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Maria Jacobs

Maria Jacobs is an American Jazz vocalist, singer/songwriter and author. She is the Adjunct Professor of Applied Vocal Jazz at Kent State University. Born of Syrian Lebanese and Armenian descent, Maria was raised in Cleveland, Ohio where she frequently shared the bandstand with her father Mike Jacobs, a drummer and singer in the area. She is a national voice over artist and a Traditional/Smooth Jazz recording artist who has charted on the Groove Jazz and Smooth Jazz Global Holiday Charts.

Maria became a licensed music educator following the completion of her second degree in music education from Kent State Universiy and began working as a Principal Conductor and Curriculum Advisor for The Open Tone Music Academy, who now partners with Jazz At Lincoln Center. She is also a lead vocalist for their parent organization, the acclaimed Jazz Heritage Orchestra.

This former traffic reporter and disc jockey lived in Los Angeles for twelve years and sang prestigious venues such as The Langham Huntington Hotel (formerly the Ritz Carlton,) The Four Seasons Hotel, B.B. Kings Blues Club, The Coach House and The Torrance Civic Center to name a few. She recorded with several well-known artists including Alphonso Johnson and Ndugu Chancler of Weather Report. Maria has co-written and recorded with platinum selling writer/producer Tommy Coster and soloed with acclaimed keyboardist/songwriter Lafayette Carthon and his Gospel group FAITH. Maria opened for jazz trumpeter/songwriter Chuck Mangione (The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano,) jazz singer/songwriter Bob Dorough (Columbus, Ohio), The Average White Band and British soul band Loose Ends.

Other acclaimed artists Maria has worked with include Music Director Damien Sneed (Wynton Marsalis), with whom she was also a featured soloist during the Cleveland premier of the Abyssinian Mass, as well as for William Henry Caldwell and Robert Porco (Cleveland Orchestra), for the MLK Celebration at Cleveland's historical Severance Hall. She's also performed with Rodrick Dixon, Alfreda Burke (Broadway), and Gospel greats Billi Redd and Karen Clark Sheard.

Maria released eight solo albums: No Frills, Free As A Dove, Chasing Dreams, Art of the Duo and Here Comes Winter, Lucky Girl, and Hold On Your Heart, (a compilation album of her first six which includes the newly recorded original title track) and Bootleggin' At The Bop Stop. She performs in Los Angeles, New York, Detroit and some historic Cleveland venues including Playhouse Square, Nighttown, Blu Jazz, House of Blues, The Bop Stop and The TV8 Morning Show.

Maria’s jazz albums have received wonderful reviews from national jazz critic and author Scott Yanow.

Maria Jacobs: The Art of the Duo

Read "The Art of the Duo" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
March 22, 2013

Simplicity in jazz performance is a sure bet when one has the chops to deliver. Jazz vocal in a duet format is one of the more exposed configurations, one where the singer liability is great. All mistakes, mis-steps and wrong notes are readily audible. Cleveland, Ohio native singer Maria Jacobs' fourth release features seven voice-guitar duets and one each with acoustic bass and piano. Jacobs is most refreshing because her voice is not over-trained and contains just enough grit to ...

Recording

Former radio DJ Maria Jacobs soars with mesmerizing vocals on new CD

Source: Lauren Rogers
September 9, 2011

It's common to hear that many DJs actually are, deep down, frustrated musicians; it's a theory which has survived generations. Its origin is simple: A number of people feel that the fiery passion that DJs have for music could have only emanated from an unrequited desire to create it themselves. Whether or not jazz vocalist Maria Jacobs strengthens that stereotype will be a matter of perspective. Her career did begin in broadcasting, starting as a research assistant at WCPN 90.3 ...
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Performance / Tour

Jazz Arts Group's Audience-Programmed CJO by Request Closes out Season with Guest Vocalist Maria Jacobs

Source: Michael Ricci
April 22, 2011

The Jazz Arts Group of Columbus (JAG) is getting ready to close out the Columbus Jazz Orchestra's Great American Songbook season with a show chosen entirely by our audience! CJO By Request (May 20-21 at the Southern Theatre) has been programmed by audience requests taken throughout the whole 2010-11 season to create the final playlist and will feature guest vocalist Maria Jacobs. CJO Artistic Director Byron Stripling has revealed the playlist to include: “Summertime “It Ain't Necessarily So" ...
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The International Review of Music by Don Heckman Mar. 3. 2012 (Sat.) Maria Jacobs. A jazz-driven singer, Jacobs brings musicality, persuasive story-telling skills and a warm and supple voice to her intimate readings of the Great American Songbook. The Metropolitan Room. (212) 206-0440.

L.A. Jazz Scene by Scott Yanow

CHASING DREAMS - Review

Maria Jacobs has a powerful voice, is a subtle improviser and puts plenty of feeling into her singing. Born and raised in Cleveland, she had 15 years of classical flute study and also studied piano but her main musical goal was always to be a jazz singer. She won a music scholarship to Ohio State University, sang locally, and worked as a disc jockey and at WCPN as a research assistant. She lived and sang for 11 years in Los Angeles, appearing in local jazz clubs, and currently lives in the Midwest.

L.A. Jazz Scene by Scott Yanow

CHASING DREAMS - Review

Chasing Dreams is her strongest jazz recording to date. Ms. Jacobs is joined by several different rhythm sections including such notables as keyboardists Geoffrey Aymer and Richard Sherman, bassists Alphonso Johnson, Tony Dumas and Sherry Luchette, and drummers Ndugu Chancler and Ralph Penland, fine accompanists who also take occasional solos.

The repertoire is wide-ranging. the singer's long tones on “At Last” are quite effective, she swings easily on “Lullaby Of Birdland,” makes “Where Are You” sound quite wistful, and scats up a storm on her own cooker “Chasing Dreams.” The other eight songs include a soulful “Yeh Yeh” (which features her overdubbed voices), a very haunting version of John Coltrane's “Equinox” (which has the singer's original words), an adventurous reshaping of “Just Squeeze Me” and a scat-filled medium-tempo “It Might As Well Be Spring.”

Chasing Dreams is Maria Jacobs' strongest jazz recording to date and is easily recommended. She is a singer worth discovering.

Scott Yanow, author of ten books including The Jazz Singers, Jazz On Film and Jazz On Records 1917-76 More about: Scott Yanow

JazzCorner News (and All About Jazz in July) May 18, 2011 by Robert Sutton

CHASING DREAMS - Review

Former DJ Maria Jacobs releases new CD brimming with soulful depth

Every DJ probably has a singer inside them, and most of the time those dreams remain unfulfilled. But for Maria Jacobs, Chasing Dreams is a lifelong goal that will always be pursued.

Hers is a voice that is brimming with soulful depth and emotional power, once limited to introducing songs or announcing traffic on the radio. Now Jacobs finds herself on the other side of the booth; it is her record on the air, her lovely, velvety smooth vocals crooning over the airwaves.

Chasing Dreams is a knockout punch of an album. The impressive range and heartfelt feelings that her voice displays on Chasing Dreams is no amateur hour, no ego trip of a DJ simply wanting to be on stage with the stars.

This lady can truly sing, plumb the deep recesses of the heart. Listen to her plaintive yearning on "Where Are You?" Jacobs evokes chills from the desperation in her vocal performance. Her singing, crestfallen and bursting with unrequited longing, captures the bittersweet aftertaste of broken romance. The title track, on the other hand, reveals her versatility. She is upbeat and playful here, quite the opposite of the song preceding it. The bouncy piano and crisp drumming of "Lullaby of Birdland" seemed to inspire Jacobs to new heights; her voice absolutely soars.

Born in Cleveland, OH, Jacobs received her music education at Ohio State University. After college, Jacobs started working at regional radio stations. When she became a research assistant at WCPN 90.3 FM in Cleveland, Jacobs discovered that music would be her life, and she wanted to absorb all of it that she could. Those influences add eclectic flavors to the sound of Chasing Dreams as well as to Jacobs' multi-dimensional vocal style.

