Renown Jazz Vocalist/Songwriter Rebecca Martin’s latest release, After Midnight, due out January 28 2022 (and on January 12, 2022 in Japan), also features bass great and Martin’s longtime collaborator Larry Grenadier, with lush arrangements by the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos (OJM) and pianist Guillermo Klein. The former vocalist/songwriter for ’90s cult jazz rock band Once Blue has forged a career of her own for the past 20+ years releasing seven solo albums as well as the trio collective Tillery along with Gretchen Parlato and David Crosby’s Lighthouse Band’s Becca Stevens.
Rebecca’s body of work is something I have absorbed deeply for the entire duration of her career and she is hands down one of the best at her game. Whether doing Jazz standards or her own original compositions, Rebecca delivers everything she does as if she wrote them all herself. 2022 will see the release of After Midnight, a collaboration with Portuguese musicians Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos. The result is what I consider to be Rebecca’s finest work to date. Featuring both songs from the American Songbook and some of her original pieces, After Midnight is a collection of songs that are easy to connect with and easy to love.
OJM co-musical director Pedro Guedes recalls. “I knew Rebecca was not only a great singer but a great songwriter as well, and she also has a very special approach to the American Songbook. This combination of factors led me to make the call to ask her to work with us. Rebecca’s original music is very intimate. It could seem like a challenge to bring out that intimacy within a big band context. But it ended up being really natural.”
Rebecca said about working OCM, “Their work had the feeling of a small band to me,” Martin says. “It wasn’t grandiose, as if I had to put on a gown and walk out in front of an orchestra. It reminded me of my formative experiences in New York City, where there was deep listening and collaboration.”
After Midnight is due out January 28 2022 (and on January 12, 2022 in Japan) and can be pre-ordered via the link below:
https://orquestrajazzdematosinhos.bandcamp.com/album/after-midnight
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