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Artist description
Soul, Jazz, and Trip-Hop influenced singer-songwriter. |
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Music Style
acid jazz/jazz |
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Musical Influences
Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, The Pharcyde, Sade, Sting |
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Similar Artists
Cassandra Wilson, Morcheeba, Sade |
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Artist History
While a Senior at Berkeley High School, Gretchen Lieberum entered the Reno International Jazz Festival and Competition, and won first place in the Jazz Vocal Solo category. She began writing songs while singing with Supersauce, a funk band she started in college with bassist Mike Cruz, playing venues such as the Filmore in San Francisco and the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. Several years later, she started jamming and writing songs with piano man Jacob Aginsky, eventually creating the music that became Gretchen's debut solo CD, Three A.M. Three A.M., completed in March of 1999, was produced by Greg Poree, who has worked as a musician and as a producer with artists such as Cassandra Wilson, Sting, and Stevie Wonder. |
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Group Members
Gretchen Lieberum-vocals, Jacob Aginsky-keyboards, Greg Poree-guitar, Dominic Genova-acoustic bass, Richard Duke-acoustic bass, Mitchito Sanchez-percussion, Tim Carter-Drums |
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Albums
Three A.M. |
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Press Reviews
"Gretchen Lieberum has a voice that is intimate, sultry, and enunciated in such a way that it feels like drops of honey. At times she sounds like a more traditional torch singer in the style of Billie Holiday, then she comes out of nowhere with more aggressive attitude that makes for a nice texture. Her lyrics have a talent for grabbing your attention and keeping it. This happened most profoundly with 'Jumped the Gun', a bittersweet resigned ballad about living with your decisions that made me truly feel like I was standing in the park that Gretchen describes. This record has some fun and funky grooves on it, such as 'Bottle Rocket', which is based on a great acoustic bass line, or 'Green Apple', which has a more eclectic, unpredictable arrangement. Another notable is the cover of Sting's 'The Bed's Too Big Without You', done with a sultry groove and hooky harmony. Another great texture is the title track, which has looped percussion and a great sparse beginning that builds up through the song. Three A.M. is a well-produced and well-mixed record, good to relax or move to, depending on your mood and the track you choose. The musicianship is superb; the basic mainstays are the aforementioned acoustic bass -which is utterly delectable all the way through- and the percussion, which succeeds in staying interesting yet most tasteful. Solid piano is supplied by songwriting partner Jacob Aginsky. Definitely a valuable addition to any music lover's collection!? -Estrogen Music 8/25/2000 "If you find the Brand New Heavies sound too retro and Portishead too frigid, check out Gretchen Lieberum. Her sultry '70s Soul-Jazz voice fronts subdued, moody jazz that forgoes both the frost and frivolity in favor of straight-ahead emotion. Lieberum comes across like Carmel fronting Morcheeba. Sade's continued silence has left a vacuum that this LA based singer could fill. ?Listen.com |
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Additional Info
Gretchen recently starred in her first music video for the single "These Things". You can check out the video at www.52media.com. Gretchen's version of the Jazz standard "Angel Eyes" recently won "Song of the Week" on Women Of MP3. "Bottle Rocket" and "The Bed's Too Big Without You" were recently featured on an episode of the MTV show "UNDRESSED". |
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Location
Los Angeles, California - USA |
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