Singer and Songwriter Rebecca Martin Discusses the Lyrics on TWAIN, Community and Collaborations.

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From "Twain". Photo credit: Pat Kepic

Singer and Songwriter Rebecca Martin Discusses the Lyrics on TWAIN, Community and Collaborations. 

Along with release of TWAIN on March 26, Martin looks ahead to performing with her trio TILLERY that features GRETCHEN PARLATO and BECCA STEVENS at the Kennedy Center for the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival In May

Kingston, NY – “I get all of my material for and emotional connection to the songs I write or interpret these days from hands on experiences,” says the singer and songwriter Rebecca Martin reflecting on the songs from TWAIN (Sunnyside Records). “I’ve become so active in our community that my life as an avid reader has transformed itself into one of an avid doer.”

A state of Maine native, Martin moved to New York City to pursue her musical endeavors. Throughout the 90’s, Martin co-led the influential duo Once Blue (EMI Records) with Jesse Harris. After a handful of critically acclaimed solo recordings Martin migrated North to the Hudson Valley with husband and collaborator Larry Grenadier and had a son. From that point on, in tandem with making music, she found a new way of using her organizational skills in community work. There, she tirelessly advocated for transparency and better communication between the people and government. This work eventually landed her a position as Executive Director of an Urban Land Trust in the area, where under her leadership the organization was sited as a national model for urban land trusts by the Land Trust Alliance.   Known for her “dizzying array of local initiatives“, Martin and many volunteers created programs and committees for rail trails, urban agriculture, African-American cemetery preservation projects and more. “Having a child and being so far from family motivated me to get as involved as I have.” says Rebecca. “It has been an eye opening experience to say the least, and has certainly informed my music.”

Yesterday I saw it coming on. 

There was little that the peasant could do. 

Into their hearts fully open and aligned 

for the daggers and arrows that flew.

Just beyond the hillside 

back where the curtain calls to us

There the music reminds me 

that the whole world is waiting to find us”

From “Beyond the Hillside” by Rebecca Martin

“There are two distinct story lines running through this particular piece, the ‘bearing witness’ to the many unpleasantries out in the field and the hopefulness in the music. It’s a very bittersweet song.”

Tillery. Photo credit: Mark Niskanen

Martin credits her friendship with GRETCHEN PARLATO and BECCA STEVENS as being her ‘touchstone to the music’ during the recent phase in her life of work, family and community. The inspiration she drew from their communion resulted in the formation of the super group TILLERY, a trio that they share. The three kindred spirits’ seamless rapport has been wowing audiences since they joined forces in 2010. These days, the threesome work together when schedules permit, including a prestigious performance at the KENNEDY CENTER in Washington, D.C. as part of the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival on May 17th, 2013.

To help Martin celebrate her new release TWAIN, Parlato and Stevens will join her on stage for a song at the Rockwood Music Hall, stage 2 located at 196 Allen Street, NY on Thursday, March 28th in New York City. Tickets for the event are $15 and can be purchased online by visiting ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL.

For further information or to request a copy of Twain, please contact Patrice Fehlen at September Gurl Music: patrice@septembergurl.com or 718.768.3859

 

Rebecca Martin’s Music and Lyrics as Sheet Music Now Available

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“The songs are all hers this time, and nearly every one carries a chilling mule-kick…Those of the more popular singer turn love into a pleasant abstraction. Ms. Martin’s have more depth, darkness and traction; they deal with emotion closer to the complicated way it actually occurs.”  – BEN RATLIFF  The New York Times

Rebecca Martin’s music and lyrics as sheet music are now available on this site.

Songs include:  ‘Don’t Mean a Thing At All’  and  ‘Some Other Place, Some Other Time’ from TWAIN  and ‘The Space in a Song to Think’, ‘Just a Boy’, ‘A Million Miles’, ‘After Midnight’, ‘Lullaby’ and ‘Make the Days Run Fast’ from  THE GROWING SEASON.

 

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TUNE IN! Rebecca Martin to co-moderate WBGO/NPR’s “Live at the Vanguard” with Chris Potter and his Quintet.

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Click on image to be taken to NPR's Live at the Village Vanguard site. Photography Credit: Michael Piazza

Click on image to be taken to NPR’s Live at the Village Vanguard site. Photography Credit: Michael Piazza

“Dear Educators and Students,

On behalf of National Public Radio, I’d like to invite you to see Chris Potter with his quintet on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 at 9PM. He’ll be featured LIVE on our website performing from the historic Village Vanguard in New York City with pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Larry Grenadier, drummer Eric Harland, and guitarist Adam Cruz. The week also marks the CD release of The Sirens (ECM), Potter’s new song cycle without words inspired by Homer’s The Odyssey.

It’s FREE. Anyone, anywhere with an internet connection can tune in. Streaming audio and HD video. No login required. Just go to this address next Wednesday, the webpage for our monthly series. It will go live shortly before 9PM:

www.npr.org/villagevanguard

The singer and songwriter Rebecca Martin has graciously offered to co-moderate the discussion in our webchat forum during the performance. I’m sure she’ll have many insightful things to say and this particular project – as songs without words – will no doubt spark some interesting reflections. Aside from going to the Vanguard in person, there’s no better way to educate yourself in the tradition. Jazz is meant to be heard live – even virtually – but if you miss it, the archived audio will be available within 24 hours.

Happy listening. Hope to see you online!

Cheers,

Lara Pellegrinelli

Consultant, NPR MusicContributor,

NPR Arts Desk

Visiting Lecturer, Princeton University, Spring 2011, 2012 Ph.D.

Ethnomusicology, Harvard University, 2005″

 

ABOUT THIS SERIES:  One of the world’s preeminent jazz venues, the Village Vanguard has regularly presented jazz’s greatest musicians since 1957. Renowned for its rich history and great acoustics, over 100 commercial albums have been recorded within the triangle-shaped basement room in New York’s Greenwich Village. Live At The Village Vanguard is a collaboration between WBGO and NPR Music presenting live broadcasts from the legendary club, both on air and streaming online. WBGO’s Josh Jackson hosts all the concerts; you can join the discussion in a chat room and watch a live video feed. After each show is over, NPR Music will host the archived recordings of all the concerts at this page.

 

 

NPR Chooses Jazz Singer and Songwriter Rebecca Martin’s Upcoming Release TWAIN as “One to Look Out For” in 2013.

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Photo Credit: Pat Kepic

NPR Chooses Jazz Singer and Songwriter Rebecca Martin’s Upcoming Release TWAIN as “One to Look Out For in 2013”.   Record Release and a live recording scheduled at the Rockwood Music Hall in New York City in March. 

In anticipation of the jazz singer and songwriter Rebecca Martin’s upcoming release on Sunnyside Records, NPR’s Patrick Jarenwattananon includes TWAIN as one of 15 buzzed about jazz/ish albums to look out for in 2013.

“The vocalist Rebecca Martin’s last album was a collection of standards, recorded only with a saxophonist (Bill McHenry) and a bass player, Larry Grenadier. Think of TWAIN as a sequel of sorts: It’s a program of mostly originals, backed only by Grenadier, who is also her husband. As a singer, she has a sense of nuance that fits a spare setting well; as a songwriter, she’s already put out several albums of her own tunes.”

Rebecca Martin will be accompanied by bassist Larry Grenadier at New York City’s Rockwood Music Hall room 2 on Thursday, March 28th, two days after the records release.  They will perform one set of original compositions and standards. The performance will also be recorded by Pete Rende in preparation for a live recording.  Tickets are $15.00.  The Rockwood Music Hall (stage 2)  is located at 196 Allen Street, NYC 10002. Tickets can be purchased online at the ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL.  For more information, call 212/477-4155.

A highly accomplished husband and wife team, Grenadier and Martin earn continual accolades for their live performances. Renowned critic Alain Burnet of Montreal’s La Presse wrote “In the circles of Jazz in New York…[Martin’s] approval rating has risen steadily over recent years, and for good reason. In Montreal, she still remains a secret….I will not keep it to myself: count me in!”

WATCH Rebecca Martin and Larry Grenadier perform “Born to be Blue” written by Mel Torme and Robert Wells live at Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington Center in Washington, DC. Filmed by Christian Amonson.

For more information about Rebecca Martin, contact Patrice Fehlen at September Gurl, PR at 718/768-3859 or email patrice@septembergurl.com

NPR: 15 Jazz Albums To Look Out For in 2013

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“Rebecca Martin, Twain: The vocalist Rebecca Martin‘s last album was a collection of standards, recorded only with a saxophonist (Bill McHenry) and a bass player, Larry Grenadier. Think of Twain as a sequel of sorts: It’s a program of mostly originals, backed only by Grenadier, who is also her husband. As a singer, she has a sense of nuance that fits a spare setting well; as a songwriter, she’s already put out several albums of her own tunes. Out March 26.”

SEE the list on NPR. By Patrick Jarenwattananon.

Sunnyside Records will Release Rebecca Martin’s Sixth Solo Album TWAIN on March 26th, 2013

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Singer/Songwriter and Jazz vocalist Rebecca Martin’s new album TWAIN features a dozen new original compositions and one classic interpretation, all performed in understated acoustic arrangements based around Martin’s indelible voice and supple guitar work, and the subtly inventive support of her husband and longtime collaborator, acclaimed bassist Larry Grenadier.

