Patricia Barber — Orpheus (Sonnet)
These days, I have become a collector,
Tender of the flimsy, yellow, and still.
Putting one foot in front of the other,
I take the formless to heart; and I fill
Pots with dirt and myself with cold white wine.
Utterly beside the point in straw hat
And fussing with flowers, I am consigned
Neither to here nor there, to this and that.
Long since the Furies cried, I’ve been alone
For gods don’t rejoice in the death of two.
Doggedly, like Sisyphus and his stone
I push, but second chances are so few.
When I stumble, kind eyes avert their gaze
And we fall each time I look back, these days.
Patricia Barber: Mythologies
By JIM SANTELLA
August 13, 2006
«In much the same way that a visual artist paints memorable themes on canvas, Patricia Barber puts her ideas into music by establishing an open avenue of communication with her audience. Her voice is always a pleasure. Her piano work is comfortable in the context of her role as storyteller. Her compositions are deep enough that we’ll revisit them again and again.
Barber puts the blues into each of her adventurous musical portraits. Her quartet partners, guitarist Neal Alger, bassist Michael Arnopol and drummer Eric Montzka, surround the singer/pianist with hot stuff from start to finish. The scenes vary, as the characters that she’s chosen to represent come from different viewpoints. «Icarus is light and positive, while «Pygmalion suffers from a heavy dose of the blues. «Narcissus drowns in romantic sorrow; «Orpheus treads heavily while crying out in sorrow. «Oedipus perks up with a raging storm of percussion activity, while «Persephone waltzes slowly and lightly as if through a meadow of flowers in full bloom. The five-star program delivers a thousand images bound by progressive, enduring jazz wrappings. Barber, now fifty, grew up in South Sioux City, Nebraska. Her music retains the influence of America’s heartland through its storytelling, down-home comfort and soulful sharing. Through Mythologies, we’re transported home to our own roots: the church, school and neighborhood organizations that helped us to develop and mature.»
Patricia Barber (born November 8, 1955) is an American jazz and blues singer, pianist, songwriter, and bandleader. She was awarded Guggenheim Fellowship in 2003 in Creative Arts – Music Composition field. Barber was born in Chicago, Illinois to parents who were both professional musicians. Her father, Floyd «Shim» Barber, was a former member of Glenn Miller’s band. Barber was raised in South Sioux City, Nebraska. Her music is centered on her singing, in a fairly low register and a traditional blues-jazz style, and her piano playing, which is technically accomplished. Her repertoire includes original compositions and standards drawn mostly from classic rock, including «Ode to Billie Joe», «A Taste of Honey», and «Black Magic Woman». Her 2006 album, Mythologies, is a set of songs based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In 2007, Premonition Records presented The Premonition Years: 1994–2002, a three-CD box set of Barber recordings divided into originals, standards, and pop. The set includes unreleased tracks and selected songs previously released on Cafe Blue, Modern Cool, Companion, Nightclub and Verse. Those five albums have been reissued by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab on SACD and limited edition 45 rpm half speed mastered, 180 gram audiophile vinyl. In September 2008, she released The Cole Porter Mix, a collection of her unique takes on the classic Cole Porter songbook, as well as three original compositions. Barber is a lesbian; interviews with her suggest that she does not try to hide this fact, but that she ‘tires’ of the public interest in her sexuality and dislikes the fact that it contributes to her fame. In November 2008, she was interviewed by Gregg Shapiro of Gay & Lesbian Times, a San Diego magazine. She is a resident artist at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge in Chicago.
Discography
A Distortion of Love (Antilles, 1992)
Café Blue (Premonition, 1994)
Split (Floyd, 1997)
Modern Cool (Premonition, 1998)
Companion (Blue Note, 1999)
Nightclub (Premonition/Blue Note, 2000)
Verse (Premonition/Blue Note, 2002)
Live: A Fortnight in France (Blue Note, 2004)
Mythologies (Blue Note, 2006)
The Cole Porter Mix (Blue Note, 2008)
Smash (Concord Jazz, 2013)
