Artist description Singer, keyboardist and composer Emily Bezar has been compared to both Kate Bush and Tori Amos, but her song-writing veers away from pop convention so dramatically that it's hard to classify her. She's a classically trained musician (Oberlin Conservatory, Stanford University) who decided to forgo a career in opera to pursue her own musical vision, but this is far from the standard 'diva-murdering-pop-tunes' fare. Her songs fuse rock, jazz, and electronic music into evocative textures, and her piano playing is abstract and edgy, setting off broad melodies.

Music Style Progressive Art Rock

Musical Influences Joni Mitchell, Keith Jarrett, Pink Floyd, Weather Report, Stephen Sondheim, Richard Strauss, Ravel, Kurt Weill, Karlheinz Stockhausen

Similar Artists Kate Bush, Tori Amos

Artist History Emily has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1991 and performs regularly in both classical and club venues. From 1991 to 1993, Emily was a member of the San Francisco band, The Potato Eaters. Her first solo album, Grandmother's Tea Leaves, was named 'one of the two most impressive debuts of 1994' by Stereophile Magazine, and Keyboard Magazine calls her a 'rare and valuable' talent. Her second album, Moon in Grenadine, features a trio of some of San Francisco's best young electric jazz players, (Morris Acevedo on guitar, Andrew Higgins on bass and Steve Rossi on drums) and reveals the depth of her musical background and influences. It was named one of Stereophile's 'Records to Die For' in 1997.

Group Members Emily Bezar: vocals, piano, and keyboards. Morris Acevedo: guitars. Andrew Higgins: bass. Steve Rossi: drums.

Albums Grandmother's Tea Leaves (1993), Moon in Grenadine (1996), Four Walls Bending (1999)

Press Reviews STEREOPHILE(05/94): Those of you up to musical challenges a few giant steps past Tori Amos and Kate Bush, try this. KEYBOARD (07/94): There are artists of talent, and artists of integrity: Those, like Bezar, who possess both qualities are a rare and valuable commodity. EAST BAY EXPRESS (11/96): She doesn't believe in hooks; catchy melodic lines are never repeated. But Bezar offers a rarer reward: an album that puts the listener into a luxurious world of pure sonic beauty.

Location Berkeley, CA - USA

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