Katherine Genevieve McGarry, known professionally as Kate McGarry, is a jazz vocalist.

Career

McGarry grew up in an Irish-American family with nine siblings in Hyannis, Massachusetts. She attended the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

, graduating with a degree in jazz and Afro-American Music. After graduating, she became a member of the vocal group One O'Clock Jump. For ten years she lived in Los Angeles. She sang in clubs, did film and television work in Hollywood, and recorded her first album, ''Easy to Love'' (1992). In 1996, she moved to the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

in New York to study at an

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...

. Three years later, she moved to New York City, returned to singing in clubs, and recorded her second album, ''Show Me''. McGarry looks beyond the jazz world for material, singing cover versions of

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

, and

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

on ''Mercy Streets'' (Palmetto, 2005), the Irish song "The Heather on the Hill" on ''The Target'' (Palmetto, 2007), and "

American Tune "American Tune" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the third single from his third studio album, ''There Goes Rhymin' Simon'' (1973), released on Columbia Records. The song, a meditation on the American experience, ...

" by

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

on ''Genevieve & Ferdinand'' ( Sunnyside, 2014), which she recorded with her husband, guitarist Keith Ganz. She has worked with

Kurt Elling Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Illinois, Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran chur ...

Fred Hersch Fred Hersch (born October 21, 1955) is an American jazz pianist, educator and HIV/AIDS activist. He was the first person to play weeklong engagements as a solo pianist at the Village Vanguard in New York City. He has recorded more than 70 of his ...

, John Hollenbeck, and

Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) (born 1960), American musician and composer * Maria Schneider (ca ...

. She appeared on the radio programs ''

Piano Jazz ''Piano Jazz'' is a weekly one-hour radio show produced and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). It began on June 4, 1978, and was hosted by jazz pianist Marian McPartland (1918–2013) until 2011. It is the longest-running cultural pro ...

'' with Marian McPartland, ''All Things Considered'', and ''Jazz Set'' with

Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...

. She has taught at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

and

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

Awards and honors

* Grammy Award nomination for

Best Jazz Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the vocal jazz ...

, ''If Less is More...Nothing is Everything'', 2009 * Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album, ''The Subject Tonight Is Love'', 2019 * Voted Rising Star, ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine's Critics' Poll, 2011–2016 * Outstanding Jazz Vocalist, NYC Nightlife Awards * Jazz ambassador, three years

Discography

As leader

* ''Easy to Love'' (Vacuum Tube Logic of America, 1992) * ''Show Me'' (Palmetto, 2003) * ''Mercy Streets'' (Palmetto, 2005) * ''The Target'' (Palmetto, 2007) * ''If Less Is More...'' (Palmetto, 2008) * ''Girl Talk'' (Palmetto, 2012) * ''Genevieve and Ferdinand'' with Keith Ganz (Sunnyside, 2014) * ''

The Subject Tonight Is Love ''The Subject Tonight Is Love'' is an album by Kate McGarry, Keith Ganz and Gary Versace The album received a Grammy Award nomination in 2019 for Best Jazz Vocal Album. It was named after a poem by 14th Century poet Hafiz. Track listing Person ...

'' with Keith Ganz (Binxtown, 2018) * ''What to Wear in the Dark'' (Resilience Music Alliance, 2021)

As guest

Brian Byrne Brian Byrne (born January 13, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was the second vocalist for the band I Mother Earth. Biography Brian joined his first band in Corner Brook in 1988, a hair-metal band called Pandemonium. The band als ...

, ''Goldenhair'' (2017) *

, ''Leaves of Grass'' (2005) * John Hollenbeck, ''Songs We Like a Lot'' (Sunnyside, 2015) *

Mike Holober Mike Holober (born April 21, 1957) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and educator. Holober moved to New York in 1986, and worked as a composer and sideman pianist. After working with baritone saxophonist Nick Brignola in the late ...

, ''Balancing Act'' (2015) *

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...

, ''

More Songs from Pooh Corner ''More Songs from Pooh Corner'' is the eleventh studio and second children's album by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins, released on February 8, 2000. Among the tracks are seven songs from movies, such as "Beauty and the Beast", "Baby Min ...

'' (2000)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGarry, Kate 1970 births People from Hyannis, Massachusetts American women jazz singers American jazz singers Palmetto Records artists Living people Jazz musicians from Massachusetts 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers