Reviews Billboard (2/5/2000) JazzTimes (7/2000) Cadence Magazine (12/2000) Jazz Improv (Vol. II, #4) All Music Guide (2/2000) Durham Herald Sun (1/14/2000) The Virginian Pilot (2/25/2000) Birmingham Weekly (3/2000) Pittsburg Tribune-Review (3/5/2000) Contra Costa Times (2/11/2000) Marge Hoffacre's Jazz Review (Summer) Monterey County Post (1/2/00) Immedia Wire Service (3/7/2000) www.cdnow.com (2/14/2000) www.jazzreview.com (7/2000) www.babysue.com (1/2000) www.allaboutjazz.com (2/8/2000) www.jazzwest.com (2/2000)   Articles by Barbara   CD Liner Notes   Fan Mail     Billboard (Print Issue 2/5/00): A vocalist who did not begin singing jazz seriously until her late thirties, Adamson is the embodiment of the term "late bloomer." As evidenced by this, her recording debut, she clearly does not suffer for lack of seasoning. If anything, Adamson's tantalizing mix of youthful exuberance and slightly world-weary charm is a winning combination and unique calling card. Toying playfully with a set of standards, Adamson displays both a solid command of the genre and an almost childlike innocence as she seemingly discovers the endless possibilities that the material offers. At the same time, her warm timbre suggests the trials and tribulations of a life being lived to its fullest, with all of the sweet and sour that experience can bring. www.billboard.com   JazzTimes (Print Issue 7/00): The debut recording of San Francisco singer Barbara Adamson conveys the passionate intensity of long-experienced vocalists. Backed by Pianist Marshall Otwell, bassist Stan Poplin and drummer Steve Robertson, plus guest horn players, she opens with brief renditions of "Just in Time" and "April in Paris". Then she offers a more explorative take on "I Thought About You." She's luminously lyrical on "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" and "Yesterdays" quietly expressive on "You Go To My Head." When Adamson delivers "Boplicity" entirely as scat, her voice has the agility of a horn. When I reached the album's 56-second Thelonious Monk closer, "Get It Straight" I was convinced I want to hear more from Adamson. www.jazztimes.com Patricia Myers, JazzTimes   Cadence Magazine (Print Issue 12/00): Barbara Adamson offers a very satisfying program of jazz influenced singing from the repository of American popular song. Her voice is clear and full of nuance when she wants it to be, as warm as a zephyrized June morning with a sort of edgy rip that emerges at just the right moments. Thus her "It's Easy To Remember" is pliantly intimate, her "You Go to My Head" full of repressed eroticism, ("makes my temperature rise"). And her trio is exemplary. Otwell is an intuitive accompanist and spins some churningly resolute piano passages. Poplin's bass is strong in the field, as well as at bat. The concluding and brilliantly conceived minute (56 seconds to be exact) of Monkery finds him as Ms. A's able assistant. Robertson's drumming is consistently strong, cunningly restrained. He compliments, never overwhelms, intrudes or draws attention to himself. On "I Thought About You" he stokes a rhythmic engine that provides an arras of swirl against which Adamson takes great care to control the lyric. Her vocal is like the color figure in the foreground of an otherwise black and white photo. It works to perfection, with some lovely Fred Berry muted trumpet singeing the borders. Donny McCaslin stretches tenorly on the bossified "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" and Paul Contos plays the fanny off his flute on "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise". Adamson verifies her scat credentials by way of "Boblicity" and the entire set comes off without a missstep, certifying it as on of the year's most pleasant surprises. Alan Bargebuhr, Cadence Magazine   Jazz Improv (Vol. II, #4): Although I'm not sure why so many vocalists tend to open their offerings singing with or against a bass line, Adamson's "Just in Time" gives you a convincing introduction to the clear crisp voice that is distinctively hers. This is a very nice collection of some of your favorite tunes done in new and enjoyable ways. The cut that leaps to the top of the list is an innovative treatment of "I Thought About You" with its underlying brushwork by Robertson. If you're not familiar with the words to this song, listen to the first line "I took a trip on a trainŠ" and you'll realize where the lulling patter of a midnight passenger train to nowhere came from. That, paired with Berry's muted trumpet whispering melancholy, and Otwell's pushed chord shapes, provides a sensual and haunting conveyance for Adamson's dreamy overlay. It's the best of the CD. The vocal quality never slips, from slow ballads to "up" interpretations, to "Boblicity." A voice that is crisp and clear, as I said, but also under control and never overblown. Barbara gets high marks for intonation and enunciation. In short, a very pleasing result. The combo could easily stand alone. There are quality support and solo interpretations in every groove. These are the kinds of musicians every singer wants to have behind her or him. The mood reinforcements are excellent. "Bye Bye Blackbird" is a little spacey, however. I put this CD in the "late evening, sit by my side" category. If you weren't inclined before-hand the inclination will be sure to arise along the way. You probably won't get past "It's Easy to Remember" on Friday night. So, be sure to pick up where you left off Saturday night. William Collins, Jazz Improv   All Music Guide(2/2000): Barbara Adamson comes to jazz relatively late in her vocal career. Recorded while in her early 40's, Now Is the Time is her maiden album and despite a history of listening to and emulating such artists as Joni Mitchell, the Weather Report, and Prince, Adamson chose a musical potpourri of popular standards sprinkled with a couple of bop tunes. A heavy diet of familiar material notwithstanding, she refreshes them