tag:kaymartinmusic.com,2005:/blogs/press-articlespress articles2023-08-05T08:18:27-07:00kay martinfalsetag:kaymartinmusic.com,2005:Post/68951132022-02-11T09:50:51-08:002023-08-05T08:11:37-07:00Kay Martin Band — 'Day After Day/ Dulce Amor' - Best Song of the Year 2021 - Radio WNIR & affiliates - Review by April Kranz January 2022<p>The arrangement of 'Day After Day/Dulce Amor 'is tasteful and seductive. . . a sultry, relaxed, and thoughtful homage to the late Rodgers Grant </p><p>Kay Martin is a regular in the Los Angeles jazz circuit. Although she’s frequenting the local scenes of Europe these days, Martin has made her name in the States with other well-known players like Liz Kinnon and the special guest of this track, Richard Mitchell. With other band members Hussain Jiffry, Enzo Todesco, Roberto Montero, and Kirk Brundage, Martin helped bring the vision of composer Rodgers Grant to life. The outcome is a sultry, relaxed, and thoughtful homage to the late Grant that is sure to comfort all our lovers and readers out there. </p><p>The arrangement of Day After Day/Dulce Amor is tasteful and seductive, opening with a short and sweet sax/piano duo. Both make way for Martin to delve into her dreamlike vocals as the band inhales and exhales around her various inflections. On the first listen alone, it’s apparent that the band shares a bond outside of musicianship, with an incredibly tight pocket and incredible details dispersed through the track. </p><p>The song holds sentimental value for Martin as well. Solicited to compose English lyrics for the piece by Rodgers Grant himself, the singer formed a friendship with the composer until his eventual passing. With the blessing of his publisher, Martin now gives us a taste of the late Grant’s music as the final release from the Four Sweets (CD) recording sessions. </p><p>“I could see living day by day </p><p>At your side </p><p>With the workings and the ways </p><p>We can’t hide </p><p>Walking with you </p><p>Talking with you </p><p>Day after day </p><p>My love” </p><p>Day After Day/Dulce Amor is a lovely homage to bonds formed through shared experience. Whether it be companionship through love, friendship, or music, the composition is a beautiful work. Martin will be sure to find more fans across the pond as we continue to watch her career.</p>kay martintag:kaymartinmusic.com,2005:Post/65737432021-03-14T16:53:04-07:002021-03-14T16:53:04-07:00Four Sweets—Best Indie Album, International/ Concept nominee!<p>Four Sweets—Best Indie Album, International/ Concept nominee in the WAM (We Are Music-makers) awards from WNIR <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/440195/3f6f2564fe662ae3c4b19c6be5088a98c53a9286/original/wam2020nominee-1-1.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>kay martintag:kaymartinmusic.com,2005:Post/65737202021-03-14T16:44:13-07:002022-02-24T03:34:00-08:00Kay Martin Band — 'Le Saboteur' — Wins 'Best Female Artist 2021'<p>by Daniel Deprè, Indie Spoonful, Mar 4, 2021</p>
<p>Le Saboteur” is a unique and wild ride. The brass and bass make this <strong>a super groovy song that is sure to make you dance.</strong> To make this song even more unique the rapping is in French and is sung in a very quirky and off-beat way. The horn players are having a blast with this song and their performances pack so much attitude and sass. This is slowed down Ska music played on a sunny island where no one has a care in the world. Together all the elements combined to create an idiosyncratic and delightfully eccentric song. </p>
<p>The lyrics have a very distinctive flair to them both in how they are written and what they are about. Lyricists Kay Martin and Marina Urquidi are writing about how we all have twelve archetypes that we enact throughout our lives. The lyrics go through each archetype like they are characters in a movie, and although the descriptions of each are brief, they are wonderfully vivid. You can see these different archetypes and easily relate to all of them. The lyrics are also written in such a way that makes them so fun even just to read. (English Translation) “Oh-la-la the mother, costs me dearly, Ditto the Professeur, maybe he’s a lure, mainly it’s the child who guides me now.” </p>
<p>The arrangement is a glistening golden statue, and it is so beautifully bright. The rhythm played by the percussion is instantly catchy and provides a fantastic playground for the horns and bass players to jam on. The bass player throws in some tasty slides, bends, and runs all while maintaining the song's groove and foundation. The rapping vocals are very distinct as they are being sung as a duet, with one singing much higher than the other with a slightly dissonant harmony. This creates a very odd but very cool sound. It’s such an interesting choice how they decided to make a majority of the song instrumental, saving the vocals for the last part of the song.</p>
<p><strong><a contents="»go to article &amp; track" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.indie-spoonful.com/post/kay-martin-band-le-saboteur">»go to article & track</a></strong></p>kay martintag:kaymartinmusic.com,2005:Post/64314292020-09-10T11:45:00-07:002020-09-11T12:00:58-07:00BWH Music Group Review: 'If These Walls Could Speak'<p><strong>"fresh new flavor— extremely engaging— captivating musical landscape"</strong></p>
