[Dixielandjazz] Marketing & Maria Muldaur

[Steve barbone]

A while back on the DJML there was some discussion of Maria Muldaur as a
headliner at Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. She is one among a hundred or so
performers who are appearing at the Berk's Jazz Festival (Smooth Jazz &
Blues) in Reading this March . Here is what the most recent festival
newsletter had to say about her.

Perhaps a good lesson in how to promote a performer to an audience who does
not know too much about her? Especially a headliner.

A little marketing goes a long way.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


Best-known for her seductive 1970s pop staple "Midnight at the Oasis,"
Muldaur has since become an acclaimed interpreter of just about every
stripe of American roots music: blues, early jazz, gospel, folk, country,
R&B, etc.

While these influences were certainly present on her more pop-oriented
1970s recordings (as befitting her Greenwich Village folkie past), Muldaur
truly came into her own as a true roots-music stylist during the 1990s,
when she developed a particular fascination with the myriad sounds of
Louisiana. On the string of well-received albums that followed, Muldaur
tied her eclecticism together with the romantic sensuality that had
underpinned much of her best work ever since the beginning of her career.
And she's still going strong, recently being nominated for a W.C. Handy
Blues Award for Traditional Blues-Female Artist of the Year. Her 2003 CD, A
Woman Alone With The Blues ... Remembering Peggy Lee, showcased Maria's
jazz talents as well as her sensual tones and letter-perfect phrasing were
as much Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan as Peggy Lee. Muldaur pulled off
the remarkable feat of exuding a sexy, icy cool vibe while turning up the
heat.

Her latest CD, released last fall, is Love Wants To Dance. The album
features an ever sharper, sultrier, saltier Maria as she exquisitely
explores the elusive space between jazz and blues.