with interesting, modern arrangements. They are ordered in a way that is intended to emphasize contrast in delivery and arrangements. She has also wisely chosen stellar musicians to join her on her debut, such as the accomplished pianist and accompanist Marshall Otwell, who was with Carmen McRae for eight years, and bassist Stan Poplin, who has worked with James Moody and Dave Brubeck. The proceedings are buoyed by guests Fred Berry (of Louis Bellson fame) on trumpet/flugelhorn, Paul Contos on flute, and Donny McCaslin on tenor saxophone. The Oscar Hammerstein and Sigmund Romberg "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise" has been waxed by many vocalists, jazz and popular alike, yet Adamson's medium tempo, sensually anticipatory rendition needn't take a back seat to any version. Contos' swinging flute helps to make this tune one of the album's finer musical moments. This piece contrasts nicely with "I Thought about You" where Adamson is sustained by Fred Berry's muted, soulful trumpet. There's more contrast with Adamson's approach to "Bye Bye Blackbird," introduced with spooky chords and helped along by Stan Poplin's bowed bass. She then takes this number to a brighter midtempo with Steve Robertson's drums assuming the role as lead instrumentalist. Poplin returns with plucked bass in a duet with Robertson to wrap things up. It's an intriguing, different arrangement, indeed. Marshall Otwell's pianistic skills come into play as he and Adamson engage in confident ballad playing on "It's Easy to Remember" and "You Go to My Head." Adamson foregoes the lyrics to Miles Davis' "Boplicity," choosing it instead as the sole tune where she exhibits her scatting skills, which are reminiscent of the inestimable Annie Ross. Like every other cut, this is a cooperative effort with instrumentalists chipping in to make this tune work -- flugelhorn by Fred Berry, piano by Otwell, and a stirring sax solo by McCaslin, with Poplin's bass holding everything and everybody together. The one complaint is that there's only 42 minutes of music, but when a performer must bear production expenses in order to get recorded, a paucity of playing time is understandable. With her talent, Adamson should hopefully get the attention of an indie label with strong distribution, if not a major record company. This album is highly recommended. www.allmusic.com Dave Nathan, All Music Guide   Durham Herald Sun (1/14/00): Jazz vocalists can be an infuriating lot. Forget the traditional debate among critics about who is or is not a "true" jazz singer: To my ears, singers, both live and on recordings, too often play to the gallery, and nuances of phrasing that sound inventive when they come from an instrumentalist can sound pretentious when they come from a vocalist. That judgment is certainly a vast oversimplification and many exceptions apply. One of those exceptions is San Francisco-based vocalist Barbara Adamson. On Now Is the Time, which Stet Records is calling her debut recording, Adamson interprets 12 song standards and jazz classics, with results that are inventive and a pure delight. Adamson's voice is central, but it works in concert with, rather than in competition with, a solid rhythm section (Marshall Otwell on piano, Stan Poplin on bass and Steve Robertson on drums and percussion). And the quality of that voice is appealing, with a tone that is throaty on low notes and bright on high notes. Rather than vocal virtuosity or flashy technique, the strength of these sessions lies in Adamson's distinctive vocal quality and her (and the band's) arrangements of the material. Both assets make for some interesting variations on even the most time-honored classics. Take, for example, her arrangement of the ballad "I Thought About You." Adamson employs a "text painting" device to tell the story behind this song, with Robertson's steady, rapid drum beat implying the sound of the train referred to in the tune's opening lyric, "I took a trip on a train ... ." Fred Berry's muted trumpet solos and accompaniment further enhance the mood. "Bye Bye Blackbird" is the recording's most interesting arrangement. It begins as a bass-vocal duet, with bassist Poplin using the bass strings' upper register and a technique of bowing close to the bridge to create interesting effects (who says you need electronics to produce "unusual" sounds?). After the duet introduction, the full rhythm section enters, and the tune swings in excellent straight-ahead style before ending again with the Adamson-Poplin duet. Her interpretations of jazz classics are excellent. She does a vocalization (no lyrics added) of the Miles Davis tune "Boplicity," and she sings a fine tribute to Thelonious Monk (titled "Get it Straight"), with lyrics set to the tune of Monk's "Straight, No Chaser," performed as a duet between Adamson and Poplin. In the CD's liner notes, Adamson states that she did not begin this project intending to pick standards. But the project ended up that way, and she has put her indelible stamp on these familiar tunes. Jazz fans can only hope for more. Cliff Bellamy, Durham Herald Sun   The Virginian Pilot (2/25/00): Barbara Adamson is a Jenny-come-lately to recording, but her upbeat, swinging emoting on Now is the Time will convince anyone that she was worth waiting for. Adamson's not a belter or one to engage in pyrotechnics. Instead, she tackles standards assuredly. Her approach is straight-ahead, the emphasis more on the interplay between her warm, relaxed singing and her musicians. The San Francisco-based performer is joined by an experienced supporting cast: pianist Marshall Otwell, former musical director for Carmen McRae; bassist Stan Poplin who has worked with Dave Brubeck; and drummer Steve Robertson who co-produced with Adamson. Tracks range from ballads ("I Thought About You") to swinging numbers ("April in Paris"). She shines on "Boplicity," the only tune on which she scats, and "Get it Straight," a vocal reworking