The Erin Bode Group

Artist Information

Biography

Erin has the rare mix of sophistication and class with a sincere kindness and approachability. Her easy smile only enhances the talent and training that is so compelling in her performances. Erin's talent and appeal have been lauded in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Jazz Times, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and many other major publications. The Erin Bode Group has performed nationwide at venues such as Blues Alley in Washington D.C, Zanzibar Blue and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, and at Sweet Rhythm and Joe's Pub in New York. They have played three European tours, as well as a stint at the Cotton Club in Tokyo, Japyan. Erin has opened for Jamie Cullum, Michael Buble, Chris Botti and a host of other high profile musicians. She has received classical training and holds a bachelors degree in music. For booking, contact Lori Beck at Lrbeck314@aol.com, or call 314-276-4260.

7/20/10 Listen to BBC London, 94.9fm at 1600 (UK time) or 10a (US central time) for my interview with Danny Baker. Listen online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/hi/

Instrumentation

Erin Bode-vocals
Adam Maness-piano, acoustic guitar
Sydney Rodway-bass
Mark Colenburg-drums

Discography

CD-"Photograph"

This is the band's latest work, released July 2010. The songs on "Photograph" are at once; radio-friendly and instantly-singable. They are exuberant and joyful with lyrics introspective, mature and hopeful. This record is exceptional visual storytelling.

They say, "the journey is the thing". Erin Bode and her band have been on quite an expedition while working on, "Photograph" and they have some breathtaking postcards to share with you. You'll thank them for the road trip.

CD-"A Cold December Night"

This CD features original and traditional Christmas music performed with this group's unique style.

CD-"The Little Garden"-(Native Language records)
This is Erin's third major release. This CD features one memorable and moving original composition after another.

CD-"Don't Take Your Time"-(MAXJAZZ records)

This CD features Erin's first original song, along with pop classics and selected tunes from the Great American Songbook.

CD-"Over and Over"-release date is January, 2006-(MAXJAZZ records)

This CD is comprised almost entirely of original music.

CD-Peter Martin's "In the P.M."-Erin Bode is a guest vocalist-(MAXJAZZ records)

CD-Eric Reed's "Merry Magic"- Erin Bode is a guest vocalist-(MAXJAZZ records)

Erin Bode can be heard in high rotation on the streamed site www.redontheweb.com. She is currently receiving airplay on Star97 in Phoenix, AZ. It can be streamed at www.star975fm.com. She can also be heard on Emmis' St. Louis station 97.1, which features Erin Bode with special programming every weekend. This can be streamed at www.971talk.com/streaming. Erin has received airplay on many AAA stations and most public radio stations nationwide.

Links

• The Space Between Video

Audio

• Skating
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• Holiday
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• New England Friends
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• Born at the Right Time
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• Chasing After You
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• Hide Me
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• Two
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Video

Recording of Don't Take Your Time

Photo Gallery

Press

• Erin Bode: Quite a Cover Girl [+ Show ]
  

