Patricia Barber | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Born | November 8, 1955 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, jazz singer, pianist, composer |
| Instrument(s) | Voice, piano |
| Years active | 1989-present |
| Labels | ArtistShare, Blue Note, Premonition, Concord, Impex, Floyd, Antilles |
| Website | Official site |
Patricia Barber (born November 8, 1955) is an American songwriter, composer, singer, and pianist.
Barber's father Floyd was a jazz saxophonist who played with Bud Freeman and Glenn Miller.[1] She played saxophone and piano from a young age, sang in musicals in high school, and studied piano at the University of Iowa in the early 1970s.[1] From there Barber went to Chicago and began performing regularly in bars and clubs.[1] She won a Guggenheim Fellowship in music composition in March 2003, an unusual accomplishment for someone working in the field of popular songwriting.[2] The Guggenheim allowed her to devote time to a song cycle based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses.[1] She is married to musicologist Martha Feldman.[3]
An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.
| Year recorded | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989* | Split | Floyd | Trio, with Michael Arnopol (bass), Mark Walker (drums) |
| 1991 | A Distortion of Love | Antilles | With Wolfgang Muthspiel (guitar), Marc Johnson (bass), Adam Nussbaum (drums, percussion, finger snaps), Carla White and Big Kahuna (finger snaps) |
| 1994 | Café Blue | Premonition | With John McLean (guitar), Michael Arnopol (bass), Mark Walker (drums, percussion) |
| 1998 | Modern Cool | Premonition | With John McLean (guitar), Michael Arnopol (bass), Mark Walker (drums, percussion), Dave Douglas (trumpet), Jeff Stitely (udu), Choral Thunder Vocal Choir |
| 1999 | Companion | Premonition | With John McLean (guitar), Michael Arnopol (bass), Eric Montzka (drums, percussion), Ruben P. Alvarez (percussion); Jason Narducy (vocals) added on one track |
| 2000* | Nightclub | Premonition/Blue Note | With Marc Johnson and Michael Arnopol (bass; separately), Adam Nussbaum and Adam Cruz (drums; separately), Charlie Hunter (guitar) |
| 2002* | Verse | Premonition/Blue Note | Most tracks quartet, with Dave Douglas (trumpet), Neal Alger (guitar), Michael Arnopol (bass), Joey Baron (drums); one track quartet with Eric Montzka (drums) replacing Baron; one track with Cliff Colnot String Ensemble added |
| 2004* | Live: A Fortnight in France | Blue Note | Quartet, with Neal Alger (guitar), Michael Arnapol (bass), Eric Montzka (drums) |
| 2006* | Mythologies | Blue Note | Most tracks quartet, with Neal Alger (guitar), Michael Arnapol (bass), Eric Montzka (drums); some tracks with Jim Gailloreto (sax) added; some tracks with various vocalists added |
| 2008* | The Cole Porter Mix | Blue Note | Most tracks quartet, with Neal Alger (guitar), Michael Arnopol (bass), Eric Montzka (drums, percussion); some tracks quintet, with Chris Potter (tenor sax) added; some tracks quartet with Alger (guitar), Arnopol (bass), Nate Smith (drums, percussion) |
| 2010 | Live in Concert | Floyd | Duo, with Kenny Werner (piano); in concert |
| 2013* | Smash | Concord Jazz | |
| 2019 | Higher | ArtistShare | Recording of song cycle "Angels, Birds and I…" |
| 2021 | Clique | Impex Records | A product of the same recording sessions as her 2019 album Higher. |
