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Rebecca Martin

Over the last three decades, Rebecca Martin has shaped a singular career devoted to the beauty and possibility of pure creative discovery. After getting her start as co-founder of the pioneering jazz-pop duo Once Blue (a widely beloved act that toured with the likes of Emmylou Harris and Squeeze), the New York-based singer/songwriter went on to release a series of acclaimed solo albums animated by the quiet force of her captivating vocals, and collaborating along the way with luminaries like Argentine pianist Guillermo Klein and legendary jazz drummer Paul Motian. In one of her boldest turns to date, Martin’s new album SHE marks her first body of work made entirely on her own—a profoundly rewarding leap she perceives as something of an artistic awakening.

“It was time to strip everything away and to present the sound of my voice,” says Martin, who also works as an educator and community organizer and penned the new songs for SHE over the course of seven years. “I was ready to take this on now.”

Produced by Martin and recorded in Portugal by Mário Barreiros, SHE arrives as her first full-length project of original songs since 2013’s Twain (an LP made with her husband and longtime collaborator, esteemed jazz bassist Larry Grenadier and produced by Pete Rende). In an evolution of the finespun musicality the New York Times once praised as “almost radical in its utter lack of flash,” SHE’s 13 songs encompass a stark yet strangely enchanting arrangement of voice and acoustic guitar—ultimately achieving a potent minimalism that’s wholly poetic in its nuanced command of sonic language. Threaded with Martin’s impressionistic reflections on identity, transformation, and the often-mystifying passage of time, the result is an album that invites complete surrender to its unhurried splendor and—in turn—creates abundant room for the audience to drift into a similar state of meditative contemplation.

Intended to be absorbed in its entirety, SHE opens on the delicate melodies of “Play for me”: one of several newly reimagined renditions of Martin’s earlier work (in this case, a cut from her critically lauded 2004 LP People Behave Like Ballads), presented here as “an invitation for whoever’s listening to sit down and walk through this with me,” in her words. Over the course of the album, Martin casts an ineffable spell with her intuitively composed guitar parts and harmonies—an element she regards as a chorus of characters in a play made up of interwoven tone poems. On “Just another heartbreak,” for instance, Martin’s layered vocals lend a tender humanity to her meditation on violence and empathy, while the luminous harmonies “The crass are cradled too” embody a heartfelt grasping for common ground in times of intense polarization. Closing out with “East Andover” (a wistful reminiscence of her hometown in Maine), SHE altogether comprises a selection of gently immersive songs that unfold with exquisite subtlety—all while imparting a bracing emotional truth that leaves the listener indelibly moved.

Rebecca Martin: She

by Angelo Leonardi
August 7, 2025

Sono trascorsi esattamente trent'anni da quando la EMI pubblicò il debutto della 26enne Rebecca Martin (Once Blue), nel gruppo omonimo col bassista Ben Street, il chitarrista Kurt Rosenwinkel e il batterista Kenny Wollesen. Da allora la cantautrice ha pubblicato tredici album (sei da leader) con musicisti a lei particolarmente affini: non solo il marito Larry Grenadier ma anche il pianista e compositore Guillermo Klein (The Upstate Project, o il grande Paul Motian (On Broadway vol. 4). Nei mesi ...

227

Album Review

Rebecca Martin: When I Was Long Ago

Read "When I Was Long Ago" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

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 ...

491

Album Review

Rebecca Martin: The Growing Season

Read "The Growing Season" reviewed by Phil DiPietro

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 ...

430

Album Review

Rebecca Martin: The Growing Season

Read "The Growing Season" reviewed by John Dworkin

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.

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Interview

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 ...

1,287

Interview

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 ...

236

Album Review

Rebecca Martin: People Behave Like Ballads

Read "People Behave Like Ballads" reviewed by Jim Santella

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.

Radio

The Jazz Session #226: Rebecca Martin

Source: AAJ Staff
December 21, 2010

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Recording

Rebecca Martin:The Growing Season

Source: JamBase
April 30, 2009

By: Bill Clifford

Before Nora Jones, there was Rebecca Martin. In 1995, working together with songwriter Jesse Harris - the chief songwriter of Jones' Come Away With Me - Martin released Once Blue by the band Once Blue, a jazzy, sultry mix of noir. The duo split soon after its release, but Martin has released music under her own name in the years since, including The Growing Season (Sunny Side), her sixth CD. While Martin works with stellar supporting musicians, ...
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Recording

Rebecca Martin and Kate McGarry: Two Appealing Blends of Jazz and Folk

Source: All About Jazz
September 3, 2008

Both Rebecca Martin and Kate McGarry are native New Englanders in their 40s, and both create exceptionally appealing blends of folk and jazz in their new albums. Yet thanks to their contrasting voices and arrangements, Ms. McGarry's “If Less Is More . . . Nothing Is Everything" (Palmetto) and Ms. Martin's “The Growing Season" (Sunnyside) take their listeners on divergent sonic paths. Ms. McGarry sings in a broad, bluesy soprano that dominates her sound. Ms. Martin sings in a slightly ...
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203

Interview

Rebecca Martin Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
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.

