Album Notes

Maria Jacobs
Singer; songwriter; recording artist; flutist; teacher; cabaret performer


Raised in a musical family out of Cleveland, OH, Maria has always been surrounded by diversity in music that reached far beyond what could be found in record stores. From the tender age of six she has sung in her church choir where eastern melodies and percussion were heard from the Melkite Catholic mass. In the fourth grade Maria began fifteen years of classical flute study and some piano, gaining a new appreciation for European melody and harmony through much practice and listening.

Her first encounters with live music were with her father Mike Jacobs, a drummer who frequently brought Maria to the bandstand to render her interpretations of favorite standards on which she was raised. All of these early experiences lead to music scholarship at Ohio State University and singing jazz in area nightclubs.

Maria has jammed with many great musicians including Grover Washington Jr. and Nancy Wilson. She has opened for Bob Dorough and recently recorded a demo with bassist Alphonso Johnson and drummer Ndugu Chancler, both formerly of Weather Report.

Upon graduating from college with a degree in Journalism, Maria started working with several jazz radio stations as a disc jockey, but it was in Cleveland that she met up with friend and mentor Bobby Jackson, three-time Gavin Radio Person of the Year. The musical director of then 24-hour jazz station WCPN hired her as his research assistant. It was here that she realized she would forever be a student of music, absorbing all she could from her various surroundings.

In 1997, Maria moved to Los Angeles, CA upon the coaxing of Alphonso Johnson, who also encouraged her to fulfill her musical journey. He introduced her to JVC recording artist Kevyn Lettau, with whom she studied privately for three years, and later followed to the Los Angeles Music Academy for more study in vocal improvisation.

Other musicians Maria has worked with include Bob Conti, Tony Dumas, Ralph Penland, Greg Poree, George Gaffney, Earl Palmer, Ernie McDaniel, Geoffrey Aymar, Paul Kreibech and Wilford Middlebrooks. She has participated in the master classes of some of the finest vocalists/clinicians in the business including Betty Carter, Diane Reeves and Jay Clayton. Maria currently sings professionally throughout Los Angeles, including concerts and clubs, and regularly throughout the South Bay area with the Richard Sherman Quintet.