Before there was Norah Jones, there was Once Blue. Once Blue was a modern jazz/pop band out of NYC lead by the songwriting duo of Rebecca Martin and Jesse Harris (who wrote Norah Jones’ breakout hit, “Don’t Know Why) who emerged in the early/mid-’90s with a sound that was so out of place for it’s time yet loved dearly by the dedicated, cult following that they built (including yours truly.) Once Blue released their self-titled debut album in 1995 and then eight years later re-released the album with all of the tracks that were to make up the follow-up album that was never released.
Rebecca Martin recounts on how the duo came together to become Once Blue and release their stellar debut album:
“Jesse and I met through a mutual friend who had been trying for months to introduce us. She told me I would love his music,” Martin recalls. Jesse finally came to see Rebecca perform at the Bitter End in November of ’92. The couple formed a musical partnership about six months later soon adding Street, Rosenwinkel and Jim Black (later, Kenny Wollesen would join the group and record their debut album). By the fall of ’94, they had already played high profile gigs at Manhattan clubs such as Cafe Sin-e, CBGB’s Gallery, The Bottom Line and Fez. They attracted a loyal, steadfast following of fans who thrived on the band’s incomparable live performance. In fact, it was at CBGB’s Gallery gig that ONCE BLUE was signed – in true Cinderella fashion – by EMI president and CEO Davitt Sigerson who’d wandered in after seeing another band next door. He offered the duo a record deal on the basis of that night’s performance.“
I love Once Blue so much and they still get a lot of plays in my household. They were such a special band but in those days, we didn’t have smartphones or small video cameras to document performances. That’s why when things begin to unearth over the years, it fuels my fandom that much more and has me running to absorb everything I can find. This time around, former Once Blue lead vocalist/songwriter Rebecca Martin came across some ’90s footage of them and graciously shared them with the world. Here’s what Rebecca had to say about the footage:
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.”
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