Martin reflects “My records over the years have become more quiet and introspective, which probably has to do with the need and appreciation for personal space…it makes sense that my reaction to a world that feels speedy, harsh and loud is to offer music that provokes slowness, emotion, and quiet.”

On such melodically arresting, emotionally vivid new tunes as “To Up and Go,” “Don’t Mean A Thing At All,” “Beyond The Hillside,” and “Some Other Place, Some Other Time,” Martin sings with a quietly commanding intensity that lends immediacy to her lyrical insights.

Meanwhile, her distinctive reading of the Duke Ellington classic “Sophisticated Lady” once again demonstrates the uncanny interpretive skills that she previously revealed on a pair of much-celebrated standards albums.

Writing in the New York Times, critic Nate Chinen shrewdly observed that Martin “exudes the plainest sort of poise, almost radical in its utter lack of flash,” and that though she is “unerringly faithful to the melodies of the songs, both standards and originals,” she makes them seem “less like songs than like articulations of her state of mind.”

Raul D’Gama Rose of All About Jazz wrote “Martin is a composer of considerable talent, approaching the repertoire that she serves up like a master-chef, creating rare and fine epicurean fare,” while Jazz Times’ Christopher Loudon likened Martin’s vocals to “Modgliani portraits,” noting that they “share a sharply honed, less-is-more sensibility that, paradoxically, adds to their depth, their denseness and their haunting aftereffects.”

Martin and Grenadier recorded most of Twain in a small bedroom in the apartment of longtime cohort and pianist Pete Rende, who produced, engineered, and mixed the album. “For the most part, what we did and how we felt on that day became the record,” Martin says. That emotional immediacy comes through on the elegantly spare, eloquently direct recording. Martin muses “This record has been a long time in the making. A lot of living and a lot of energy have gone into the creation of this group of songs.”

A New York City record release performance will be announced shortly.

For more information,  contact Patrice Fehlen at September Gurl Music: 718/768-3859 patrice@septembergurl.com

www.rebeccamartin.com

www.sunnysiderecords.com

TWAIN by Rebecca Martin coming in 2013

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TWAIN
The new album by Rebecca Martin featuring Larry Grenadier
on the Sunnyside Record Label
Produced by Pete Rende
Available Nationwide on Tuesday, March 26th, 2013
To be serviced or for any press inquires contact Patrice Fehlen at September Gurl PR

Rebecca Martin’s Collaborative Group “TILLERY” with Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens Host Master Class Series in Boston, MA. in December, 2012.

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Gretchen Parlato, Rebecca Martin and Becca Stevens of Tillery. Photo Credit: John Rogers.

Follow this LINK to sign-up for the Tillery Master Class Series in Boston, MA. 

TILLERY, a group that features a collaboration between Rebecca Martin, Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens, has organized an entire weekend of master classes in the financial district of Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday, December 1st and Sunday, December 2nd, 2012.

Participants will have the opportunity to choose from a selection of four master classes that include topics such as songwriting, band leading, performance, and sharing songs or song ideas in an intimate setting with the three renowned and accomplished musicians.

Students will become inspired and meet new friends in a supportive and nurturing atmosphere.  Each master class is three hours in length and start at $150.00.

Sign-up for two or more to enjoy discounted classes. Students who apply for all four will receive a ticket to a private Tillery concert on Sunday, December 2nd at 8:00pm (limit one ticket per student).

For more information contact: tillerymusic1@gmail.com or visit www.tillerygals.com 

WHAT
TILLERY Masterclass Series

WHO
TILLERY is Rebecca Martin, Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens

WHERE
Financial district, Boston, Massachuetts
* The location, hotel accommodations and directions will be sent to each paying student. All accommodations are not included *

WHEN
Saturday, December 1st and Sunday December 2nd, 2012 

FEES

Sign-up for ONE 
$150.00

Sign-up for any TWO
$275.00  (save $25)

Sign-up for any THREE
$375.00  (save $50)

Sign-up for all FOUR
$450.00  (save $75)
** Students who sign-up for all four master classes will also receive one ticket to a private “Tillery” performance on Saturday, December 1st! **

 

(1)   Saturday, December 1st, 2012: 11:00am – 2:00pm

Methods and process of songwriting.

“Methods and Process of Songwriting” will take participants on a journey through the musical paths and varied songwriting methods of Tillery’s Rebecca Martin, Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens.  This revealing lecture with Q&A will enlighten and inspire through a range of topics that include early musical experiences, writers block, breakthroughs, connecting your creative work to your daily life and finding your true voice. 

(2)   Saturday, December 1st  3:00pm – 6:00pm
Methods in Practice.