AAJ Contributor John Dworkin caught up with the energetic Martin at a hometown cafe, and sheds some light on this up-and-coming singer/songwriter, including some intriguing insight into working with drum legend Paul Motian on his latest Trio+1 release, On Broadway Vol. 4: Or The Paradox Of Continuity.

Check out Rebecca Martin: Paradox of Continuity at ...
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“Rebecca sings with feeling and soul – and always with fantastic intonation. Her take on these songs, from the interesting and beautifully conceived instrumentation that surrounds her to her wonderful interpretation of them is fresh and exciting.”
– Pat Metheny

“The jazz singer Rebecca Martin can sing slow swing with a supreme sense of centering around the pulse, re-designing melodies and making her voice crinkle at emotional points. And when the drumming goes away completely, she grows stronger…the musicians give her molasses swing and empathy and lots of empty space, and she takes care of the rest.”
– Ben Ratliff, The New York Times

“Rebecca Martin is a delight. I was first introduced to her music through ‘Once Blue’ and ‘Thoroughfare’. With ‘Middlehope,’ she boldly continues to expand her concept and musical territories.”
– Charles Lloyd

“As jazz singers go, Rebecca Martin exudes the plainest sort of poise, almost radical in its utter lack of flash. When she wasn’t cradling an acoustic guitar on Thursday night at the Cornelia Street Café, she held her arms clasped behind her back, as if to make sure they wouldn’t be a distraction. She sang quietly, favoring slow tempos. Her embellishments registered on the granular level, in the placement of a phrase or a light catch in her throat. She was unerringly faithful to the melodies of the songs, both standards and originals…she made them seem less like songs than like articulations of her state of mind.”
– Nate Chinen, The New York Times

“Rebecca Martin, with a voice as intelligent as Joni Mitchell though different in timbre….her firmness of a woman sure of her music….our enthusiasm for renewing the musical tradition is at its height here….We cannot overstate the importance of sincerity, as with Rebecca Martin, it is built entirely in art. Her voice is that of the love and confidence of maternal comfort.”
– Michel Contat, Telerama (France)

“I’ve been mildly obsessed with the jazz singer Rebecca Martin for a hot minute.”
– Patrick Jarenwattananon, NPR

“Rebecca Martin’s “When I Was Long Ago” (Sunnyside) is one of the most exceptional jazz vocal recordings of the year.”
– Martin Johnson, Wall Street Journal

“In the circles of Jazz in New York, the singer (Rebecca Martin) has had critical success. Her approval rating has risen steadily over recent years, and for good reason. In Montreal, however, she still remains a secret … I will not keep it to myself. Count me in!”
– Alain Brunet, La Presse (Canada)

“Martin writes of places where broken hearts and shattered dreams threaten a better life that nonetheless seems to be still, perhaps just barely, within our reach. Sometimes the imagery and metaphors thicken, but the lovely melodies always carry hints of a way to where disillusionment cannot rule. The sound of Martin’s music offers a comfort. But it’s an uneasy one that’s complicated by an artist’s open eyes and ears and a writer’s knowledge that “words are ruthless,” although there can also be found “a garden in an inkwell.””
– Steve Feeney, Portland Press Herald

“Rebecca Martin is a quintessential American artist, a balladeer in the purest sense, a necessary and honest “shaper.”
– Cathie Pelletier, Writer

“…Noone mentioned Rebecca was a singer. They didn’t have to. It wasn’t just the soft lilt of her voice, but the way she held onto words for an extra beat and then let them tumble out in a rush of soft exclamations. Even if she were in the background, it was hard not to see her as being center stage….the confines of a band, even a casual one, was out of character for Rebecca, just as it would be out of character for Georgia O’Keefe, Amelia Earhart or Joni Mitchell. She moved out of the band the way you’d move out of an apartment that was too small or too noisy…’ll anchored by Rebecca’s elegant songs, lovely, picked guitar and smokey, generous voice. It’s a voice that seems to leave nothing out; sex and death and breakfast and wind in the trees and tax forms and laughter and night. All at once.”
– Brian Cullman, Writer

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