Kate McGarry Bio

Tuesday, April 10th, 2007

Growing up in a large Irish Catholic family in Hyannis, Massachusetts, Kate and her nine siblings were surrounded by diverse musical influences—Celtic folk songs, The Mills Brothers, the Beatles, 70s funk and pop. From singing in family talent shows to hearing her first recordings of Bill Evans, Ella Fitzgerald and later Keith Jarrett, Kate’s ear for song opened to a wide universe of music. After studying African American music and avant garde jazz with Dr. Horace Boyer and Archie Shepp at the University of Massachusetts, she landed in Los Angeles, singing at Catalina’s and the Jazz Bakery before ultimately relocating to New York.

Kate’s career kicked into high gear in 2003 when she became the first (and still only) vocalist signed to Palmetto records. Her acclaimed Show Me (2003) was followed by Mercy Streets (2005), dubbed “one of the most important vocal albums of the year” (All About Jazz). Her 2007 release (The Target) went to #1 on the Nationwide Jazz Charts, was featured on NPR's All Things Considered and garnered International acclaim.

Now regarded as one of the most diverse talents in modern jazz, Kate has performed or recorded with such artists as Fred Hersch, Kurt Elling, Hank Jones, Clark Terry, Victor Lewis, Maria Schneider, Jason Robert Brown, and Luciana Souza; collaborated with Hersch and Elling on the Leaves of Grass project; recently completed writing and recording 63 childrens songs with Keith Ganz for the Heinle Picture Dictionary; and will be heard on an upcoming Sunnyside release with the vocal group MOSS (with Peter Eldridge, Theo Bleckmann Lauren Kinhan, and Luciana Souza).

Wherever Kate McGarry goes next, the words of Jazz Times are sure to follow:

“A bold, brave adventurer, McGarry has, by opting for the musical road less traveled, placed herself firmly on the road to ever-widening critical and popular success.”