Kira Small - ProfilesArchive

About Me

"Kira Small is the real deal! A silky, evocative instrument, perfectly controlled by a sensitive soulful woman," says NYC songwriter/producer Henry Gaffney. Real songs and deep grooves - from smooth and sultry to down and dirty. A powerful and unforgettable voice.
Kira Small sings her ass off and writes great songs. Equally captivating on her own at the piano or slinking around the stage in front of a smoking band, she will surely cure what ails you.
How does this white chick from Wisconsin sound like anything but a white chick from Wisconsin? Who knows, who cares...its working. Maybe it was the gospel, jazz and R&B she discovered in high school. Maybe it was Berklee College of Music's many and varied influences. Maybe it was her years of soaking up soulfulness in Austin, TX. Maybe it was the position of the moon and stars at the precise moment of her birth. Whatever it was, this is an old soul speaking through a vibrant and powerful young voice.
Kira has followed her muse to many musical and geographical destinations. She sang and danced in production shows in San Antonio, witnessed Mardi Gras from behind the piano at Pat OBriens, became a fixture in the Austin music scene, returned to Boston as a member of Berklee's voice faculty in 1999, and finally (for now) landed in Nashville in 2001 where she has worked with Wynonna Judd, Martina McBride, Gretchen Wilson, Radney Foster, the Jordanaires, Jimmy Hall, Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns, and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, among others. While Nashville is most known for country music, there is a deep vein of southern soul and R&B running through it that Kira has tapped into, and it has become her lifeblood.
Her new CD, "Love In A Dangerous World", was produced by Bruce Dees (James Brown, Ronnie Milsap) and features R&B veterans with resumes too long to list here. Grammy award winning songwriter Mike Reid took one listen and exclaimed, "Kira you sound like a neat glass of single malt in a world of Michelob Ultra."
Bottoms up, y'all!

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 4/26/2005
Band Website: kirasmall.com
Influences: Ay yi yi...Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Aretha, Al Jarreau, Sam Cooke, Bonnie Raitt, Ella, Sarah V, Billie Holiday, Wynonna, Louis Armstrong, Etta James, Motown, Memphis, Muscle Shoals, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Stevie Wonder, Delbert McClinton, Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Shawn Colvin, Jill Scott, Prince, Merle Haggard, Billy Joel, Burt Bacharach, Mellencamp, Janis Joplin, Lyle Lovett, I could go on but it'd just get weirder...my dad's eclectic record collection, Milwaukee High School of the Arts, Austin, TX.
Sounds Like: Buttah. Or.....

"A neat glass of single malt in a world of Michelob Ultra" - says Mike Reid
Record Label: Offrow Records
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

say my name, damnit!

Get you one...See more here:www.kirasmall.com
Posted by Kira Small on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:57:00 PST

Upcoming Midwest shows, lotsa pretty pictures

Headed back up to where I grew up to do some shows and sneak in a few days with adorable rockstar boyfriend while I'm at it. I'll steal him away between Vai shows and then head off to do my own shows....
Posted by Kira Small on Mon, 17 Sep 2007 07:58:00 PST

Luciano

I just read that Luciano Pavarotti died. My heart aches. A lifetime ago, when Bill and I were starving newlyweds, Pavarotti came to Austin. We were broke as smoke but knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime ...
Posted by Kira Small on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:27:00 PST

Announcing my "Superbad CD Release Show Off" 5/22/07

Y'all - if you only make it to one gig of mine - THIS IS THE ONE!!!Mark your calendars NOW. Buy plane tickets if you have to - it'sgonna be that good. And it's frickin' free!! What a world! What alife...
Posted by Kira Small on Wed, 02 May 2007 05:04:00 PST

"You Are So Nashville If" (CMA Awards Show Report)

You are so Nashville if you sing on the CMA Awards and never meet the artist you've sung with. The local weekly paper here has an annual contest to finish the above sentence. (One of my favorites was ...
Posted by Kira Small on Sat, 09 Dec 2006 09:15:00 PST

Buy me on DVD for a good cause

WesFest DVD Available Now - Net Proceeds Benefit Wes Wehmiller Scholarship Wes Wehmiller was a friend I went to Berklee College of Music with. He was a brilliant bassist and beautiful human. Among ma...
Posted by Kira Small on Fri, 03 Nov 2006 08:44:00 PST

CMA Awards!

This is why I live in Nashville - cuz I get calls for stuff like this: I'll be singing backups with Alan Jackson along with some other singers on the CMA Awards on Monday 11/6. Suh-weeeet!! In the las...
Posted by Kira Small on Thu, 26 Oct 2006 11:35:00 PST

Buy my record, please

Hola! I write to you from a coffee shop in New Berlin, WI to let you know my new CD is up on CD Baby so GO BUY IT NOW! Please. Thank you. Here's the link:http://cdbaby.com/cd/kira2Love you, mean it!...
Posted by Kira Small on Tue, 24 Oct 2006 11:25:00 PST

Be my Sugar Man...via download

Ask and ye shall receive. Put me on you'n's pages, now....
Posted by Kira Small on Thu, 05 Oct 2006 10:15:00 PST

new tunes, new CD, new blog

Hi out there...Guess it's about time I said something here. I put 2 new songs up today and replaced the 2 that were up there with mastered versions. Cuz my record's done!! I been birthing this baby fo...
Posted by Kira Small on Wed, 27 Sep 2006 12:19:00 PST