  As I listen to the light and bouncy voice of Erin Bode, the young singer being Positioned by th... As I listen to the light and bouncy voice of Erin Bode, the young singer being Positioned by the boutique jazz label MAXJAZZ for a Norah Jones-style breakout into the pop mainstream, the word that comes to mind is girlish. And this is not a putdown.
  While it's true that the term can seem pejorative in this age of MTV pop tarts, there is a long tradition of girlishness, in terms of specific vocal characteristics, in both jazz and pop music.
  Well into her 70s, the great Ella Fitzgerald had a voice that could be called girlish. THis is also the case with Blossom Dearie, who became a respected jazz singer in the '50 and is one of Ms. Bode's prime influences. Female singers who have this type of girlishness exude joy and enthusiasm-a zest for life that is childlike yet also the futhest thing away from immaturity. It is this tradition of girlishness that Ms. Bode, pictured on the cover of her album 'Don't Take Your Time' with her long light-brown hair waving in her face, can proudly claim to be a part of.
  Take her tender rendition of the Beatles' 'Here, There, and Everywhere.' THis romantic ballad is difficult to perform, in that itflows with passion yet is not a "young love" song. Yet Ms. Bode manages to mine the lyrics for special meaning found not even in the Beatles' version. Recently married, the 27-year-old says: "I can always apply a lovely love song to my husband. Here, there and everywhere, just having him there with me makes everything OK. I felt all of those things."
  But Ms. Bode goes back much further than the Beatles. She puts a clever spin on '30's and '40's songs by Irving Berlin and George and Ira Gershwin, as well as on the more contemporary pop tunes of Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder. Mx. Bode is one of the new crop of singers hoping to follow in the phenomenal success of Ms. Jones and Diana Krall. Somewhat derisively called "young fogies" by the music press, these singers are introducing decades-old standard to a new generation. And in the post-9/11 era, these meaningful songs increasingly seem to be what many in all age groups want to hear.
  Ms. Bode herself seems to be on a roll. After regional success with a combo in St. Louis, she recently made an East Coast tour, playing at such noted jazz clubs as Zanzibar Blue in Philadelphia and Blues alley in Washington. Her CD has been featured on the listening stations at major record chains.
  And listeners to her CD get quite an eclectic mix of songs. "Jazz-pop-folk" is how she describes her style of music. Ms. Bode and her probucer, Bruce Barth, did a fine job of trolling through their record collections for "hidden standards," the lesser-known songs of great singers and songwriters. "When you haven't heard them a million times, it kind of gives you a little freedom," she explains.
  For the most part, Ms. Bode uses this freedom very wisely. The last song on the CD is Irving Berlin's "Count Your Blessings," originally sung by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney int he 1954 film "White Christmas." Ms. Bode sings it as a soothing lullaby. "I loved that movie, and it's such an adorable song, and I thought I really wanted to do that," she says.
  Changing genres completely, Ms. Bode also puts her own signature on Bob Dylan's "Tonight, I'll Be Staying Here With You." This was the last song on Mr. Dylan's 1969 country-flavored album, "Nashville Skyline" and is one of the singer-songwriter's most upbeat tunes. Ms. Bode jazzes it up-there is no steel guitar, and the emphasis is on bass and piano-but she still captures the buoyance of the Dylan original.
  Ms. Bode's version of the Gershwins' "But Not for Me" recalls the fine version by her musical heroine, Ms. Dearie. The most daring interpretation for Ms. Bode is that of Bill Monroe's bluegrass song "In the Pines." With an acoustic slide guitar and violin (or fiddle) backing her, she is able to make a successful mixture of jazz and mountain music.
  Ms. Bode looks for the beauty in songs of any genre. "I sing the songs and try to bring out the beautiful parts of the melody and the way they were written," she says. "I don't really have a huge philosophy about it. I think what I like to hear and what I like to sing is kind of straightforward."
  Ms. Bode's skills of diction and enunciation-she's a classically trained singer-serve her well. In the album's title track, which she co-wrote, Ms. Bode sings of "running"-not "runnin"- "in circles." Like great singers from Ms. Fitzgerald to country music's George Jones, she knows that vocalists can still be passionate when fully pronouncing their suffixes.
  The one miss on the album is Ms. Bode's syrupy cover of Cyndi Lauper's 1984 pop hit "Time After Time." It's not that the song was unworthey. Jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson recorded a fairly good version of it. The problem is that Ms. Bode bases her version on the remake of the song by the late Eva Cassidy, a mildly talented but overly sentimental singer whose vocal qualities are overrated due to the sympathetic reaction to her untimely death. Ms. Bode has already surpassed her as a vocalist and should look more to singers like Ms. Dearie and Ms. Fitzgerald for further influence.
  But, all in all, "Don't Take Your Time" is a very promising debut album. Ms. Bode will no doubt evolve and pursue a variety of styles in her singing career. But may she never lose the girlishness that makes this album such a treasure.
  -John Berlau
  
  

• ERIN BODE Local Jazz Great [+ Show ]
  

  Superstar in Waiting... There are many hard, much debated choices we make here in putting toge...Superstar in Waiting...
  There are many hard, much debated choices we make here in putting together these "A" lists. This is not one of them. If you haven't heard of-or more importantly, heard-Erin Bode, we suggest you do so soon. Her intimate vocal styling is a treasure, and frankly, she has the looks and drive, in addition to the talent, to make herself more than just a local hero. Wouldn't it be nice if Ms. Bode leads the way for the plethora of jazz talent we have here, which we locals so take for granted?
  

• Music Review
  

  Erin Bode has an attractive voice, perfect enunciation and expressiveness.

• Critics Corner [+ Show ]
  

  "Bode has tons of potential and, with a little seasoning, should prove a welcome addition to the ann..."Bode has tons of potential and, with a little seasoning, should prove a welcome addition to the annals of contemporary jazz songbirds."