of Thelonius Monk's "Straight, No Chaser" done as a duet between Adamson and Poplin. Clearly now is the time for Barbara Adamson. Marvin Leon Lake, The Virginian Pilot   Birmingham Weekly (Upcoming): Singer Barbara Adamson's debut recording is a refreshing look at classics from the Great American Songbook. Not only is she a gifted and imaginative singer, but her creativity as an arranger also makes the most time-tested standards sound like new. The train theme in the lyrics to "I Thought About You" is reinforced by the steady brushwork of drummer Steve Robertson and Fred Berry's distant muted trumpet, but it's Adamson's emotional interpretation of this bittersweet song that makes it outstanding. Her sassy take of "Yesterdays," a rather unusual take of "Bye Bye Blackbird" which opens with some wild distorted arco bass by Stan Poplin (who co-arranged it with Adamson), and she proves to be a top notch scat singer on Miles Davis' "Boplicity." If you can't find this highly recommended CD, check out her website at www.barbaraadamson.com. Ken Dryden, Birmingham Weekly   Pittsburg Tribune-Review: In this era of computer-driven word processing, many expressions from the old days of typesetting are fading away. Singer Barbara Adamson has given one life in her album Now is the Time. Adamson released the recording on her own Stet label, a name that drew my attention nearly as much as her good singing. Stet is a copyediting expression that means to ignore a change and use the copy as it was written. I checked to see if she used the word for that reason and, indeed, she had. As the art director at PC World Magazine based in California, Adamson has some familiarity with copyediting. She said she was trying to use the stet idea in her recording, too: take what you get in a studio performance and use it without much doctoring. Her album hardly sounds quickly pieced together though. It's filled with good arrangements of primarily standards, including a slow version of "Bye Bye Blackbird," with great bowed bass by Stan Poplin. And Adamson's singing is as good as her cleverness in label titles. Bob Karlovits, Pittsburg Tribune-Review   Contra Costa Times: Jazz singer Barbara Adamson didn't find her calling as a jazz singer until her late 30s, but she's making up for lost time. Her strong, self-produced debut recording, Now is the Time introduces a gifted singer who's respectful but unintimidated by tradition. She covers a dozen tunes, mostly Great American Songbook standards, from a Latin-tinged version of "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" to a haunting version of "I Thought About You." Andrew Gilbert, Contra Costa Times   Marge Hoffacre's Jazz Review (Summer): By ordinary standards, Barbara Adamson has taken up the tools of jazz relatively late in her vocal career. Now in her late 30's, Now Is the Time is her maiden album and despite a history of listening to and emulating such artists as Joni Mitchell, The Weather Report and Prince, Adamson chose a musical potpourri of standards sprinkled with a couple of Bop tunes. A heavy diet of familiar material notwithstanding, she freshens it considerably with some interesting, modern arrangements. They are ordered in a such way as to emphasize the contrast in delivery and arrangements She also has wisely chosen stellar musicians to be with her as she debuts. Marshall Otwell, on piano who was with Carmen McRae for eight years and is therefore quite accomplished as an accompanist. Bassologist Stan Poplin has worked with James Moody and Dave Brubeck. The proceedings are buoyed up by the presence of guests Fred Berry (of Louis Bellson Orch. fame), Paul Contos and Donny McCaslin on trumpet/flugelhorn, flute and tenor saxophone, respectively. It never ceases to amaze the number of jazz musicians-vocalists and instrumentalists alike-who have taken to a tune written by Oscar Hammerstein and Sigmund Romberg for their operetta New Moon, and made popular by Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. Yet Softly as in a Morning Sunrise has been waxed by the likes of Bobby Darrin, Rebecca Parris, Kendra Shank, June Christy among others. Adamsonıs medium tempo, sensually anticipatory rendition neednıt take a back seat to any version. Paul Contosı swinging flute helps make this tune one of the albumıs finer musical moments. This up tempo piece contrasts nicely with the following tune I Thought About You which Adamson delivers with a voice caressed with wounded poignancy sustained by Fred Berryıs muted, soulful trumpet. Thereıs even further contrast with Adamsonıs approach to Bye Bye Blackbird which she introduces with a spooky opening reminding me of the squeaking door in the old radio serial Inner Sanctum, a sensation helped along by Stan Poplinıs bowed bass. She then seques into a brighter, medium tempo with Steve Robertsonıs drums taking over the role as lead instrumentalist. Poplin returns with plucked guitar-like bass in duet with Robertson to wrap things up. An intriguing, different, arrangement, indeed. Marshall Otwellıs pianistic skills come into play as he and Adamson engage in assured and confident ballad playing on Itıs Easy to Remember and You Go to My Head. Adamson foregoes the lyrics to Mikes Davisı Boplicity choosing to select this as the sole tune where she shows off her scatting skills reminiscent of Annie Ross. Like every other cut, this is a cooperative effort with the instrumentalists chipping in to make this tune work.