Barbara Martin

Barbara can move from soft and sultry background bossa novas to rhythmic blues and swing that makes people move to warm and friendly folk favorites. Her soulful clear vocals and versatile guitar skills add depth and pizaazz to any gathering.

“I wanna be James Dean with insolent lips” writes jazz and blues singer-songwriter Barbara Martin in her song “It’s Too Late to Die Young,” from her new CD Eyes on the Horizon. The lyrics and song title couldn’t be more descriptive of a musician known for being an accomplished vocal interpreter of the great jazz and blues standards yet brave enough to stretch the boundaries of the female jazz and blues singer stereotype. She’s witty. Intelligent. Sultry. Down-to-earth. Insightful. Ironic. Polished. Slice-of-life. Sensitive. Provocative. The list goes on.

Barbara Martin is the real deal; a true renaissance woman in music genres prone to stereotypes and pigeon-holes. She writes award-winning songs. She plays guitar. She collaborates with other acclaimed artists to produce engaging live shows and music education programs. She’s as comfortable in a New York cabaret show or a major venue like The Kennedy Center as she is in an intimate house concert or a bohemian cafe. Barbara’s expertise and talent place her squarely in the company of the legends, but her ability to transition smoothly from chanteuse to girl-next-door to perceptive poet that makes her delightfully her own woman.

“Listening to Barbara Martin’s sultry sound makes me want to lean back in a room with low lights and sip a martini,” said one arts aficionado after a concert, and Barbara’s records and performances have impressed critics and fans alike. Named one of ten worthy jazz singers by Jazziz Magazine and garnering a Parent’s Choice Silver Honor Award for her children’s recording From Ragtime to Rock and Roll, Barbara has recorded and produced eight albums. Jazz critic, Jim Newsom, describes her performance on her latest recording of jazz originals, Eyes on the Horizon: “Her voice has become lilting and uplifting, giving off an aura of happiness, similar in register and tone to that of Ella Fitzgerald. It’s a joy to hear.”

The Washington Post describes Barbara’s music as “slice of life songs that ring with truth, wit and experience” and her life’s work “... as American in style as it is universal in emotional intelligence.” Geoffrey Himes of the Baltimore Sun touts Martin as “…a songwriter with an unexpected gift for sultry melody.”

Barbara brings her own sound system and lighting. Her setup can fit into a space as small as 10' x10'.