softly by kay martin

what a GREAT

voice Kay Martin does have! I died and went to heaven... fine group."

-Jim Compton-Schmidt, KFCF 88.1 fm, Fresno, Ca

Kay Martin doesn't just sing a song-she moves in and inhabits it. Her clear, smoky-sweet voice ("more like Jack Daniels than Glenlivit," according to one fan) has been compared to Elis Regina, Helen Merrill, Linda Ronstadt, and Blossom Dearie. On her CD softly, you may hear hints of these singers, but her complex soulful sound is all her own. Her jazz standards come alive with fresh rhythms and compelling phrasings, and her Brazilian interpretations simmer and groove.

Kay grew up playing guitar and singing folk, R&B, and pop, but she considers jazz her deeper roots: "I was crawling around to Ella and Sarah as a baby, and my grandfather adored Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong, the Duke." When she discovered Brazilian jazz-and fusion-she fell instantly in love, and she's been singing sambas and bossas-and mixing them up with standards, pop and soul-ever since.

Kay comes from the Santa Cruz-Monterey Bay area, where she studied with trumpeter Ray Brown (formerly with the Stan Kenton band) and vocalist Michele Rivard, among others. She has performed in many venues around the Monterey Bay, with extended runs at the famous Shadowbrook restaurant in the beach resort of Capitola, and regular appearances at Severino's dance club at the Seacliff Inn in Aptos.

After relocating to Los Angeles in late '02, Kay now performs in both the LA and Central Coast areas. In northern California she has performed with Bob Burnett, lead guitarist with world beat group Pele Juju, renowned jazz bassist Stan Poplin, guitarist Tim Volpicella, saxophonist Scott Nordgren, and Joe Henderson protégé trumpeter Rebecca Coupe Franks. In the LA area Kay has shared the stage with "Three More Sounds" duo Henry Franklin and Bobby Pierce, blues guitarist Tom Gramlich, and singer-songwriter Willis McNeil.

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