Natalia Zukerman (born June 25, 1975) is an American artist and musician. She blends genres of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, jazz, bluegrass and folk.

Personal life

Zukerman was born in Manhattan, the daughter of violinist/violist/conductor Pinchas Zukerman and flutist/writer Eugenia Zukerman, and the sister of opera singer

Arianna Zukerman Arianna Zukerman (born 1972) is an American lyric soprano who has performed with some of the world's finest orchestras and opera companies. Her voice was described in '' The Washington Post'' as "remarkable" combining the "range, warmth and faci ...

. In 1997 she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Art at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

. Her senior thesis culminated in an exhibit of large-scale mixed media paintings. She is openly lesbian.

Music and career

Zukerman's subject matter ranges from the whimsical to the metaphysical. Often she tells stories or relates personal observations about life and relationships, but her songs are not "confessional" in nature. Her vocal style reflects strong jazz influences. Zukerman plays a variety of guitars including acoustic, electric,

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...

and banjo, but primarily focuses on her Goodall acoustic guitar and vintage 1938 Rickenbacker lap steel guitar. Her guitar playing has been described as "fluid and smooth" while she has also been praised for her dexterity and nimble fingers. Reflecting her varied musical roots, Zukerman cites Ma Rainey, Memphis Minnie,

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

, Erika Luckett,

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 ...

, Rickie Lee Jones and

Ani DiFranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influe ...

among her musical influences. Her first three albums were released on her own independent record label, Talisman Records. In 2008, she released her fourth album on Willy Porter's Weasel Records label. Along with her work as singer, songwriter and guitarist, Zukerman is also an artist, specializing in large format drawings and murals. Her 2011 studio album was ''Gas Station Roses''. The album featured many guest appearances, including Patty Larkin, Garrison Starr, Meghan Toohey (The Weepies), Adrianne Gonzalez (The Rescues), Todd Sickafoose (Ani Difranco), and Ray Bonneville. It was first released in 2011, and early orders contained original paintings or prints of paintings by Zukerman.

Discography

Albums

*2001 – ''Mortal Child'' *2003 – ''On A Clear Day'' *2006 – ''Only One'' *2008 – ''Brand New Frame'' *2011 – ''Gas Station Roses'' *2014 – ''Come Thief, Come Fire''

Collaborations

*''Winterbloom: Winter Traditions'' (2009), with

Antje Duvekot Antje Duvekot ( ; born 1974) is a singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Somerville, Massachusetts. She holds three top songwriting awards including the Kerrville New Folk Competition's Best New Folk Award, Boston Music Award for Outstanding ...

, Meg Hutchinson, and Anne Heaton.

References

External links

Murals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zukerman, Natalia 1975 births Living people American blues guitarists American blues singer-songwriters American women composers 20th-century American composers American women singer-songwriters American folk guitarists American folk singers American people of Israeli descent Jewish American musicians American lesbian musicians LGBT Jews American LGBT singers LGBT songwriters LGBT composers Oberlin College alumni Singers from New York City Jewish folk singers 20th-century American women guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from New York City 20th-century women composers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century American Jews Singer-songwriters from New York (state)