Emily Elbert (born December 21, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. She has independently released six albums: ''Bright Side'' (2006), ''Proof'' (2010), and ''Alive, In Love'' (2011), ''Evolve'' (2013), ''We Who Believe in Freedom'' (2018), and ''Woven Together'' (2022). Elbert was a member of

Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984) is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. A native of Portland, Oregon, Spalding be ...

's experimental jazz and theater project from 2015 to 2016. The band toured internationally and recorded one album, ''

Emily's D+Evolution ''Emily's D+Evolution'' is the fifth studio album by American musician Esperanza Spalding, released on 4 March 2016 by Concord Records. Background The album was co-produced by Spalding and longtime David Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti. On th ...

''. In 2019, she joined the band of songwriter

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. In 2022 she joined

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's band, undertaking a world tour. Elbert has also contributed to projects led by

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, and

Bruno Major Bruno Major (born 15 July 1988) is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. His debut album ''A Song for Every Moon'' was released in 2017. Career On 21 January 2014, Major released the four-song EP ''Live'' on Virgin Records, where he worked ...

Biography

Elbert was born in Dallas, Texas. Early influences cited include

Antonio Carlos Jobim Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

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, and

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. She recorded her first album ''Bright Side'' while in high school, paid for by local gigs and crowd-funding, and began touring the U.S. independently. At 18, Elbert was awarded a full scholarship to

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. While there, she continued to tour nationally and internationally, and released two more independent albums, ''Proof'', and ''Alive, In Love'', both of which were also crowd-funded. In 2010, '' Glamour'' magazine named Elbert one of their Top 10 College Women of the Year. In 2013, Elbert released ''Evolve'', an EP recorded at Brooklyn, New York's

Mason Jar Music Mason Jar Music (founded June 2010) is an audio/visual production company and creative collective based in Brooklyn, New York co-founded by Dan Knobler and Jon Seale. Overview Mason Jar Music has produced audio and video content for artists a ...

. Since then, Elbert released several singles: "Letting Go" (2016), "Here and Now" (2016) and "True Power" (2017), a protest song about

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, benefitting the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

. In a press release, Elbert spoke about "True Power": "My love for rhythm, harmony, and story sharing is woven in with my compassion for the Earth and its people. Songs can be powerful tools used in their defense... As a young, queer, woman, an environmentalist, and someone who believes in equality and human rights for people of all races, faiths, and cultural backgrounds, I can’t sit back and be a silent witness to injustice. ...Donald Trump may have bought and bullied his way into the presidency, but true power is in the hands of the people when they come together. That’s what this song is about." Elbert released a full album of music focused on social justice, ''We Who Believe in Freedom'', in October 2018. Her sixth independent album, ''Woven Together'', was released in August 2022.

Events and touring

Elbert has performed in more than 30 countries, and opened for artists including

Emily King Emily King (born July 10, 1985) is an American singer and songwriter. She started her career in 2004 and her first album '' East Side Story'' was released in August 2007. In December 2007, King was listed as a Grammy nominee for Best Contemporar ...

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, G. Love & Special Sauce,

Tuck & Patti Tuck & Patti are an American jazz duo consisting of guitarist William Charles "Tuck" Andress (born Oct. 28, 1952 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) and singer Patricia "Patti" Cathcart Andress (born October 4, 1949, in San Francisco). Music career Guitarist Tu ...

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, Moonchild,

Robben Ford Robben Lee Ford (born December 16, 1951) is an American blues, jazz, and rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Larry Carlton, Rick Springfield ...

, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet,

Joan Osborne Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best kn ...

. and

.Emily Elbert Official Website News
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Discography

* ''Bright Side'' (2006) * ''Proof'' (2010) * ''Alive, in Love'' (2011) * ''Evolve'' (2013) * ''Letting Go / Here and Now'' (2016) * ''True Power'' (2017) * ''We Who Believe in Freedom'' (2018) * ''Woven Together'' (2022)

Singles

* ''Letting Go'' (2016) * ''Here and Now'' (2016) * ''True Power'' (2017) * ''Service'' (2019)

As guest

* ''Emily's D+Evolution'' -

(2016) * ''Dakar Suite'' -

Leni Stern Leni Stern (born 28 April 1952) is a German jazz guitarist and singer. Early life Stern was born Magdalena Thora, in Germany on 28 April 1952. She was interested in music from an early age, beginning piano studies at the age of six and takin ...

(2016) * ''Via Zammata'' -

(2015)

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elbert, Emily 1988 births American women jazz singers Living people Berklee College of Music alumni Singer-songwriters from Texas Musicians from Dallas American soul singers American folk singers American women singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American jazz singers Political artists People from Coppell, Texas 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from Texas 21st-century American women singers Jazz musicians from Texas 21st-century American singers