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Queen Esther

Black Americana at its finest. queen-esther.com

About Me

Queen Esther stepped out of her Low Country childhood and took her classically trained four octave range from a performing arts high school in Atlanta, GA to Austin, TX quickly becoming a local/regional favorite as a singer and performer/entertainer on the theater scene and as a member of RoTel and the Hot Tomatoes. After relocating to NYC, her work as a vocalist, lyricist/writer, songwriter and actor/solo performer led to creative collaborations in neo-vaudeville, alternative theater, various alt-rock configurations, (neo) swing bands, trip hop DJs, spoken word performances, jazz combos, jam bands, various blues configurations, original Off Broadway plays and musicals, experimental music/art noise and performance art.


Queen Esther's distinct sound -- Black Americana -- began to emerge through creative collaborations with guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Elliot Sharp (their critically acclaimed effort "Mighty"/Homestead Records is available as a German import) and in live performance with James "Blood" Ulmer (her featured vocals on the Vernon Reid-produced "No Escape From The Blues" garnered national/international critical praise while earning a spot in Rolling Stone's pick of The Best 50 CDs of 2003). Most recently, her songs and vocals are featured on Blues & Grass: The 52nd St. Blues Project (Chesky). Produced by Mr. Ulmer, this acoustic live CD assembles downtown NYC luminaries Charles Burnham, Aubrey Dayle and Mark Petersen to create a black folk sound.


Queen Esther also sang regularly with composer/pianist JC Hopkins Biggish Band , a thirteen piece line-up of celebrated New York City musicians (Patience Higgins, James Zollar, Vincent Chancey) and guest vocalists/co-songwriters (Madelene Peroux, Norah Jones, Syd Straw) that features original swing tunes and hard bop. Their CD, Underneath A Brooklyn Moon, is available everywhere on Tigerlily Records. (For more info: www.jchopkins.com)


After getting a publishing deal from Bug Music , Queen Esther self-released her Black Americana debut Talkin' Fishbowl Blues -- now available at iTunes , CD Baby and Waterloo Records in Austin, Texas.


Raised in the Deep South, nurtured on the stages/performance spaces of NYC, Queen Esther is poised to bring a new sound to the world.For more info: www.queen-esther.com

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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 9/27/2005
Band Website: queen-esther.com
Band Members: The usual suspects: jack sprat, marvin sewell, guitars; bob hoffnar, pedal steel; booker king, bass. The revolving cast of characters: fred alias (drums), melvin gibbs (bass), ralph white (guitar) and ron sunshine (harmonica).
Influences: Hubert Sumlin/Howlin' Wolf, Lucinda Williams, Donny Hathaway, Andre Crouch and Bob Wills.
Sounds Like: "Not really a blues album, yet aptly tagged as 'Black Americana,’ Manhattan-via-Austin super-side-woman Queen Esther melds roots, pop and R & B in a way Lucinda Williams, Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow never could on their best days." -- Amplifier"...a timelessly beautiful voice accompanied by a stunningly gorgeous woman stuck in a world of soulfully seductive sound." -- GetUnderground.com"If Queen Esther were an athlete, she’d be called a “throwback” and rightly so. She sings with the kind of soul you don’t hear much anymore. And she doesn’t need some record executive to help her manufacture it.” -- rocknworld.com“(Queen Esther’s) first full-length album shows that her own preferences run toward traditions that have somewhat lacked for an African-American presence of late. She calls her music “Black Americana”and makes it stick with a clutch of tastefully tuneful tracks that dabble in bluesy soul, pop, funk and country. Her cover of “Stand By Your Man” strips the song down to a weary woman’s blues without losing it’s twang. Highlights include “Shine” a bit of catchy swaggering rock, the aching lap-steel driven “Taster's Choice” and the a capella “Help Me.” The album is an implicit statement of it's own – that however you slice up American roots music, those roots come in several shades.” — No Depression
Record Label: EL Recordings (self-released)
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Check out this event: Queen Esther @ The UpSouth Festival

Hosted By: Queen Esther When: Friday Sep 21, 2007 at 7:00 PMWhere: The Gatehouse/Harlem Stage135th St. and Convent Ave.New York, NY 10031United StatesDescription:Queen Esther Click Here To View Event...
Posted by Queen Esther on Fri, 21 Sep 2007 09:05:00 PST

I'm a finalist in the Jazzmobile Vocal Competition!

yep. it's true.  i'm one of 12 people in the jazzmobile vocal competition that's going to compete for the title of grand prize winner -- and $1,000. the games begin on september 7th and...
Posted by Queen Esther on Tue, 22 Aug 2006 05:32:00 PST

...but i've already got two blogs...

yeah, it's true. i've got a music blog called This Rock 'n Roll Blackgrrl's High Life: A Cautionary Tale. i'm documenting what happens to me in the music world. the other one, Kudzu, Mon Amour...
Posted by Queen Esther on Sat, 31 Dec 2005 08:56:00 PST