Here’s a clip of Sarah and Laura Chavez at the 2007 National Women in Blues Festival, performing Sarah’s new song "Tell, tell me."
At Sarah’s last Georgetown Saloon gig, an audience member pronounced her voice "a cross between Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin." After opening for headliner E.G. Kight at North Carolina’s National Women in Blues Festival this fall, and being featured on the Women in Blues compilation CD released by JoMar records, Sarah was approached by Japan’s BSMF records, and just released her album in the Asian market. Sarah’s smoky, silky voice, and unique brand of "storytelling" blues and jazz are getting people hooked all over the world, from Quebecois radio shows to Australian podcasts and everywhere in between.
It’s no small wonder her music has such international appeal. When Sarah was a girl, she used to sit on her daddy’s lap while he banged out old blues tunes on the piano, and in the other room, her momma would be playing eerie French folk songs or winding Celtic reels on the guitar. The music that grew in Sarah from these strange old seeds sprouted wild and new, blues-driven but with a harmonic twist.
Sarah’s influences ride the river, from Robert Johnson, Freddie King and Koko Taylor, on through Jimi Hendrix and Bonnie Raitt, to Bjork, Daniel Lanois and Pierre Bensusan. After college, she added some indie-rock to her mix, lending her vocals to bands like Brother Love, Hapikrak, and Toke Squealy, but she always returned to the blues. After stints in the house band at the legendary C-Note Blues jam and Hank’s Saloon and Lillie’s blues nights, Sarah toured, stopping back for regular gigs at Lower East Side hotspots Mannahatta and the Anyway Cafe.
Recently Sarah’s been playing with her Super Blue Band, a flexible collection of scalding hot players, including Mazz Swift (Jay-Z, DJ Logic), Darian Cunning (Meshell Ndegeocello, Kristin Hoffman), and her brother Brendan. In the past year, they’ve hit Mamapalooza, the Lilly Awards, and the National Women in Blues Festival, among others.
Sarah is currently in the studio working on a followup to her album Superbleu.
Here she is on iTunes. How convenient for you.
Like ringtones? Buy her ringtone. Yes, really.
Cote D’Azur
