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From the Archives: Once Blue (1994-1995)

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.

ALSO AVAILABLE:  Once Blue Live at the Handlebar (1996)

ON VINYL “Thoroughfare” by Rebecca Martin

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

Side – A

  1. Goodbye My Love  (Harris)    LISTEN
  2. Your Arms Around Me Now (Martin/Harris)
  3. Thoroughfare (Martin/Harris)
  4. Arthur (Martin)    LISTEN
  5. Empty Hands (Martin)

Side – B

  1. All Day Long I’ve Been Crying  (Harris)
  2. 4th and Cornelia (Martin/Moore)
  3. Joey (Martin/Harris)
  4. At Different Times (Sexsmith)
  5. The Red Wall (Martin/Harris)

Questions? Please contact rebecca@larreccamusic.com

After Midnight review in Stereophile Magazine

“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…”

Thomas Conrad, July 2022, Stereophile Magazine

AFTER MIDNIGHT: The Audio Book

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. 

Enjoy!

– Rebecca

The audio book is available when you pre-order AFTER MIDNIGHT
https://orquestrajazzdematosinhos.bandcamp.com/album/after-midnight

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.”  

“After Midnight” Now Available For Pre-order

Pre-order “After Midnight” now on BANDCAMP


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

Trumpets & Flugelhorns:
Luís Macedo
Ricardo Formoso
Rogério Ribeiro
Javier Pereiro

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

© Copyright 2022 - Rebecca Martin
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