Jacobs is still Chasing Dreams but the dynamite talent on display here guarantees that she will win this race. JazzCorner News

L.A. Jazz Scene by Scott Yanow

Jacobs is a fine singer with an appealing voice, a subtle style and the ability to swing. lt is always fun to discover new up-and-coming talents in the jazz world. On her debut recording "No Frills" she is joined by Mike Petrone or Robert "Skeets" Ross on piano, Martin Block or Jesse Dandy on bass, on four of the nine songs drummer Roy King and on three tunes the saxes of Gerald Linthicome.

Among the highlights are a pair of vocal-piano uets; "Black Coffee" and "You Don't Know What Love Is".

Based in Cleveland at the time of the recording (she has since relocated to L.A.), Maria Jacobs sings mostly melodic versions of standards (plus her own "No Frills"), stretching out a bit on "Corcovado," "In A Mellow Tone" and "You Don't Know What Love Is." This is an impressive start to what should be a productive career.

Singer Magazine by Greg Tutweiler

I heard Maria sing at the IAJE conference in Long Beach this past January. I was so impressed with her vocal talent I approached her afterward and asked if she ever thought of doing anything along the lines of Nora Jones. She promptly reached into her bag and handed me a CD, "Chasing Dreams," with a sheepish grin on her face, "I'm working on one right now." she said. "This is the demo." 'I'll take it,' I said happily. And of course I was not disappointed.

Maria studied classical flute for fifteen years, but her days spent as a research assistant for a Cleveland jazz radio station DJ whet her desire to sing the smooth jazz she had been listening to. She found herself in LA in 1997 studying privately for three years with JVC recording artist Kevyn Lettau, and then on to the LA Music Academy. "Chasing Dreams" is not Maria's first CD, but quite possibly could be her best work to date. Her sultry voice, and eloquent lyrical content are captivating. Tracks of note, I Wish You Belonged To Me and Pour Me A Cup Of Yesterday.

Buzz Weekly

Jacobs can be forgiven for her love of the Cleveland Indians and their offensive "smiling Indian" logo, thanks to her gorgeous, decidedly inoffensive vocals, which have graced commercials and the national anthem in major League ballparks across America, and which shine on her debut CD, "No Frills."

WCPN, Cleveland, Ohio by Bobby Jackson, Music Director, Liner Notes

From the shores of Lake Erie comes a vocalist, gifted with talent and signs of a future filled with great promise. Maria Jacobs is a native Clevelander who discovered her voice in jazz while attending Ohio State University in nearby Columbus. It's been a decade of traveling back and forth from Cleveland to Columbus and neighboring communities expanding her vocabulary and gigging with some of the hippest musicians in this Midwestern hub. Jacobs is determined, focused, and ready to live out this next chapter in her development as an artist.

This CD you hold in your hands represents her first opportunity to share with a larger audience some of the experiences she has gleaned over the years, absorbing what she could from her environment both musically and personally. coating here, just favorite classic tunes she has rendered over the years. Rendered to the point where, in 1997, one could say she "owns" them. Accompanying this aspiring recording artist is Mike Petrone or Robert "Skeets" Ross on bass, Roy King on drums, a Gerald Linthicome on sax. These musicians share a common musical heritage - the "Cleveland" sound - and this bond comes out in the interaction among all the players on each tune. It is not overstated or understated. It is not pretentious. It is warm. It is real. Charlie Parker was quoted, "If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Jacobs has a story to tell out of her own life experience, through the vehicle of music. I have no doubt it will be the first of many.

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Primary Instrument

Vocals

Location

Akron

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Credentials/Background

Maria Jacobs is the Adjunct Professor of Applied Vocal Jazz at Kent State Universtiy. She Also teaches private voice, flute and piano from her home studio in Stow, Ohio. Maria holds two Bachelor of Arts Degrees, one in Journalism from Ohio State University and the other in Music Education, with a minor in Education, from Kent State University where she graduated with honors.

Clinic/Workshop Information

Maria is a clinician who has given songwriting and vocal pedegogy/technique clinics at The Music Settlement and at Kent State University, Stark Campus.