Barbara Higbie
Encyclopedia
Barbara Higbie is a Grammy nominated, Bammy award winning pianist, composer, violinist, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has played on over 65 CD's including 3 tunes on the recent Carlos Santana
CD. A longtime Windham Hill recording artist, she has also recorded for Olivia/Second Wave records and Slow Baby Records. She resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. folk
, jazz
, pop, and fusion
singer-songwriter
, noted for her highly melodic, jazz/folk piano performances. She has toured nationally and internationally] since the early 1980s. An early recording artist on the Windham Hill record label, she formed and played with the group Montreux
along with Darol Anger
, Mike Marshall
, Todd Phillips, and Michael Manring
. She recorded a critically acclaimed album with singer teresa Trull in 1983 and again in 1998. Since 1990, Barbara Higbie has released a number of solo albums on the Windham Hill and Slow Baby labels. She is known as a versatile and soulful musician.
Born in Michigan
and raised in Indiana
, she spent several years as a teenager in Ghana
with her family. She went to Mills College
and also attended the Sorbonne
in Paris
. It was in Paris that she met Darol Anger and began a fruitful musical collaboration. Together they recorded the record Tideline (1982), one of the early successful records of Windham Hill. Two years later they led a group with three other musicians (Mike Marshall, Todd Phillips, and Andy Narrel) for the Montreux Jazz Festival
. The concert was considered so successful that a recording made at the concert was released as a Windham Hill record (Live at Montreux–Darol Anger/Barbara Higbie Quintet) and a new group was formed. However, after two studio releases, Sign Language and Let Them Say, the group disbanded. Barbara occasionally collaborates with her Montreux
colleagues.She has performed with Bonnie Raitt, Terry Riley, The Kronos Quartet, Jaron Lanier, Cris Williamson, Holly Near, Ferron.
Barbara Higbie has an active performing schedule and recently (August 2006) participated in the Windham Hill 30th Anniversary Concert. She recently spent 18 months living in Hawaii with her family and moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area in June 2009. She is married to husband Wayne, and they have one daughter, Lena.
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
CD. A longtime Windham Hill recording artist, she has also recorded for Olivia/Second Wave records and Slow Baby Records. She resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, pop, and fusion
Fusion Music
Fusion Music is a sub genre of Reggaeton. Calle 13 helped introduce this genre, and are the most famous artists to sing it. It's also known as Alternative Reggaeton. Danny Fornaris is the most famous producer in this sub-genre, known as its Luny Tunes...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, noted for her highly melodic, jazz/folk piano performances. She has toured nationally and internationally] since the early 1980s. An early recording artist on the Windham Hill record label, she formed and played with the group Montreux
Montreux (band)
Montreux was the name of an American fusion band, specializing in the blend of jazz and bluegrass, with jam elements. The band was active from approximately 1982 until 1990 and recorded on Windham Hill Records...
along with Darol Anger
Darol Anger
-Career:Darol Anger entered popular music at the age of 21 as a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Anger played fiddle to David Grisman's mandolin in The David Grisman Quintet's 1977 debut. He co-founded the Turtle Island String Quartet with David Balakrishnan in 1985 and performed,...
, Mike Marshall
Mike Marshall (bluegrass musician)
Mike Marshall is an American mandolin player and multi-instrumentalist who grew up in central Florida and now lives in Oakland, California. Marshall has been a part of New Acoustic Music since the early 1980s. He has performed and recorded with many musicians in a variety of styles, including...
, Todd Phillips, and Michael Manring
Michael Manring
Michael Manring is an American electric bassist from the San Francisco Bay Area, .-Biography:...
. She recorded a critically acclaimed album with singer teresa Trull in 1983 and again in 1998. Since 1990, Barbara Higbie has released a number of solo albums on the Windham Hill and Slow Baby labels. She is known as a versatile and soulful musician.
Born in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and raised in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, she spent several years as a teenager in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
with her family. She went to Mills College
Mills College
Mills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
and also attended the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. It was in Paris that she met Darol Anger and began a fruitful musical collaboration. Together they recorded the record Tideline (1982), one of the early successful records of Windham Hill. Two years later they led a group with three other musicians (Mike Marshall, Todd Phillips, and Andy Narrel) for the Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
. The concert was considered so successful that a recording made at the concert was released as a Windham Hill record (Live at Montreux–Darol Anger/Barbara Higbie Quintet) and a new group was formed. However, after two studio releases, Sign Language and Let Them Say, the group disbanded. Barbara occasionally collaborates with her Montreux
Montreux (band)
Montreux was the name of an American fusion band, specializing in the blend of jazz and bluegrass, with jam elements. The band was active from approximately 1982 until 1990 and recorded on Windham Hill Records...
colleagues.She has performed with Bonnie Raitt, Terry Riley, The Kronos Quartet, Jaron Lanier, Cris Williamson, Holly Near, Ferron.
Barbara Higbie has an active performing schedule and recently (August 2006) participated in the Windham Hill 30th Anniversary Concert. She recently spent 18 months living in Hawaii with her family and moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area in June 2009. She is married to husband Wayne, and they have one daughter, Lena.
Partial discography
- 1982 Tideline (Darol Anger/Barbara Higbie)
- 1983 Unexpected (Teresa Trull/Barbara Higbie)
- 1984 Live at Montreux (Darol Anger/Barbara Higbie Quintet)
- 1986 Sign Language (Montreux)
- 1988 Let Them Say (Montreux)
- 1990 Signs of Life (solo record)
- 1996 i Surrender (solo record)
- 1998 Playtime (Barbara Higbie and Teresa Trull)
- 2001 Variations on a Happy Ending (solo record)
- 2003 Barbara Higbie's Interpretation of Carole King (solo record)
- 2005 Best Of (compilation, 1982–2000)
- 2007 Alive in Berkeley (solo record—live)