Jazz Articles about Rebecca Martin

Rebecca Martin: When I Was Long Ago

by Raul d'Gama Rose
September 24, 2010

The immortal duets of vocalist Sheila Jordan with virtuoso bassists Cameron Brown and Harvie S, and with pianist extraordinaire, Steve Kuhn, now have a boon companion in Rebecca Martin's extraordinary trio album, When I Was Long Ago. Placing it with Jordan's legendary recordings is a must. The bassist on this session, Larry Grenadier, is in fine form, stretching melodically, harmonically and rhythmically, just as Brown and Harvie S did for Jordan. The addition of saxophonist Bill McHenry adds a second ...

Rebecca Martin: The Growing Season

by Phil DiPietro
August 6, 2008

Rebecca Martin's name keeps showing up in the jazz press, but she's more appropriately classified as one of the best singer/songwriters today. She's issued sessions heavy on standards, specifically 2002's Middlehope (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2004), and sung them lately with drummer Paul Motian, garnering her deserved high praise. But as stunning and personal as her work in the standards realm has been, her real strength is crafting and presenting her own songs, intimately spellbinding listeners into her world.

She ...

Rebecca Martin: The Growing Season

by John Dworkin
August 5, 2008

It's been four years since Rebecca Martin last led a record date. In the interim she's given birth to her son Charlie, recorded on a Paul Motian project, and founded a citizen organization dedicated to local projects and government. Luckily for us, she's also taken the time to harvest a fresh batch of beautiful, original songs to enjoy on her CD The Growing Season. It's a strong continuation of her songwriting and fits squarely into her wider creative continuity.

Rebecca Martin: Paradox Of Continuity

by John Dworkin
December 25, 2006

To assume that singer/writer Rebecca Martin's comparatively small recorded output is a reflection of her level of development as an artist would be a mistake. Her latest recording is with Paul Motian on his recently released Trio 2000 + 1 Winter & Winter recording, On Broadway Vol. 4: Or The Paradox Of Continuity. She is the first vocalist to record for the legendary drummer's On Broadway series. Upon first consideration, Motian's often elliptical style and Martin's more straightforward approach to ...

Rebecca Martin: Here, the Same, But Different

by Phil DiPietro
October 11, 2004

Rebecca Martin's last recording, Middlehope, demonstrated conclusively that she is a unique interpreter of standards in intimate, beguiling, personal, enticing, sensual, captivating, alluring...absolutely enthralling... wonderful even... ways (see review ). One might assume, as does the first question in this interview, that her way with a chestnut probably got her signed to MAXJAZZ, a label with a growing roster of enchanting chanteuses of the jazz cannon. One would be wrong - assumptions won't do for Rebecca Martin. You see, whatever ...

Rebecca Martin: People Behave Like Ballads

by Jim Santella
October 5, 2004

With her session of sixteen original songs, singer Rebecca Martin sends a message. She tells stories about love and how we feel about our relationships. These are folk songs. The music that accompanies her tender lyrics also gives off a glow of folk music charm. While the message is universal, the instrumental harmony remains rooted in that part of European culture that migrated to North America centuries ago. Hence, Martin's folk music echoes the folk ballad of North America.

Rebecca Martin: Middlehope

by Phil DiPietro
May 10, 2002

Here is another terrific example of why I, and others like me, bother to engage in this practice. An incredible talent, a remarkable spirit, a true artist of substance this close to being absolutely huge, but not quite-yet. She's one of the few that brings to the reviewer the simultaneous feelings of incredulity, at having the opportunity to make them more widely known, and gravity, in recognition of the heady responsibility that underlays the task of extolling them in credible ...