- flugelhorn by Fred Berry, piano by Otwell, a stirring sax solo by McCaslin, with Poplinıs bass holding everything and everybody together to keep the pot boiling. The one complaint is that thereıs only 42 minutes of music. But when a performer must bear production expenses in order to get recorded, a paucity of playing time is understood. With her talent, Adamson should hopefully get the attention of if not a major record label, then an indie with strong distribution. This album is highly recommended. Dave Nathan, Marge Hoffacre's Jazz Review   Monterey County Post (1/20/00): CD Pick of the Week: Ms. Adamson is at her best with this release. She is a fine fettle throughout. "Boplicity" and "Get it Straight," rarely done these days, are a demonstration of how to sing a melody, yet in all twelve songs she maintains an admirable level of quality in her output. No matter the personnel or compositional material, the results are tastefully done; filled with rhythmic fire and spiced with a touch of humor. The arrangements by Ms. Adamson, Marshall Otwell, Stan Poplin and Steve Robertson are not complex, but at medium and up tempos they generate a great deal of heat and excitement. Some of my favorites in this set are "April in Paris," "The Night has a Thousand Eyes," "You Go to my Head," and "I Wished on the Moon." Ms. Adamson's greatest challenge may have been in singing "Yesterdays"­doing it naturally without seeming too overtly Billie Holiday. The other performances are equally as attractive and admirable as those I have named in this review. This release is on the Stet label. Johnny Adams, Monterey County Post   Immedia Wire Service (3/7/00): Who is Barbara Adamson and where has she been all my life? This is one wonderful, swinging jazz singer. She can take a song you've heard a hundred times and make you think she wrote it that morning. And her voice is one of those wonders of nature that sounds bell-like on top AND gooey-honey thick underneath. With ultra cool piano work from Marshall Otwell and a crew of magnificent cohorts, Adamson positively soars through a dozen standards, ("Just in Time" "April in Paris" "Bye Bye Blackbird") turning them into gems. A special tip of the hat for the sprightly version of Miles Davis' "Boplicity." Scott "G-Man" Laurence, Immedia Wire Service   www.cdnow.com (2/14/00): Barbara Adamson doesn't care if you call her a late bloomer. The Bay Area-based vocalist may have a decade or two on some other debuting jazz singers, but the genuine feeling she brings to her music comes from her deep catalog of life experiences. And Adamson's fully grown vocal artistry is on view with her self-released album, Now Is the Time. "I always have sung, but I really felt like I hadn't found my own calling," says Adamson. "I experimented with different musical forms. I always was sort of a ballad singer." Then in the 1990s, after a lifetime variously influenced by jazz music, pop music, soul music, world music, and plenty of other music, Adamson settled on syncopation. "When I discovered the swing, it was like a very good drug," she says with a laugh. So Adamson set about training her voice for the rigors of jazz singing, becoming a student of Kurt Elling and famed San Francisco vocalist-educator Madeline Eastman. Eastman urged Adamson to release Now Is the Time on as grand a scale as possible. "When I first made it, I started with humble intentions," says Adamson. "I had no intention of releasing it nationally. I really didn't know what I was doing." Now Is the Time is comprised mostly of classic pop standards, such as "April in Paris" in which her lithe, slightly plaintive vocals ride a sharp, samba-inflected groove underpinned by Stan Poplin's kinetic bass work, or "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" in a brisk, bright version highlighted by guest tenor saxman Donny McCaslin. Among numerous worthwhile tracks are her soulful emanations on "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise" and her engaging vocal-and-piano dialog on "Easy to Remember" with pianist Marshall Otwell, who's accompanied Carmen McRae and Ernestine Anderson. " I ended up choosing, in some cases, quite common standards," Adamson explains. "But they were fresh for me. I hadn't been singing them for 40 years, so it was sort of like discovering new songs, in a way." Among her more unusual discoveries is a distinctive "Bye Bye Blackbird," which is bookended by Poplin's otherworldly arco bass tones accompanying her severely downtempo vocals. "It's a very interesting tune," she says. "There's something that can be sort of dark about it, if you think about it in a different way." Adamson also vocalizes two jazz standards: Thelonious Monk's "Straight No Chaser," renamed "Get It Straight," and a version of Miles Davis' "Boplicity" in which Adamson scat-ologically navigates the elegant melody line from the Birth of the Cool classic. Of her enthusiastic scatting on the tune, Adamson says, "It's not something that I had in my repertoire. I took 'Boplicity' on as a challenge, really. I experiment with improvising, but I'm really careful about it, because I feel like it's important to really be a master before you start recording improvised things. It was a written arrangement. I had to write the scat and develop it -- in some places, improvising a little bit. As a jazz singer, it's an area that I want to develop more and more." Of greatest significance to Adamson is the album's opening tune, "Just in Time." It serves to remind her that her singing career didn't come too late, even though she endured a debilitating back condition that sidetracked her vocal ambitions. "Without the soapbox," says Adamson, "I did want to sort of make some kind of reference to that fact that I'm older than most people starting in a career, but I had this obstacle that I've risen above -- and you can do it any time. I always believed that." www.cdnow.com Drew Wheeler, Senior Editor, Jazz: cdnow.com   www.jazzreview.com (7/2000): Barbara Adamson grew up listening to the Motown sound and The Beatles but NOW IS THE TIME to listen to her!! Her latest CD on Stet Records is an influenced but nurtured collection of jazz sounds caught and endeared to Barbara throughout her musical career. She stamps her excellent vocal signature on standards that pay tribute to the jazz tradition and is accompanied by Marshall Otwell on piano, Stan Poplin on bass, Steve Robertson on drums, percussion and with