonist Brian Landrus of The Landrus Kaliedoscope, saxophonist Kenny Love and singer songwriter Barbara Martin. Brian Landrus is a once in a generation musician, and Capsule, the new album by his captivating electro-acoustic quintet The Landrus Kaleidoscope, offers a sonically expansive body of ...

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Radio

Rockwired.com Presents: The Best of Jazzed and Blue Featuring Exclusive Interviews with Tom Wopat, Marilyn Mcleod and Barbara Martin

Source: Rockwired Media LLC

The latest edition of Jazzed and Blue: Profiles in Blues and Jazz is now available for download at Rockwired.com and features exclusive interviews with Dukes of Hazard star Tom Wopat, legendary Motown songwriter Marilyn McCleod and acclaimed singer-songwriter Barbara Martin. Television and Broadway veteran Tom Wopat has released his brand-new jazz album, Consider It Swung. The record is a swingin' collection of standards featuring Wopat and some of the best jazz musicians New York City has to offer, including Tedd ...

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Radio

Rockwired.com's Latest Edition of Jazzed and Blue Features the Psychedelic Jazz Sound of Teddy Presberg and music from Curtis Stigers, Luba Mason, The Dangling Success and Barbara Martin

Rockwired.com's Latest Edition of Jazzed and Blue Features the Psychedelic Jazz Sound of Teddy Presberg and music from Curtis Stigers, Luba Mason, The Dangling Success and Barbara Martin

Source: Rockwired Media LLC

The latest edition of Jazzed and Blue: Profiles in Blues and Jazz is now available for download at Rockwired.com and features music and an exclusive interview with the psychedelic sound of jazz guitarist Teddy Presberg, In this opening segment, Presberg discusses the evolution of his sound from his debut CD “Blueprint of Soul" to his follow-up release “Outcries from a Sea of Red” and the recent release three volumes of remixes of his latter album. The second half of this ...

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Radio

Rockwired.com’s Latest Edition Of Jazzed And Blue Features Acclaimed Singer/songwriter Barbara Martin The New Music From Dee Dee Bridgewater, Elvin Bishop, Tracy Nelson and Diane Schuur

Rockwired.com’s Latest Edition Of Jazzed And Blue Features Acclaimed Singer/songwriter Barbara Martin The New Music From Dee Dee Bridgewater, Elvin Bishop, Tracy Nelson and Diane Schuur

Source: Rockwired Media LLC

The latest edition of Jazzed and Blue: Profiles in Blues and Jazz is now available for download at Rockwired.com. This edition is something of a departure of the previous two editions. Things get started with music from and exclusive interview with acclaimed jazz singer-songwriter Barbara Martin. In this opening segment, Martin discusses her latest release Eyes on the Horizon and her evolution from a folk singer to a writer and performer nuanced in the subtleties of blues and jazz. The ...

Picked as a recent release by worthy jazz singers by Alexander Gelfand, Jazziz Magazine "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 Newsome, CD Review

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Fresh Air

Self Produced
2014

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