Album Notes

Brought up by a rock guitarist father and poet mother as the second of four children, Heather Marie Philipp has music and lyrics in her blood and performing in her bones. Her love for theatre, dance, and music led her to Boulder, Colorado where she studied interdisciplinary performance with eclectic faculty, including renowned jazz artist Art Lande, at Buddhist-inspired Naropa University. After realizing the folk singer/songwriter identity common in the Boulder music scene at the time wasn’t quite for her, she took time off to follow her stronger jazz/soul leanings. After several years of writing new material, traveling abroad, reinventing old songs, and recovering from a debilitating car accident, Heather Marie Philipp has emerged with a handsome debut.

Expertly produced by up-and-coming composer and producer Paul Fowler, the Under the Apple EP is an intimate, original work of seldom heard breadth and depth from a debut effort. The album builds on a foundation of contemporary acoustic jazz the likes of jazz/pop darlings Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux, but takes agile strides into the soulful sides of art pop and R&B groove. You can find remnants of Billie, Ella and Chet alongside a little Mariah Carey, Bette Midler, and Natalie Merchant, pulled together with a freshness seen in the likes of present-day soul artists Amel Larrieux and Joss Stone. The result is a collection of tracks that show off a warm, sensual and stunning voice, a knack for inspired prose-style songwriting, and stellar musicianship from an up-and-coming producer. Together, Philipp and Fowler have created a jazz-inspired album that is listenable, current, and artsy - mature well beyond what you’d expect from a first-time-out.