special guest soloists Fred Berry - trumpet, flugelhorn, Paul Contos on flute, and Don McCaslin on tenor sax. Barbara does fantastic renditions of "I Thought About You," and "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" "You Go To My Head," and "Get It Straight" by the great Thelonious Monk. NOW IS THE TIME to get to know Barbara Adamson's great jazz singing as we Celebrate The Feminine Side of Jazz. www.jazzreview.com Paula Edelstein, jazzreview.com   www.babysue.com (1/2000): Barbara Adamson - Now Is The Time (CD, Stet, Jazz/female vocalist) Thanks to increasingly infamous and influential jazz promoter Dave Ginochio, our world has expanded beyond the often times tedious world of alternative and underground rock music to include the intriguing undercurrents currently happening in modern jazz. As usual, the criteria is...if we like it, we'll review it. Classy broad vocalist Barbara Adamson has a sultry and inviting vocal style that melds in perfectly amidst the dreamy backdrop provided by her accompanying support band. It's music for dinner when dinner goes beyond merely dinner to extraordinary experience...something that we have never experienced. However, anyone can now experience the sheer delight of classy sexy female vocalist jazz dinner music...because you can pop this in at home. And believe us...that frozen dinner will taste a HELL of a lot better than it did yesterday. Try it. Twelve tempting tunes including "April In Paris" (this is real nice), "Yesterdays," and "Get It Straight" (is she trying to tell us something?). This is simply super. Find out more at http://www.barbaraadamson.com. (Rating: 5)   www.allaboutjazz.com (2/8/2000): San Francisco-area vocalist Barbara Adamson's approach to jazz is straightforward and straight-ahead. Her debut recording, Now Is the Time, is a relaxed, confident effort that demonstrates the (too-often overlooked) value of restraint and moderation in jazz singing. Relying on a clear, expressive voice and dramatic reading of lyrics, Adamson, backed by a fine trio (plus occasional sax, trumpet and flute), puts her personal stamp on a dozen nicely arranged standards. She's equally at ease on ballads and up-tempo numbers, and proves herself a capable scatter on a worldless romp through Miles Davis' "Boplicity." And while we've all heard the likes of "April in Paris," "Bye Bye Blackbird," "You Go to My Head," and "Softly in a Morning Sunrise," many times before, Adamson, makes this familiar journey a worthwhile one. A promising debut from a singer who knows that, more often than not, less is more. www.allaboutjazz.com Joel Roberts, allaboutjazz.com   www.jazzwest.com (2/2000): Jazz vocalist Barbara Adamson dives headlong into the Great American Songbook, and surfaces with a undeniable swing. Something of a latecomer to jazz (she didn't start singing until her 30s), Adamson proves herself a warm, seasoned and inventive vocalist through the 12 standards -- among them "Bye Bye Blackbird" and the Miles Davis classic, "Boplicity" -- that grace this outstanding debut disc .www.jazzwest.com   Making Your First Record (or How to Spend your 401k in Seven Easy Steps): When I finally felt ready to make my first record, I wasn't prepared for what a powerful process I was undertaking and what changes it would bring to my spirit, my life and my music. The two years since I began the project have been, in a word, amazing. I have learned a lot and made some costly mistakes. Hopefully sharing my experiences and thoughts will help other new artists. Making and releasing your first record can and should be a life-altering experience. It is your first permanent creative statement to the jazz community and to the world at large. The act of deciding to make a record is an act of taking yourself totally seriously as an artist. It should be the ultimate expression of you as a musician and as a human being. It is also one of the most important tools in building a career and being taken seriously as a recording artist. It is your calling card to the professional world of critics and bookers. It is a beginning. Now, get out your checkbook. Is the balance at least $20,000? Good. If not, you can follow the advice of esteemed San Francisco pianist Mark Levine: "How to pay for a new CD? I have two financial backers: Mr. Visa and Mr. Mastercard." Phase 1: Planning Before you even talk to a producer or engineer, start thinking about what you want to do with your project. Think about the entire record as a body of work. Study how other records are constructed and what makes them successful. Pay attention to the order of songs, the arrangements, the key signatures, the players, the length of songs and the times between them, the number of songs with solos, and so on. Develop your material long before you are in the studio. Try a lot of material and try it on gigs or in clinics. If you couldn't cut the tracks live and have them sound close to the way you want them, you will spend a lot more time completing your project. (The least expensive way to make a record is direct to 2-track, which essentially is a live studio recording and not recommended for a vocal record.) If you don't know much about the recording process, read books and visit a recording studio session. The more experience and knowledge you have about the recording process, the more successful you will be. If you've never been recorded, get some experience rehearsing on a mike with headphones. Four-track tape recorders are really inexpensive and are a fantastic tool for the planning and rehearsing stages. Record and listen carefully to your sound, pitch, phrasing and technique. If you go into the studio unprepared, you will spend a LOT of extra money. Picking a Producer Picking your producer is one of the most important decisions you will make. Producers have varying amounts of power over projects, depending on what your agreement is. He or she should be someone you can work with very closely, under stress. The recording studio can get quite intense. Your producer should have lots of experience, and ideally you should share a similar creative vision. Some producers also double as engineers, which is something to consider if funds are tight. When taking on projects for unknown artists, producers will generally want cold hard cash rather than "points," which is an agreement to share percentage points of the project's profit. Whether you pay your producer hourly or a flat fee for the project is negotiable. I felt very strongly about co-producing my project because I had substantial experience in the studio, I had specific ideas about how the record should sound, and I wanted total control over my vocals. Did I mention that I'm stubborn? Music Planning Most artists will involve the producer in the planning and arranging stages. Quite often producers are musicians themselves, with strong musical ideas. Especially on your first record, an experienced producer can be an invaluable guide to the recording process and the scene. It is essential to develop more material than you think you might need. There can be a number of reasons why a piece ultimately will not make it onto the final project. There are LOTS of ways to approach the music. Some records are lightly rehearsed and more spontaneous; others have very complex arrangements and instrumentation. Some artists record with the same musicians they gig with, others hire an entirely different and usually higher-profile group. Either way, you need to have charts for all the players and the engineer and be extremely well rehearsed. Be absolutely certain that you have the correct published lyrics for the songs you plan on recording. Because of my lack of a psychology degree and my word-count limit, I won't go into politics between players. Budget Planning Generally I have found that even the most carefully planned budgets usually run over by at least 25 percent. Plan to pay for a producer, arranger, session musicians (plus rehearsals), engineer, studio rental, tapes and CDRs, food and drinks during sessions, mixing, mastering, mechanical licenses, packaging (including a photo shoot), liner notes, manufacturing, and promotion. If you hire big-name artists you will also cover their travel and lodging. Expect everything in the studio to take longer than anticipated. And don't forget to save a substantial part of your budget for promotion. A common mistake is to run out of money before the record is released. Phase 2: Rehearsing How much to rehearse will depend on how complex your arrangements are and how well prepared you are for your players. If possible, get copies of your arrangements to the players in advance of the rehearsals. Run your rehearsals efficiently and document any changes that are made. Record EVERY rehearsal and study it. Ultimately you want to avoid rehearsing in the studio when your money is flying out the window. Phase 3: In the Studio Booking a studio can be done on an hourly basis, or you can "lock out" the room for a period of time, usually in 24 hour segments. The advantage of locking out a studio is huge if you expect to spend more than one day recording. Setting up for sessions takes a substantial amount of time, and you don't want to do it more than once. Consult with your producer and/or engineer about whether you want to record in an analog or digital format. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. I chose to record using ADAT, which is a digital tape format, primarily because analog tape is extremely expensive. I was very happy with the results. I was also able to save money by buying the tape before the sessions instead of from the studio. Generally speaking, for both physical and energetic reasons, players will not want to play more than 6 hours a day. Ideally the vibe in the studio should be relaxed but professional, with a pinch of party. OK, maybe a pound of party. Personally, I felt like it was my wedding, and I made sure there was plenty of Brie and Merlot. Our approach was to record each tune 3 or four times with vocals, horns, and bass, in separate isolation booths. Because we had the studio locked out, we had the luxury of listening to solos for player feedback. (Pass the Merlot.) We chose the best instrumental takes, and if I wasn't happy with the vocal, I would resing the rough spots later in an overdub session. One thing to consider is having horn players play solos as overdubs. Even in the best studios, the horn sound will bleed through to other tracks, so you may find yourself with a great instrumental take and one solo that needs some work. Though having all the music live is much more exciting and spontaneous, once you've committed to having the horns play simultaneously with the combo, making changes to horn solos in the mix will be problematic. I found that vocals bled through onto other tracks from players' headphones as well, so resinging a tune with entirely different phrasing at a later session may also be problematic. Phase 4: Evaluating the Session After the sessions it is essential to take a break and get some emotional and creative perspective. Build in a minimum of several weeks to evaluate the studio tracks before starting overdubs. I made the mistake of thinking I could do overdubs the day after the sessions. You will need to evaluate time, solos, intonation, feel, vocal performance and engineering. You should map out the changes you want to make before you are in the studio and the clock is running. Phase 5: Overdubs It's fun to keep in mind that many of the greatest jazz vocal records were recorded live with no overdubs. If you do need vocal overdubs, you will need to record them at the same studio as the main sessions unless you are resinging the vocal track completely. Changing mikes, mixing boards or amps at the overdub stage will be audible in the final recording. Most singers find that over hours and days in the studio their voices change tone and