<p> "If These Walls Could Speak" is a timeless treasure. In the capable hands of the Kay Martin Band, the song gets a fresh new flavor while maintaining the composer's original emotion. From beginning to end, Kay uses subtle nuance to express the song's story. She is never "over-the-top" and allows the lyrics to unfold with delicate expression.</p>
<p>Your ears will be locked in from start to finish as the band delights with top-rate arranging, production, and stellar musicianship. Kay's vocals stay true to the original songwriter's intent with subtle nuance and a sweet and inviting tone. If these walls could speak, they would say, "Bravo."</p>
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<p>Kay Martin grew up playing guitar and singing folk, soul and pop music. She credits a wide range of artists who influenced and inspired her sound including Ella, Sarah, Louis Armstrong, the Duke, Frank, Dinah, Billie, Louis Jordan, Miles, Coltrane, Clifford, Daniela Mercury, Caetano, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Marisa Monte, Dianne Reeves, Elis, and many non-jazz artists as well like indie rockers like Gillian Welsh, Aimee Mann, and Liz Phair. Kay studied music with Ray Brown (Stan Getz' trumpeter) as well as many wonderful vocalists: Michele Rivard, Faith Winthrop, finally wonderful Trelawny Rose, who produced the vocals on her Four Sweets CD and is now head vocal coach on The Voice! Kay has performed and recorded with world-class artists. Currently, Kay is working with Fefe Lee of Los Pinguos, and recording a series of ballads with different artists with more jazz, soul, pop, and Afro-Brazilian rhythms to come. </p>
<p>Written by Jimmy Webb, "If These Walls Could Speak" is a timeless treasure. In the capable hands of the Kay Martin Band, the song gets a fresh new flavor while maintaining the composer's original emotion. The opening of Martin's version commences with a rich, blues melodic electric guitar. There's a slight country twang to the polished and tasteful guitar riff. The band joins in, and along with light percussion, a nice groove is created. The piano creates an improvisational vibe and the bass walks tightly. </p>
<p>Kay enters singing the first classic verse, "If these old walls, if these old walls could speak. What a tale they’d have to tell. Hard-headed people raisin’ hell. A couple in love, living week to week. Rooms full of laughter If these old walls could speak." Kay presents a pure and pristine tone with excellent articulation and phrasing. From beginning to end, Kay uses subtle nuance to express the song's story. She is never "over-the-top" and allows the lyrics to unfold with delicate expression. </p>
<p>As the song moves forward, strings weave through melody adding traditional color. To the listeners surprise, a seamless transition from the soft-blues introduction blooms into an amalgamation of genres with elements of folk, Brazilian, and jazz-rock. Popping, syncopated drumming adds to the rhythmic excitement, fantastic bass lines are developed, and jamming guitar solos dig into the melody with soul. </p>
<p>Kay Martin Band's version of "If These Walls Could Speak" is extremely engaging. While respecting the original emotion, Kay and the band borrow from multiple genres to create a captivating musical landscape. Your ears will be locked in from start to finish as the band delights with top-rate arranging, production, and stellar musicianship. Kay's vocals stay true to the original songwriter's intent with subtle nuance and a sweet and inviting tone. If these walls could speak, they would say, "Bravo."</p>
<p>— BWH Music Group</p>kay martintag:kaymartinmusic.com,2005:Post/64293742020-09-09T15:28:07-07:002020-09-13T13:12:54-07:00Interview with BWH Music Group / WNIR Indie Radio<h3><strong><span style="color:#000000;">"Once I got to LA—with so many amazing musicians all around, I was able to fuse music from all periods of my life into genre-bending interpretations for the Four Sweets project."</span></strong></h3>
<p><span class="font_large">Intro: Kay Martin grew up playing guitar and singing folk, soul and pop music. She credits a wide range of artists who influenced and inspired her sound including Ella, Sarah, Louis Armstrong, the Duke, Frank, Dinah, Billie, Louis Jordan, Miles, Coltrane, Clifford, Daniela Mercury, Caetano, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Marisa Monte, Dianne Reeves, Elis, and many non-jazz artists as well like indie rockers like Gillian Welsh, Aimee Mann, and Liz Phair. Kay studied music with Ray Brown (Stan Getz' trumpeter) as well as many great vocalists: Michele Rivard, Faith Winthrop, finally wonderful Trelawny Rose, who produced the vocals on her Four Sweets CD and is now head vocal coach on The Voice! Kay has performed and recorded with world-class artists. Currently, Kay is working with Fefe Lee of Los Pinguos, and recording with different artists with more jazz, soul, pop, and Afro-Brazilian rhythms to come. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>Was there something (an experience) or someone in your life that was the "catalyst" for you to start writing music? Tell us about it. </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Singing was a late-breaking development. I lived in Santa Cruz CA, was a single working mom with a background in theatre, started studying jazz at the community college, and suddenly doors were opening, I was singing out. Once I got to LA—with so many amazing musicians all around, I was able to fuse music from all periods of my life into genre-bending interpretations for the Four Sweets project. Most of that material is not original, but writing has followed along—my day job is as a writer, so slowly I have worked writing into my music, including on that CD. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>Let's get this out of the way. What is the CRAZIEST thing that has ever happened to you in your music career? </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The whole thing has been crazy, still is. Perhaps the CD Four Sweets is the craziest--with musicians I couldn't even imagine—such genius, chops, humility, humor, love, outstanding values. The concepts became real with unbelievable success. Maybe The craziest: working on our "suite" of My Man for this Afro-Brazilian rhythm/genre project, I wanted to write a French rap. Tracking the band, I had them extend the ending longer because I hadn't composed the rap. I decided to use my 12 archetypes (a la Carolyn Myss), wrote 12 rap couplets in French with my girlfriend Marina Urquidi, and they JUST fit perfectly in what we had recorded. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>What has been the high point of your music path? </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Recording and performing are so different, and I love them both so much. Headlining for the Monrovia jazz festival in the LA area was big. The Four Sweets CD is a real innovation, imho. But probably more importantly it's the little things: moments when you know you have affected someone deeply—either by a recording they heard or especially performing live. We don't get to know the affect our music has, we just get to do it. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>So, how do you approach songwriting or what is your creative process like? </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Very, very slowly. I'm not primarily a songwriter, mainly a singer, so composing is very labored for me. For the Four Sweets CD, mainly "covers" but very collaborative, we started with a Samba-Reggae rhythm I thought would fit the given tune and we experimented with it until it fit and became magic. For that album we tracked live, then I did the vocals and the original writing slowly, as I could develop it and as I could pay for the mixing and all. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>What do you see as the biggest challenge facing Indie Artists today? Or, if you could ask the music industry to change one thing, what would it be? </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I think the way the technology has degenerated the audio quality of songs is a very serious problem. Of course surviving is now the perennial terrible problem for music artists—mostly only the very, very few top commercial artists can make an okay living playing. Other bands get by touring. Another commercial issue that drives me crazy is how the all-powerful playlists are ordered by pop artists and genre, which just doesn't work, I don't think. But if I could change one thing, it would be for people to insist on higher sound quality all around. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>If you could share the stage with one other artist or band, who would it be and why? </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I told Luciana Souza I would love to open for her. I think my blend of Brazilian classics with innovative rhythms for various crowd-pleasing songs, jazz and jazz-interpreted pop and soul, would be perfect to open for—maybe do a tune or two with— a great headliner in Brazilian & jazz like Luciana. But hey while I'm at it, Caetano Veloso. :-) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>What are your rehearsals generally like? Or, how do you prepare for a live show? </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Not enough. Fefe Lee has been wonderful, but jazzers as a rule avoid rehearsing, want to be paid which I can rarely do. For recording I pay the musicians of course, and with artists of that caliber, a couple times to develop the piece and a few times to set it is all they need. I love rehearsing, and wish I could more. The more I rehearse, the better—even just to re-interpret songs I've performed many times. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>Pick one song that was your greatest challenge to write. Tell us about it! </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I wrote English lyrics to the great jazz classic Dulce Amor (Poncho Sanchez) upon request by the composer Rodgers Grant, before he began suffering dementia and then died. It took me years—he was already ill when I finished. I haven't released it yet in fact but will this coming year, have received permission from the publisher. The song has different parts that are Very difficult to sing. But I'm very proud of how the lyrics came out, with more poetic "night" lyrics and more down-to-earth "day" lyrics for the different parts. My version is called Day After Day. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>What's coming up in the future? </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Under the Covid lockdown it's been a real challenge. Am scheming on how to record with Fefe Lee, my wonderful accompanist—ballads, which have always been a strength but you can't do very many performing live, usually. I have been planning to perform around Europe, but not sure how that can work now! I will perform, have a couple spots lined up, around LA when things open a bit more.</span></p>kay martintag:kaymartinmusic.com,2005:Post/64313902020-09-01T11:40:00-07:002020-09-11T12:01:45-07:00Radio Airplay Review: My Man <p><strong>"very interesting and fresh new twist— wide audience appeal— fusion and concept all works well together"</strong></p>
<p>Kay Martin Band gives a fresh twist on a classic jazz standard, with a delicious salad of sounds. This new cover of My Man is fun in all the unexpected twists and turns we experience throughout the song.</p>
<p>This is a very interesting and fresh new twist in arrangement and style of a very well known jazz standard. I like the fusion of things and the concept behind the choices. The song has a very New Orleans feel to it with some Latin Salsa and Bossa Nova thrown in, as well as musical theater, and it all works well together. This is a very ambitious project that was well executed.</p>
<p>— Radio Airplay </p>kay martintag:kaymartinmusic.com,2005:Post/60975152020-01-13T19:23:55-08:002020-09-11T12:14:29-07:00Interview with Ric Perez Radio KSFR, Santa Fe <p><strong>Jazz a la Carta </strong></p>
<p><strong>"Music is to reach people, it's to make people feel good. You don't know what your music does... it's not my place to know, really... it's my place to do it... and to trust."</strong></p>
<p><strong>Click title to hear interview</strong></p>12:50kay martintag:kaymartinmusic.com,2005:Post/60975142020-01-13T19:21:27-08:002020-09-13T13:01:51-07:00Interview with Steven Harris <p><span class="font_small">San Gabriel Valley Press Syndicated <br>by Steven Harris Correspondent </span></p>
<p><strong>"Taking an artistic risk with one's career takes dedication and courage, and Martin seems loyal to the last blue note."</strong></p>
<p>Born in Iowa and raised in California, Martin moved to Los Angeles in 2003. She is a writer who studied theater, and since her arrival she has acted and directed. "L.A. is more inclusive and eclectic, music-wise, she said. "There's less of a separation than other areas that I could mention that are more exclusive and elite." </p>
<p>Martin admits to discovering jazz music fairly late in her career, some time after her initial encounter at 16 when she first heard a Billie Holiday recording. </p>
<p>"I've sung all my life: folk, pop, and even Latin, but I didn't try straight-ahead jazz until 1995, she said. "The odd thing is that I never had any intention of focusing on jazz, but once I started to study and learn, it's just what opened up for me naturally." </p>
<p>She sang with several groups, and they encouraged her to record her own album. Martin's first CD sampler titled "Softly" was self-produced in 2003. </p>
<p>She called her debut disc "a really beautiful project that went well." Her next CD, now in the production stages, will be a fusion of jazz and soul tunes with classic standards culled from the past. It will include some strong Brazilian rhythms, something Martin has long loved. </p>
<p>Taking an artistic risk with one's career takes dedication and courage, and Martin seems loyal to the last blue note. </p>
<p>"I believe that commitment is everything, especially in this field," she said. "Most jazz artists who strictly earn their living that way can't really expect the success that a rock artist might. Because I didn't have much expectation or conscious intention of pursuing jazz as a career, it's been more like a gift for me. I'm still learning how to interpret it. </p>
<p>"But I'm trying to shift the hype approach to what the music is all about: connecting with people, and sharing an understanding that encompasses an emotional, sensual and visceral encounter." Martin added a coda that the music industry should heed. </p>
<p>"I personally don't care for genre divisions," she said. "When these distinctions and the old systems start disintegrating — that includes the recording business — that's when new things and new collaborations can be built. </p>
<p>"This is a very exciting time in music. More artists now are skipping right across genres: folk, bluegrass, jazz and pop. All the richness of music that America has offered over the past 100 years seems to be coming together."</p>kay martin