SARA MESSENGER

Thought-provoking, carefully-crafted lyrics grafted to a jazz/world/blues/ folk/rock/funk blend. Just when you've got her pegged as a lyrical singer-songwriter, after hearing her articulate a topical song on acoustic guitar, she morphs from bluester to funkmeister to jazzer and back to rock diva, and does each one like she was born to it.
Teaching herself the piano at age 5 and the guitar at 9, Messenger put her first band together at 12 and by 13 began penning songs on topics that embrace both the state of the heart and the state of the world. Her songs are a rare blend of the type of compositional mastery usually only found in jazz with lyrics as clever as they are deep, often tackling controversial topics with unusual artistry.
Her fans include JACKSON BROWNE, who has more than once come backstage after her shows to say how deeply he was moved, and who concurred with FLORA PURIM's description of Sara as having "a beautiful, beautiful voice." LAURA NYRO used the same adjective to compliment Sara after hearing her music, adding "and I really identify with your lyrics." Epic recording artist KEB'MO simply calls her "genius."
To her credit is the maverick album, “Tattoos,” released on the independent Terrapin Records and being among the few independent releases ever to make it to rotation on commercial stations nationwide, including rock and jazz heavies KKGO (Los Angeles), WRVR (New York), WBEE (Chicago) and KFML (Denver), as well as over 100 college and community-sponsored stations. Amazingly, “Tattoos,” sold nearly 10,000 copies with only low-budget promotion, grass-roots distribution and minimal touring. Even more amazing, different cuts on “Tattoos” made it to heavy rotation on major stations in major cities in two different markets ~ rock and jazz.
While living in Los Angeles, Sara’s writing only benefitted from collaboration with some of the city’s finest songsmiths. One such fruitful venture was that with ALFRED JOHNSON, whose tunes “Company,” “Youngblood,” and “Weasel & the White Boy’s Cool” can be heard on RICKIE LEE JONES’ platinum debut lp.
Sara’s considerable instrumental skills, often taking a back seat to her voice and writing, have nonetheless not escaped notice. In 1984 those flying fingers prompted Brian O’Neal to ask her to join THE BUSBOYS. Sara’s keyboards also appear on Narada Records 1990 release, “The Wilderness Collection.”
Also a published writer and performer on the national spoken word scene, Sara is a 1993 winner of Chicago’s highly-competitive Green Mill Poetry Slam, and was featured in 1998 at the 24th anniversary of the prestigious Ascension Series at Vertigo Books in Washington, DC, where previous features include JUNE JORDON, ISHMAEL REED, STANLEY CROUCH, ALICE WALKER, SONIA SANCHEZ and AMIRI BARAKA. She fell in love with hip hop in the 90's and sometimes collaborates with up & coming producer/MC FREEMAN HUXLEY.
She has often been called a musician’s composer ~ which explains the list of players who’ve worked with her ~ cats who’ve played with MILES (Munyungo Jackson), STING, HERBIE HANCOCK, MAXWELL, BRIAN McKNIGHT (Angel Figueroa), BABYFACE, MICHAEL JACKSON, STANLEY CLARKE, ANITA BAKER, The ISLEY BROTHERS (Rayford Griffin), JAMES BROWN, LENNY KRAVITZ, BOZ SCAGGS (Michael Hunter) JEFFREY OSBORNE, K-CI & JOJO, PATRICE RUSHEN, GLADYS KNIGHT (Darryl Woolfolk), guitar meisters GRANT GEISSMAN, MARC ANTOINE, W.G. SNUFFY WALDEN, and cats like Doane Perry and Andrew Woolfolk, whose credits and memberships in bands like JETHRO TULL and EARTH, WIND & FIRE are legendary.
Even so, the strength of Sara's solo performance is such that people often request to hear her in this unembellished setting, where there is nothing to stand in the way of hearing every profound word her gorgeous voice delivers and every syncopated counterpoint her fingers ennunciate on the keys and strings.