• Erin Bode/Over and Over [+ Show ]
  

  Erin Bode | Over and Over (Maxjazz) Erin Bode has a soft, silky, lyrical voice. There is an unp...
  
  Erin Bode | Over and Over (Maxjazz)
  Erin Bode has a soft, silky, lyrical voice. There is an unpretentious sense of innocence that comes though her words and the melodies that carry them. Her sound is open and honest and she has a very human feel. The writing is simple, the orchestrations beautiful. It would be a misnomer to pigeonhole her second release, Over and Over, as a jazz CD. It is really more folk and pop influenced, especially with the presence of the acoustic guitar; there is beautiful use of the saxophone and cello alongside the piano and Fender Rhodes, with the warm pulse of the upright bass underneath. More than just a beautiful girl with a beautiful voice, the lyrics and tone of the songs embody the spirit of the American Midwest. | Derek Lauer
  
  
  
  
  

• Over and Over [+ Show ]
  

  Over and Over Erin Bode | MaxJazz By C. Michael Bailey Erin Bode is a sorceress of ...Over and Over
  Erin Bode | MaxJazz
  
  By C. Michael Bailey
  
  
  Erin Bode is a sorceress of female jazz vocals. On her first recording, Don’t Take Your Time (MaxJazz, 2003), the singer spun the threads of Karrin Allyson and Norah Jones with her own Midwestern personality to create a hip synthesis of pop cum jazz songs, serrated with the ragged edge of Cassandra Wilson.
  
  
  Erin Bode is the next logical step in this direction in jazz. Over and Over opts for simple, uncomplicated folk instrumentation with the occasional tenor saxophone break. Bode (with pianist Adam Maness) composed ten of the fourteen pieces on the recording. Two of the four “standards” are anything but. The singer spins a lazy, humid version of “Graceland” that transforms Paul Simon’s jaunty multicultural song into an offbeat, off-time jazz ballad with hints of Joni Mitchell and Van Morrison. Maness holds the song down so Bode can do her thing while tenor saxophone phenomenon Seamus Blake shows what all of the talk has been about.
  
  The second standout “standard” is Simply Red’s “Holding Back the Years,” where Bode again channels Joni Mitchell with just Adam Maness’ acoustic guitar to support her. The singer endows the song with a certain vulnerability, delivering it as a lament of acknowledgement. These two songs continue the trend that MaxJazz has advocated since the beginning: expansion of the jazz vocal repertoire.
  
  Of singular importance to Over and Over are Bode’s pathos-flexing compositions. They are diverse in style, content and theme. “Holiday” is a restrained acoustic funk-fest chasing love that is getting away. “June” offers word play that pitches the month against the name feminine. In general, Bode’s lyrics are sophisticated and thoughtfully rhymed. It would be disingenuous to compare her to Amos Lee, Blue Note’s male answer to Norah Jones, though their songs ring similar—acoustic, folksy, 21st Century thoughtful. Lee was warmly received last year with the release of his debut recording, Amos Lee (Blue Note, 2005). But further listening reveals Bode's superior songwriting talent, including better rhymes and better themes.
  
  
  Erin Bode is on the right track. I can't wait to hear what she has next.
  
  www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=20660
  
  
  

• PRESS PLAY: WHAT WE'VE BEEN ENJOYING LATELY [+ Show ]
  

  Erin Bode, "Holiday" ("Over and Over," MAXJAZZ): So it's 10 p.m. on a Thursday and a friend texts me...Erin Bode, "Holiday" ("Over and Over," MAXJAZZ): So it's 10 p.m. on a Thursday and a friend texts me about this jazz singer over at Katerina's. After three songs, I bought the CD. Singer-songwriter Bode's sublime voice and unique phrasing slips beautifully into the band's jazz-folk vibe, creating a full sound that never comes off as overdone. And the first track off Bode's second album, about holding onto the remnants of a failing love, smacks of everything you love about vocalists like Norah Jones and Cassandra Wilson. What does this have to do with jazz-rap? Nothing, really. But the St. Louis-based Bode and her band are phenomenal. Get in on the ground floor, kids.
  
  Also on this album: "Graceland." Paul Simon would be proud of this gorgeous, easy-breezy remake.
  
  by Glenn Jeffers

Setlist

A typical set for The Erin Bode Group will include many of their original songs which have a folk/jazz style. They cover jazz standards, selections from the Great American Songbook and work from various pop artists such as Paul Simon, Carole King, Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder.

Basic Requirements

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