Carole Martin and Phil Aaron©Andrea Canter

Once a nightly fixture on the area club circuit, Carole Martin all but disappeared from the Twin Cities jazz scene for a few decades. But now with two acclaimed recordings released in the past three years (Pieces of Dreams, Songs From My Heart), Carole has returned to more or less regular performing with at least a few gigs per year at the Artists Quarter. This weekend, October 10-11, Carole will entice, seduce, and perhaps surprise listeners expecting the usual playlist of standards and torch songs, for there is nothing “standard” about the way this chanteuse wraps herself around a lyric and explores a melody from a deep well of passion and experience. Carole will be in the very fine company of pianist Phil Aaron and drummer/son-in-law/AQ owner Kenny Horst. If you caught Carole’s tunes at the September 28th tribute to Leigh Kamman, you are probably still checking your pulse following her rendition of “Blame It On My Youth.”  

Carole Martin©Andrea Canter

When regular club worked petered out in the 80s, she turned to selling mens’ sportswear. She made a brief return to music in the early 90s, performing on the stages of earlier incarnations of the Artists Quarter and Dakota, but quit a few years later following the death of son Dale. But gradually—and with the memory of Dale’s encouragement ("You've got to sing, Mom”), Carole resumed public appearances, special engagements and finally a return to the recording studio for her first release in 35 years. Pieces of Dreams was an immediate success, described by Jon Bream (Star Tribune) as “the finest jazz-vocal CD from the Twin Cities in many a moon.” [click here for a Jazz Police review]

Carole Martin©Andrea Canter

Now with six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, Carole Martin sings not because she needs to support her family but because it brings her joy. And the years off stage seem to have only deepened her talent. In a recent interview for the Star Tribune, she noted, “I really found later in life, and maybe it's because of everything I've lived through, that I became the singer that I really wanted to become, and that's one reason I started recording again."  

This is a not-to-be-missed weekend at the AQ, with the amber voice of Carole Martin filling the autumn air with enough warmth to last through a Minnesota winter. 
 

The Artists Quarter is located in the lower level of the Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul (at St. Peter and 7th Place); call (651) 292-1359; www.artistsquarter.com. Pieces of Dreams and Songs From My Heart are available from the AQ or local and online record outlets. Quotes from the Star Tribune (November 2005).