Marty Elkins' debut recording on Nagel Heyer Records features Herb Pameroy-tpt, Houston Person-sax, Tardo Hammer-pn, Greg Skaff-gtr, Dennis Irwin-bass and Mark Taylor on drums. These are the cream of the crop as far as musicians go . . . having worked with such greats as Charlie Parker, Annie Ross, Johnny Griffin, Stanley Turrentine and Chet Baker to name a few.

She is a force to be reckoned with as she weaves her way in and out of up tempo songs, ballads, bossa novas, and swing tunes. Marty is equally comfortable with a swinging seven piece band as she is with an intimate trio.

Ron Della Ciesa, of WGBH/Boston says of her latest release, “Marty reminds me of some of the classic big band singers like Rosemary Clooney and Anita O’Day.” “She’s a staunch traditionalist who polishes songs, then wears ’em proudly,” states Jeff Levinson from Hot House Jazz Magazine.

This CD swings, and it’s not the kind of arm-twisting swing that so many singers and bands attempt to accomplish, but an innate, natural swing that makes you want to nod your head and tap your toe.
.. Stanley Crouch says in his review of her CD, “Being a true person and a true artist are two very different things. You have to be able to do something that no one can teach you beyond a certain point.” Marty has achieved this and more...

To sound like yourself is a very difficult thing. And what I mean by that is, not just to not sound like Billie Holiday or Sarah Vaughn, but to have something inherently special, so that people can say, “I know that singer!” And to add style, and timing and an aesthetically pleasing quality to a song ‘til you breathe life into it, is no mean accomplishment.

So if you’d like to hear a story . . . here it is!

Here are some quotes Marty received from some noted jazz journalists:

Marty Elkins’ debut CD, Fuse Blues, was voted one of the best CDs of 2001 by Downbeat Magazine - receiving a four star review that year. Zan Stewart wrote...”Her voice has a glowing roundness. She hits notes without strain and she swings....”

George Kantzler of the Newark Star Ledger said...”A voice, possessing a quiet, jazz-informed virtuosity. She is reminiscent of the cool singers of the fifties - June Christy and Chris Connor - but more nuanced in jazz phrasing like, oddly, the singing of trumpeter Chet Baker.”

Jerome Wilson of Cadence Magazine wrote...”Her voice is young and tuneful with an endearing quality of honesty that, as Stanley Crouch says in his liner notes, makes her sound like no other singer around....her voice is pure, simple and haunting. She has the instinctual rhythmic sense of a true jazz singer and know how to ride a melody...she is a very promising talent.”

Dick Neeld of Jersey Jazz Magazine wrote, ”Truly one of a kind. She sounds like no other singer, past or present...a genuine jazz singer who can get a tight grip on your attention, singing with deep conviction....” Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.