texture. Fatigue, wear and tear, stress, weather and Merlot can all be factors. (I have found most studios tend to be air-conditioned and cold). A good professional singer can easily match voice tone in overdubs, but if you aren't experienced, you may find it surprisingly difficult and time-consuming. As a jazz singer, I feel strongly about singing entire choruses when recording as opposed to punching in single words or phrases. I never phrase anything exactly the same and punching single words can be challenging and disorienting. I want the most natural-sounding performance I can get. It is helpful to have the song lyrics written out line by line with columns for comments or scoring of the various takes. And of course if you are really on, you can nail a tune in the studio on a single take. That will be the moment when the magic is happening. Phase 6: Mixing Mixing is an extremely challenging part of the process. If you can observe another mixing session before you are mixing your own record, it will be helpful. Studying other recordings for the balance between instruments and how they sound (EQ and effects) can help prepare your ears. Generally, mixing sessions run long (ten to twelve hours) to cut setup costs. Plan on approximately four hours per tune. To avoid ear fatigue during the session, keep the volume at a reasonable level and take a lot of sushi breaks. When you finish your mixing session, again, allow several weeks to evaluate the mixes. It is very helpful at this stage to listen on different speakers that you are familiar with. Smaller speakers (like your car stereo) at a low volume can really help you to hear the basic balance between instruments. (Please don't try this while driving.) Phase 7: Mastering Before you master your tunes, you will need to determine the order and have your engineer assemble the tunes with the correct times between them. The order of your tunes is very important. I found burning a series of CDRs with different song orders was extremely helpful. And last but not least, don't skimp on mastering. It is essential for a good-sounding manufactured product and extremely important for reproduction over radio frequencies. Hire a mastering engineer with a lot of experience. It may cost up to $1000, but you won't be sorry. So that's it. Now all you have to do is release it, promote it and tour! And don't forget Mr. Visa and Mr. Mastercard! -Barbara Adamson Barbara Adamson released her first recording "Now is the Time" to critical acclaim in Feburary, 2000, and has consulted with other vocal   CD Liner Notes: Career trajectories are as varied as the personalities of people committed to making music. There are countless examples of musicians who have peaked prematurely - who bolt onto the scene early in their lives, make an exciting statement, and then quickly drift off the map, never to be heard from again. Especially in the pop music world, one-hit wonders are prevalent. At the other end of the spectrum, there are those musicians who find their voices later in life, who for any number of reasons, opt to be patient in pursuing the muse. It's easy to disregard those artists, especially in the music industry where youth is gold. But as listeners of quality music know so well, such superficial assessments can well mean missing out on late-blooming talent. With this in mind, meet jazz vocalist Barbara Adamson, who makes her auspicious and appropriately titled - debut recording Now Is the Time, With time the operative theme of the CD, Adamson delivers a fine set of numbers from the Great American Songbook that not only offer insight into her musical journey but also display her knack for singing into the heart of a tune. "I didn't find my calling as a jazz vocalist until I was in my late thirties," says the San Francisco Bay Area-based Adamson, who opens the album with the upbeat swinger "Just in Time" and closes the set with Thelonious Monk's "Get It Straight," embellished by Sally Swisher's live-in-the-moment lyrics. "So choosing time as the theme of the collection seemed appropriate. I believe that, especially with jazz, you don't have to be young to aspire to your dream. In some ways, starting late has actually worked in my favor. I've preserved my instrument as well as my innocence about the music." As for why she decided to stamp her signature on standards, Adamson says that she wanted to pay tribute to the jazz tradition. That's not, however, how the project got off the ground. "I've experimented with a wide variety of music throughout my life," she explains, tracing her love of music from her early years singing standards like "Would You Like to Swing on a Star" with her father on piano to her guitar-playing college years learning acoustic folk-blues. "So when I was thinking about possible songs for this recording I considered tunes by such pop, r&b, and blues artists as Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder, Robert Johnson, and Robert Cray. My primary goal was to select great songs that were right for me. When the vote came in, I had chosen twelve standards." Adamson grew up in Michigan listening to the Beatles and the Motown sound and later attended Michigan State University, where she studied fine arts. Toward the end of her college years, her listening taste shifted from introspective singer-songwriter fare to jazz fusion (Weather Report, Airto, John McLaughlin, Pharoah Sanders, and Charles Lloyd, among others). Later, when writing her own songs and performing, she tuned into a wide variety of artists, including Peter Gabriel, Al Jarreau, Prince, Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox, and Youssou N'Dour. "So then I mysteriously make a record exclusively from the Great American Songbook. Go figure," Adamson says with a laugh. "But it wasn't until later, when I'd fallen totally in love with singing jazz, that I found my way into these tunes." In weighing which songs to record, she found that the standards