Jennifer Kimball
Jennifer Kimball | |
---|---|
Genres | Folk rock |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1980s–present |
Labels | MCA, Elektra, Green Linnet, Epoisse, Philips, Imaginary Road |
Website | www |
Jennifer Kimball is a singer and songwriter who formed the folk duo The Story with Jonatha Brooke.[1][2]
Career
Jennifer Kimball and Amherst College friend Jonatha Brooke began playing music together in the 1980s. They performed regularly during their college years.[3] Their folk songs were marked by "witty wordplay and sumptuous pop harmonies," according to one music critic.[4] Critics noted a resemblance between their music and earlier artists such as Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon in terms of excellent musicianship, singing, and writing.[5][6] Kimball graduated from Amherst in 1986.[7]
They called themselves The Story. One critic wrote "Jennifer Kimball played the Art Garfunkel role in The Story" and contributed "high ethereal harmonies."[8] In 1989, the duo played the coffeehouse folk circuit and radio which exemplified the "folk-rock singer-songwriter aesthetic," according to one account.[3] Kimball and Brooke "burst to fame" with this combination.[9] They created a demo called Over Oceans and were promptly signed to the independent label Green Linnet which, in 1991, issued the duo's debut full-length album, Grace in Gravity. Later Elektra Records signed The Story and reissued their debut.
Their second album, The Angel in the House, was released in 1993.[10] One critic raved about the "exquisite arrangements and tricky, pitch-perfect harmonies by Ms. Brooke and her vocal partner, Jennifer Kimball," and added they "are the last word in elegant folk-pop refinement."[10] The album featured "moody jazz and Brazilian-flavored arrangements" and "the duo's harmonies, which usually begin in a comfortably folkish vein, frequently stray into precise chromatic dissonance" and had a "sophisticated international flavor."[10] Their song "Over Oceans" was used as a background for dance by choreographer Kristen Caputo.[11] The songs contemplate a woman's conflicting desires for love and achievement and the need to shake off the romantic myth of a male rescuer.[6]
Another critic discussed the contrast between the patter between songs and the songs themselves, noting the duo's "levity" between heavy songs about "God, church, death, female oppression, self-suppression, mothers and daughters."[12] Their songs adroitly avoided "heavy-handedness" with a certain "winning buoyancy of tune and/or spirit" with "sophisticated harmonic changes whose intriguing hooks come at you cockeyed and sideways more often than they swoop down from the heavens."[12] The duo were compared with artists such as Suzanne Vega and Indigo Girls.[13] Another reviewer gave the duo mixed reviews: "intriguingly distorted harmonies and interesting turns of phrase" but some "attempts at cleverness overreached" and there was "a painfully obvious unrecorded song about dieting and a silly, albeit self-consciously so, stab at voguing a la Madonna."[13] Another wrote their "music can alternate between heart-rending poetry and infectious flights of fancy."[14]
Solo albums
Kimball and Brooke dissolved their musical partnership in 1994, while Kimball performed her songs in a variety of venues and continued to write music.
In 1998, Kimball released the album Veering from the Wave. A Washington Post critic applauded the singing as "handsome" and the songwriting as excellent.[4] In 1999, Kimball opened for folk artists such as Tom Rush.[15] In 2000, she was a featured performer at the Eli Whitney Folk Festival in New Haven.[16] Her song "Meet Me in the Twilight" received radio airplay, including on San Francisco station KPFA.[17] She's recorded with other artists including Wayfaring Strangers, Session Americana and Tony Trischka.[9][18] Kimball's music has been described as "quirky and oh-so-urban suburban" and a "sultry roots singer" with the "aching breath of a mezzo."[9]
Kimball released her CD Oh Hear Us in 2006.[19] One critic wrote "her songs still ripple with eccentric surprise, sudden twists, and "A-ha!" moments."[9]
In 2007 she worked part-time as a
Since 2009, Kimball has performed with Wintery Songs in Eleventy Part Harmony, a loose collective of
Personal
At the beginning of her career, Kimball also worked as a children's book designer for
Discography
Album | Year | Label | Notes | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Grace in Gravity | 1991 | part of The Story | [3] | |
Angel in the House | 1993 | Elektra | part of The Story | [3] |
Veering from the Wave | 1998 | Philips; Imaginary Road | solo debut album | [17] |
Oh Hear Us | 2006 | Epoisse Records | ||
Avocet | 2017 | Epoisse Records |
References
- ^ a b c Lozaw, Tristram (8 November 2007). "Jennifer Kimball - The Boston Globe". archive.boston.com. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Jennifer Kimball". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d Derk Richardson (March 29, 2001). "A Label Of Her Own -- Jonatha Brooke takes back her music with Steady Pull". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ a b Himes, Geoffrey (November 7, 1997). "Jonatha Brooke: "10 Cent Wings" Refuge/MCA". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ Tracy Collins (January 2, 2000). "On the Arts: They are chicks, hear them roar as a musical influence". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ a b STEPHEN HOLDEN (September 24, 1993). "Critic's Notebook; Adult Sounds From (Way) Off the Charts". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ "Who has attended Amherst College?". Amherst College website. 2009-11-11. Archived from the original on 2009-06-20. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
Musicians Jonatha Brooke Mallet 1985 and Jennifer Kimball 1986, both formerly of the Sabrinas and The Story.
- ^ Geoffrey Himes (September 4, 1998). "JENNIFER KIMBALL: "Veering From the Wave"; Imaginary Road". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ a b c d Alarik, Scott (May 4, 2006). "Jennifer Kimball". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ a b c STEPHEN HOLDEN (July 25, 1993). "RECORDINGS VIEW; Arrangements And Harmonies For a Folk Cuisine". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ JACK ANDERSON (June 18, 1992). "Review/Dance; An Old Friendship Fraying". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ a b Willman, Chris (October 26, 1993). "POP MUSIC REVIEWS - Vocal Precision From the Story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ a b JEAN ROSENBLUTH (June 27, 1992). "Pop Reviews - Uneven Set by Pair of Boston Singers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ Robert Sherman (March 21, 1993). "MUSIC; Manhattan Quartet in Season Finale". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ Robert Sherman (January 10, 1999). "MUSIC; Trying Out for Conductor". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ MELINDA TUHUS (September 10, 2000). "MUSIC; Where 60's Values Still Hold Sway". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ a b Derk Richardson (1 March 2001). "The Hear and Now: KPFA Playlist". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ Scott Alarik (2003-11-14). "Wayfaring Strangers find common ground". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ "Riverwide music - The Boston Globe". www.boston.com. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
- ^ "Critic's Picks: Pop Music - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
- ^ "Who We Are and What We Do". Wintery Songs in Eleventy Part Harmony. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ "Critics' picks - music -- FOLK, WORLD & COUNTRY -- JENNIFER KIMBALL, ROSE POLENZANI, ROSE COUSINS". The Boston Globe. December 4, 2008. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ "Jennifer Kimball : Newsletters : tomorrow at Johnny Ds and other news". Jennifer Kimball. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
- ^ Jonathan Perry (January 9, 2009). "His roots are deep in social issues". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ Steve Morse (September 12, 1999). "At theaters and arenas, the season is busier than ever for pop". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-09-19.