Larry and Charlie Grenadier, Mark Turner, Jeff Ballard, Bill McHenry, Dexter Gordan, Billy Higgins, Charles Lloyd, Dorothy Darr, David Cronenberg, Tom Hulce, Bill Stewart, Steve Cardenas, Alan Watts, Ben Monder, Henry Miller, Kenny Wollesen, Marlon Browden, Pete Rende, Sidsel Endreson, Chris Difford, June Christy, Joni Mitchell, Duke Ellington, Rickie Lee Jones, Jorge Rossy, Guillermo Klein, Turley wines, Black and White Truffles, Italy, Ben Ratliff, Paul Motian, The Village Vanguard, Jennifer Gilson, Toninho Horta, May Sarton, PJ Harvey, A Tribe Called Quest, Jenny Laden, Orvieto, Kirsten Coppolo, Bill Murray, my Acadian heritage, Cole Porter, Gary Karr, Marc Johnson, Andrew Hill, Herbie Hancock, Paul Chambers, Documentary Films, Bill Frisell, ECM, Il Cena Cola, Musicians who create opportunities for other musicians. Those who know, respect and teach all that is historic. Animals. Our elders. Home.
Get to know your local elected officials and become involved in your community. You have a great deal of power as a constituent.
I met Rebecca about ten years ago, sitting upstairs at a club with
guitarist John Scofield and bass player Larry Grenadier. She and
Larry were just married, or about to be…they couldn’t stop looking at
each other. No one mentioned that Rebecca was a singer. They didn’t
have to. It wasn’t just the soft lilt of her voice, but the way she
held onto words for an extra beat and then let them tumble out in a
rush of soft exclamations. Even when she was in the background, it
was hard not to see her as being center stage.
I found out more later. She had come down to New York from rural
Maine and had a band called ONCE BLUE with singer guitarist Jesse
Harris. Their album on EMI still sounds playful and timeless, as if
Blossom Dearie had recorded with Steely Dan. But the confines of a
band, even a casual one, was out of character for Rebecca, just as it
would be out of character for Georgia O’Keefe, Amelia Earheart or
Joni Mitchell. She moved out of the band the way you’d move out of an
apartment that was too small or too noisy and moved into a new space.
Rebecca’s first solo album THOROUGHFARE was filled with gorgeous
melodies and songs that were mysterious and chilling, evocative of
lost childhoods, lost loves, lost moments. Her voice had a new
strength coupled with a new vulnerability, a letting go, that takes
the songs beyond language into a place of half-remembered dreams
coupled with the mineral fact of being alive in this life right now.
A series of projects followed: an album of standards, MIDDLEHOPE,
which the NY Times named one of the ten best jazz albums of 2002; a
lovely album of her own songs, PEOPLE BEHAVE LIKE BALLADS; a
collaboration with legendary drummer Paul Motian, that led to a fine
cd, ON BROADWAY VOLUME 4 OR THE PARADOX OF CONTINUITY.
At the same time, Rebecca began hosting songwriter evenings at her
home, encouraging writers (solitary and cranky, at the best of times)
to get together in a safe and nurturing environment to try out new
material. Her living room was filled with people like Larry John
McNally, Timothy Hill and Frank Tedesso, and the air was filled with
songs that were still taking shape. Rebecca’s songs usually stole the
show -- they had a quiet grace that made them stand out, not to
mention a strength and power that belied their casual presentation.
At first a melody would seem amorphous and random, until you’d
realize that Rebecca was following an impulse, the way you’d follow a
fish, twisting and turning through the waters, until she’d arrive at
the very heart of a song.
And now Rebecca has brought all of her strengths together for THE
GROWING SEASON, an album I’ll be listening to for a long time. It’s
an album of songs about motherhood, about living in the world, about
living in your body and about living in your dreams. There is an
effortlessness about it, buoyed by the lighter-than-air rhythms of
drummer Brian Blade, the supple rightness of Larry Grenadier’s
beautiful bass, the otherworldly chordings of guitarist Kurt
Rosenwinkel, all anchored by Rebecca’s elegant songs and smoky,
generous voice and guitar work.
Thanks for being our friend, Rebecca. I really enjoyed listening to your tunes. They're beautiful just like your voice! Greetings from Germany, all the very best & keep up the good spirit, Uli / BCB
Ciao,Rebecca Thank you for the add and the friendship. you are very good, I like your stupendous music a lot, Band, and stupendous voice. compliments ..really. you are one of my prefeitis, I feel great admiration for you, talk to you soon, and all of my best wishes to always listen to your good music. all the best.. from italy..and good weekend neal
Hello from FRANCE …..… Thank you, I’m very proud to be one of your friends. I enjoy your songs, it was a pleasure to listen You can leave me a comment if you want, I would appreciate it !! All the best for you …. Pascal
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