In a bag of old tapes, I came across a couple of Video 8’s of my old band Once Blue.
Once Blue was popular in New York City back in the 1990’s led by Jesse Harris and I. It featured the musicians Ben Street (Acoustic Bass), Kurt Rosenwinkel (Electric Guitar) and Kenny Wollesen (Drums). We were signed to EMI Records in 1994 and would go on to release two albums: Once Blue (1995) and a re-release of the same album with bonus tracks (2003).
At a time before phones and social media, there isn’t any video documentation of this band. I’m very glad to have found these and to be able to share them with you.
https://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm04blue-1.png00rebeccamartinhttps://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm04blue-1.pngrebeccamartin2024-06-05 12:59:342024-06-05 14:04:18From the Archives: Once Blue (1994-1995)
Rebecca Martin’s first solo recording “Thoroughfare” (1998) is available on vinyl.
$40 (plus shipping/handling costs)
“On her album, I painted a picture in my mind of how I hear these great songs, a picture so vivid and sharp in color and detail. Voice as instrument, it must be a harp. Song as tree, it must be an oak. Band as players, gardeners of sound and texture. Thoroughfare…plays in my car every time I head home from London in the night.” – Chris Difford of Squeeze
“…Martin’s sound is literally impossible to categorize. Through her voice, she makes every song a tapestry of word and sound that captures the subtlest of emotions and reveals observations of life that many of us miss in our daily trek….Rebecca Martin is indeed an artist that stands alone, both as a singer and as a compassionate human being.” –John Schoenberger, AAA Track. From “The Independence of Rebecca Martin”
Rebecca Martin – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar Steve Cardenas – Electric and Acoustic Guitar Larry Grenadier – Acoustic and Electric Bass Kenny Wolleson – Drums, Percussion, Harmonium, Marimba, Vibraphone
https://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm04blue-1.png00rebeccamartinhttps://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm04blue-1.pngrebeccamartin2023-06-02 19:29:162023-06-02 23:15:31ON VINYL “Thoroughfare” by Rebecca Martin
https://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm04blue-1.png00rebeccamartinhttps://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm04blue-1.pngrebeccamartin2022-10-23 15:01:092022-10-23 15:33:50Rebecca Martin and Larry Grenadier To Perform in Spain, Italy, France and Netherlands December 2022
“Rebecca Martin is a singer/songwriter with a small but devoted following. After Midnight is a unique project for her, a collaboration with a well-established orchestra from Portugal. Martin’s husband, bassist Larry Grenadier, is a featured soloist.
Martin is a rarity among jazz singers: a true composer. But her songs are performed infrequently by others, perhaps because they are so specific to her. They are real-time dispatches from the front lines of life in the 21st century. They document the circumstances of her soul. They deal with common subjects like love, with uncommon insights into love’s ongoing paradoxes (“In the Nick of Time”). Often she writes about the fragile dynamics of the creative process itself (“Don’t Mean a Thing at All,” “All Day Long She Wrote”). Her language never concedes the obvious.
The orchestra is a continuous source of beauty on this album. It surrounds Martin with an envelope of complementary impressionism. Its lush textures and rich colors deepen the rapt atmosphere that is Martin’s natural habitat.
Martin’s vocal instrument is very fine, but sometimes what a singer can do with her voice is less important than who she is. Martin sings from the heart with plain-spoken humanity. When she takes on well-worn standards like “Willow Weep for Me,” she gives witness, without self-pity, to heartbreak.“Lush Life” is perfect for her. It is a song as stream of consciousness.Martin thinks it aloud, like a diary entry…”
https://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm04blue-1.png00rebeccamartinhttps://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm04blue-1.pngrebeccamartin2022-03-10 21:11:342022-03-10 21:11:34After Midnight Review in All About Jazz
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In the midst of releasing “After Midnight” (the recording), the idea of highlighting the lyrics for the listener was an intriguing and creative way to introduce these songs as poetry to this noisy world of ours.
We talked initially about a single lyric which that led to an entire audiobook and an opportunity for me to curate it with some of my dearest friends + my mom. Because the eleven women featured live all over the globe, this project was made possible only by using zoom technology during Covid.
Preview: The actress Rachel Weisz reading “Don’t Mean a Thing at All” by Rebecca Martin
About the cast:
THE SPACE IN A SONG TO THINK Read by Gretchen Parlato Gretchen Parlato is thought of as one of the most inventive and mesmerizing vocalists of her generation.
IN THE NICK OF TIME (STATE OF THE UNION) Read by Alice Bierhorst Alice Bierhorst is a visionary singer and songmaker. Her voice is clear and plaintive, airy and grounded, full of wonder, tenderness and love.
BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A DIME Read by Terry Martin Marie Therese Martin is Rebecca Martin’s mother. Her new memoir “The Accidental Witness” will be published in the fall of 2022.
KENTUCKY BABE Read by Kate Hudson Kate Hudson is Waterkeeper Alliance’s Advocacy Coordinator for the Western United States.
AFTER MIDNIGHT Read by Francisca Guedes de Oliveira Francisca Guedes de Oliveira is an Assistant Professor at Católica Porto Business School of the Portuguese Catholic University.
PORTRAIT Read by Judith Enck Judith Enck is senior fellow and visiting faculty member in the Center for the Advancement of Public Action. She is the President of Beyond Plastics and former EPA Regional Administrator, appointed by President Obama.
DON’T MEAN A THING AT ALL Read by Rachel Weisz Rachel Weisz was born in Westminster, London. She is an actor, director and producer with a career that has spanned many decades.
WILLOW WEEP FOR ME Read by Sue Collins Sue Collins is an artist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sue received a fine arts degree in Theater from UCLA.
ALL DAY LONG SHE WROTE Read by Rebecca Martin Rebecca is a singer/songwriter and the Director of Community Partnerships at Riverkeeper.
LUSH LIFE Read by Helena Hansen Helena Hansen is an MD, Ph.D. psychiatrist-anthropologist, Professor and Chair of Research Theme in Translational Social Science and Health Equity, as well as Associate Director of the Center for Social Medicine at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.
JOEY Read by Amy Correia Amy Correia delivers songs with a raw power that’s both vulnerable and fierce. The New York Times calls her “a singular talent.”
https://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm04blue-1.png00rebeccamartinhttps://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm04blue-1.pngrebeccamartin2022-01-20 05:14:402022-01-27 00:41:14AFTER MIDNIGHT: The Audio Book
AFTER MIDNIGHT Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos featuring Rebecca Martin and Larry Grenadier
Pedro Guedes, Conductor Rebecca Martin, Voice, Guitar Larry Grenadier, Bass
Woodwinds: João Guimarães alto sax, flute in C, Clarinet in B Flat João Pedro Brandão Alto Saxophone, Soprano Sax, flute in C , Alto Flute, Clarinet in B Flat Mário Santos Tenor Sax, Clarinet in B flat José Pedro Coelho Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Clarinet in B flat Rui Teixeira Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet in B flat, Bass Clarinet
Trombones: Daniel Dias Paulo Perfeito Andreia Santos Gonçalo Dias
André Fernandes, Guitar Carlos Azevedo, Piano Marcos Cavaleiro, Drums
Recorded at CARA/OJM Estúdios, Matosinhos, Portugal January 20-22, 2020 Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mário Barreiros Assisted by Nuno Couto
Photo credit: The interior of Hanover Mountain House thanks to the Town of Olive, NY Album art: Dobra
https://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm04blue-1.png00rebeccamartinhttps://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/rm04blue-1.pngrebeccamartin2022-01-09 00:43:212022-01-20 21:12:31“After Midnight” Now Available For Pre-order