 “Methods in Practice” guides participants through several unique songwriting processes with hands on writing and composing exercises done individually and in collective groups. Guaranteed to get the creative juices flowing!

(3)   Sunday, December 2nd  11:00am – 2:00pm
Who are you really? Presenting yourself and connecting to your audience on and off stage.

“Who are you really?  Presenting yourself and connecting to your audience on and off stage” is designed to help participants become more aware of how they are presenting themselves.  The group will discuss a range of topics that include performance, band leading, speaking on stage, social media, public image, healthy living and the impact an artist can make in their local communities.  

(4)    Sunday, December 2nd  3:00pm – 6:00pm
Sharing songs with discussion and feedback

A comfortable and nurturing setting to present finished or unfinished music, songs or poems.   Participants may simply share or request valuable feedback while soaking in the creative energy of others.  Build confidence and be inspired while connecting with new friends or potential musical partnerships.

 Follow this LINK to sign-up for the Tillery Master Class Series in Boston, MA.

Tillery Master Class POLICY

Your payment in full is refundable in the event of your cancellation from the program up until November 15th, 2012. Cancellation before this date will result in a full refund minus a $10 processing fee and must be made in writing via e-mail sent to tillerymusic1@gmail.com by an adult 18 or over.   Sorry, we cannot issue any refund for cancellation requests received after November 15th.

Acclaimed Duo Rebecca Martin and Larry Grenadier to Perform at the Jazz Gallery in NYC and Jazz at the Atlas in Washington, DC in November. 


 


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Singer Rebecca Martin and bassist Larry Grenadier will perform at the Jazz Gallery in New York City on November 6th, 2012 (their last in a residency series) and then at Jazz at the Atlas in Washington DC (in The Paul Sprenger Theatre) on Wednesday, November 7th 2012.

The duo, whose recently recorded album Twain will be released in March, 2013 on Sunnyside Records will perform original compositions and standards for the audience.

The Jazz Gallery is located at 290 Hudson Street in New York City.  Tickets are $20.00 and show times are 9:00pm and 10:30pm.

Jazz at the Atlas is located at 1333 H Street NE Washington, DC 20002.  Tickets are $25.00, Students w/ID are $15.00.

A highly accomplished husband and wife team, Grenadier and Martin earned accolades from renowned critic Alain Burnet of Montreal’s La Presse wrote “In the circles of Jazz in New York…[Martin’s] approval rating has risen steadily over recent years, and for good reason. In Montreal, she still remains a secret….I will not keep it to myself: count me in!”

 

The Montreal Gazette’s Juan Rodriguez praised the duo as a “jewel of wife-and-husband intimacy.”

Writing in the New York Times, critic Nate Chinen recently observed that “As jazz singers go, Rebecca Martinexudes the plainest sort of poise, almost radical in its utter lack of flash.” He continued “She was unerringly faithful to the melodies of the songs, both standards and originals, but at her best she made them seem less like songs that like articulations of her state of mind.”

The New York City Jazz Record recently proclaimed that Martin is “One of the most distinctively original voices in music today.  Rebecca Martin transcends the boundaries between jazz vocalist and singer/songwriter in her performances…(Martin) marked herself as a modern-day troubadour, a musical storyteller possessed of a daring willingness to bare her soul in the telling of tales fraught with both personal and universal meaning. Alternately exuding bold confidence and delicate fragility in tone.”

For more information, contact Patrice Fehlen at September Girl, PR at 718/768-3859.

“Rebecca” (A Poem by Frank Tedesso)

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“Rebecca” by the Frank Tedesso. Click on this image to hear his music.

 

Through the open window of the stars unknown winds blow in.
Songs dwell, incomprehensible, in the rude and beautiful language of your need.
Irresistible words scatter themselves all around you.
Your sweet rough trouble contacts me, amazes me.
The elements of your character:
Birds, winter, bare trees, a branch for me to sit in, and light, so much light.
Aching, shuddering light.
And of course, miles and miles of night.
All  these rivers criss cross your shape.
The information of the stars seeks you out.
Possessed by this dark and light, you turn in time like  night and day.
Waiting in your blood, fitfull songs kick and stir among your future events.
Somehow everything manages to go right on working
Beneath all the curious disappointments in your eyes.
But now things long abandoned wish to be born.
Listen to the sea in your veins.
Accumulate laughter and forgiveness.
Time explains herself  in births.
The stars sing in their lightning.
Crowds of words and melodies, fragments of your secrets,
Sweeps and curls of blue rain from your unpunctuated sky,
All go crackling out into the world like a letter from your dreams.
The meaning is not invisible, it is mysterious.
Like music rising from the chimney of a piano.
Like the noisy sentences of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson
Making love in your lustful, poetic demanding heart…