Album Notes

MARY BARRY

A native of St. John’s, Mary Barry is a multiple award-winning singer, composer and teacher who trained in voice, piano, puppetry, theatre and dance. She is a graduate of Vancouver Community College’s Jazz & Commercial Music Program.

Mary is a bilingual artist who has thrilled audiences across Canada, the US and France, moving easily from jazz to blues to ‘chanson’. Her music has been described as a gold mine of nuggets for collectors of original jazz and blues, with a glowing hint of torch in her voice. Throughout her career, she has performed and recorded with such stellar musicians as Jeff Johnston, Jim Vivian, John Nugent, Mike Billard, Miles Black, Rick Kilburn, Graham Ord, Craig Scott and Jesse Zubot. Her performances include the Vancouver, St. John’s and Montreal Jazz Festivals, Le Centre Culturel Francophone de Vancouver, Le Festival d’Ete in Quebec City, and the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Festival.

Barry is the recipient of several songwriting awards, including the CBC Atlantic Song Contest, the Newfoundland & Labrador Arts & Letters Awards, FACTOR Professional Publishers/Songwriters Demo Award and, just recently, she was a semi-finalist in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition, the only Canadian to make it that far in the Jazz category. Her critically acclaimed CD “These Days” was nominated for the 2005 ECMA Jazz Recording of the Year. In the fall of 2005, Mary was chosen to be the Gros Morne Musician in Residence, traveling to the west coast of the island where she performed and conducted vocal and songwriting workshops in the community. In 2004, she was awarded the prestigious Female Artist of the Year award from the Music Industry Association of Newfoundland & Labrador.

Mary’s third independent recording entitled Red Eye Tonight which features jazz giants Patrick Boyle, Bill Brennan, Gary Davis, Rick Hollett, Mark Peddle, Brian Way and Gary Tilley, was just released in July to rave reviews at the St. John’s International Jazz Festival.

Mary Barry lives in St. John’s, where besides performing and teaching, she also works as a writer, puppeteer and voice-over artist.