Conspicuously literate and restlessly inventive.
—The New Yorker
American Composer/Jazz Pianist/Singer Patricia Barber Elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Class of 2019!
Recent Inductees Include: Wayne Shorter, Shulamit Ran, Maggie Nelson, Stephen Sondheim, Judith Butler, Keith Jarrett, and Bob Dylan
On April 16, Patricia Barber was elected to the illustrious American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a society founded in 1780 to honor excellence and convene leaders from every field of human endeavor toward advancing the common good. Among others elected this year are Michelle Obama, Jonathan Franzen, Judge Merrick Garland, gender philosopher Judith Butler, actress Anna Deveare Smith, and poet and president of the Mellon Foundation Elizabeth Alexander. Jazz inductees from recent years include Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter, who join the rolls with musicians Bob Dylan, Renée Fleming, Shulamit Ran, Riccardo Muti, Mitsuko Uchida, Daniel Barenboim, and Stephen Sondheim.
Barber’s election comes on the heels of last month’s release of her much-anticipated album Higher on the ArtistShare platform, which has already been premiered to great acclaim. She is currently touring the album in the United States, Canada, and Europe with her trio featuring Patrick Mulcahy and Jon Deitemyer.
Barber, renowned as both jazz pianist/singer and composer, has made twelve studio albums for Antilles, Premonition, Blue Note Records, Concord, and ArtistShare.
“Conspicuously literate and restlessly inventive.” —The New Yorker
“Barber braids wrenching, elemental poetry into a private musical language fashioned from the yearning ache of Bill Evans’ piano, Joni Mitchell’s zigzag introspections, Jobim’s winking mix of high end philosophy and pastel melody and an occasional explosion of skronk and funk.” —Downbeat
“As a pianist and vocalist, she is a force to be reckoned with. As a songwriter, she is pure devastation.” —Jazz Police
Renowned as a singular songwriter for her harmonic sophistication and incisive lyrics, Barber made several albums for Premonition and Blue Note Records that sold over 100,000.
Barber, who has also won a Guggenheim fellowship in Composition, once again brings thrilling original material into the jazz orbit. Featured on Higher is an art song cycle, “Angels, Birds, and I...", that can be performed by jazz vocalists and instrumentalists as well as classical singers. In 2015 Barber toured an early version of the cycle in concerts with Renée Fleming. In 2016 she took the cycle to Chicago's Harris Theater to open the prestigious Ear Taxi New Music Festival. Performing here with her long-time jazz trio (Patrick Mulcahy-bass, Jon Deitemyer-drums) and guests, Barber juxtaposes “Angels, Birds, and I..." with some of her celebrated arrangements from the American Songbook.
Recent Inductees Include: Wayne Shorter, Shulamit Ran, Maggie Nelson, Stephen Sondheim, Judith Butler, Keith Jarrett, and Bob Dylan
On April 16, Patricia Barber was elected to the illustrious American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a society founded in 1780 to honor excellence and convene leaders from every field of human endeavor toward advancing the common good. Among others elected this year are Michelle Obama, Jonathan Franzen, Judge Merrick Garland, gender philosopher Judith Butler, actress Anna Deveare Smith, and poet and president of the Mellon Foundation Elizabeth Alexander. Jazz inductees from recent years include Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter, who join the rolls with musicians Bob Dylan, Renée Fleming, Shulamit Ran, Riccardo Muti, Mitsuko Uchida, Daniel Barenboim, and Stephen Sondheim.
Barber’s election comes on the heels of last month’s release of her much-anticipated album Higher on the ArtistShare platform, which has already been premiered to great acclaim. She is currently touring the album in the United States, Canada, and Europe with her trio featuring Patrick Mulcahy and Jon Deitemyer.
Barber, renowned as both jazz pianist/singer and composer, has made twelve studio albums for Antilles, Premonition, Blue Note Records, Concord, and ArtistShare.
Praise for On Higher
“The album delivers a sea of serenity and crystalline works, sometimes full of emotion, and then full of hope, or even humor. Yes, from a textual and musical point of view, Higher is a poetic gem that far surpasses Barber’s previous works. And that is remarkable for an artist who has set the bar extremely high for herself for three decades.“ —Hifi.nl“Conspicuously literate and restlessly inventive.” —The New Yorker
“Barber braids wrenching, elemental poetry into a private musical language fashioned from the yearning ache of Bill Evans’ piano, Joni Mitchell’s zigzag introspections, Jobim’s winking mix of high end philosophy and pastel melody and an occasional explosion of skronk and funk.” —Downbeat
“As a pianist and vocalist, she is a force to be reckoned with. As a songwriter, she is pure devastation.” —Jazz Police
About Patricia Barber
Internationally acclaimed American composer singer/pianist Patricia Barber is back with a new recording on ArtistShare, her first since the critically celebrated Smash (Concord, 2013). Higher marks Barber's return with another form- shattering collection of original material.Renowned as a singular songwriter for her harmonic sophistication and incisive lyrics, Barber made several albums for Premonition and Blue Note Records that sold over 100,000.
Barber, who has also won a Guggenheim fellowship in Composition, once again brings thrilling original material into the jazz orbit. Featured on Higher is an art song cycle, “Angels, Birds, and I...", that can be performed by jazz vocalists and instrumentalists as well as classical singers. In 2015 Barber toured an early version of the cycle in concerts with Renée Fleming. In 2016 she took the cycle to Chicago's Harris Theater to open the prestigious Ear Taxi New Music Festival. Performing here with her long-time jazz trio (Patrick Mulcahy-bass, Jon Deitemyer-drums) and guests, Barber juxtaposes “Angels, Birds, and I..." with some of her celebrated arrangements from the American Songbook.
For more information contact Scott Thompson Public Relations.