suited her best. For some of the numbers she chose, she loved the lyrics. For others, she was attracted to the melodies. "Above all, I wanted the record to be beautiful," she says. "And I wanted to be inventive with some of the arrangements." On her self-produced Now Is the Time, Adamson embarks on the journey through these timeless and spell-casting tunes with a simpatico ensemble featuring drummer Steve Robertson (who also serves as co-producer), bassist Stan Poplin (who has worked with jazz and classical artists such as Dave Brubeck, James Moody, and Lou Harrison), and pianist Marshall Otwell (who was Carmen McRae's music director for eight years). Guest artists include flutist Paul Contos, tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin (Gary Burton, Mingus Big Band), and veteran trumpeter/flugelhornist Fred Berry (the musical director of the California-based Louie Bellson Orchestra). "This was a collaborative project," says Adamson. "I thought the best thing I could do was to get talented players in a room and let them be totally involved in the process. As a result, the musicians loved the sessions and the results. There were some magical moments in the studio for me. I especially remember 'I Thought About You.' The take that ended up on the record was the one we played immediately after someone suggested we turn the studio lights out. For me the vibe during that take was just magic." Now Is the Time opens with the Betty Comdon/Adolph Green/Jule Styne tune "Just in Time," which is a love song that Adamson renders as her I-found-jazz anthem. That's followed by the swinging "April in Paris," the lyrical gem "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise," and the wonderfully arranged, deeply pensive take on the Jimmy Van Heusen/Johnny Mercer beauty, "I Thought About You." "That track had a difficult birth," says Adamson, who did the arrangement. "I'm particularly proud of it because the way we play it creates the soundscape I'd envisioned." "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" is taken on an upbeat Latin ride; the slow and melancholic rendition of "It's Easy to Remember" is infused with the singer's personal sentiments; and "Yesterdays" swings with joy. One of the highlights of the collection is "Bye Bye Blackbird," which is given a distinctive interpretation by Adamson and Poplin. It opens with long-toned arco playing which creates an eerie feeling, then works into a swing. "Everyone thinks this is such a happy song," explains Adamson. "But there is a dark side to it that we explore." Even though the tune "Boplicity" has lyrics, Adamson chooses to scat her way through the cooker: "It's the only song on the album where I scat. I wanted to be more of an instrument in the arrangement. This tune was a challenge for me, but I'm fond of the result." Adamson scores with a quiet, sentimental cover of "You Go to My Head," returns to the straight-ahead swing zone for "I Wished on the Moon," and then ends the set with the Monk tune that she heard on Carmen McRae's 1988 Carmen Sings Monk album. "It's a tribute to Monk, whom I love, but I also love the lyric," says Adamson, who renders the number in a duo setting with Poplin. "It serves as a statement on why I made this album. Even when life throws you a curveball, you've got to pick yourself up and follow your dream." Though by record industry standards, Adamson's first offering has come late in her career, chalk up Now Is the Time as a stroke of good timing. In the '80s, Adamson recorded an r&b-jazz demo with her Bay Area vocal coach Raz Kennedy. Shortly after, she suffered a back injury that sidelined her from public vocal duties for many years. However, despite the forced interruption, Adamson didn't lose faith. In fact, she says, "Ironically, it was probably a good thing. I hadn't really found my creative voice yet. I'm glad I waited." While Adamson has studied with a number of vocalists over the years, including Madeline Eastman and Kurt Elling, she concedes that she's been "invisible in the professional realm." With Now Is the Time as her calling card, expect that to change soon. -Dan Ouellette Down Beat, San Francisco Chronicle   Dear Barbara, What a great CD! You all did such a great job! I just wanted to write you and tell you that. It's the first time I have EVER wanted listen to a jazz album over and over. If I ever get married I'm going to have "You Go To My Head" as the first dance. You sing it so beautifully and with so much feeling. One day I listened to it 10x in a row and it made me cry as does "I Thought About You." The CD has brought a lot to me as I'm sure it will to others. Beautiful job!. Thanks for having the courage and passion to share yourself. -D.M. (5/17/99)   Dear Barbara, I just heard your CD at Steve's house and I absolutely love it! Congratulations. Please send me a copy (check enclosed). I will be proud to announce that you rehearsed it at my house. I wish you great success with it. I will try to play it for as many people as I can. Your voice is lovely. The band is lovely! -G.R. (6/15/99)   Dear Barbara, Thanks so much for sending us your CD. WE LOVE IT! Really, it's so beautiful, and your voice is KILLER. The musicians are wonderful. But your voice, well, lying flat on your back all those years must have helped because you sound fantastic: smoky, sultry, and powerful. I'm going to buy another CD or two for presents. Even Jeff, the world's toughest music critic, is raving about it. So congratulations. You did it. You go, girl! Love, -E.H. (9/08/99)   Dear Barbara, What a fantastic CD! I've been playing it over and over and enjoy it more every time I hear it. I love your interpretation of "I Thought About You"; it's so unique and haunting. Also "It's Easy to Remember" -- just beautiful. My father, who's a former jazz drummer and big-time hobbyist, was visiting while your CD was playing and asked who "that singer" was! He really enjoyed it too. -A.K. (9/10/99)