Patricia Barber

Patricia Barber is an American jazz singer, pianist, songwriter, and composer from Chicago. Her music is usually described as jazz, but it also includes elements of blues, art song, cabaret, and modern singer-songwriter music. Streaming and label biographies describe her as an award-winning jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter with a distinctive voice and style.

Her important albums include Café Blue (1994), Modern Cool (1998), Companion (1999), Nightclub (2000), Verse (2002), Mythologies (2006), The Cole Porter Mix (2008), Smash (2013), Higher (2019), and Clique (2021). Well-known songs and performances include “Too Rich for My Blood,” “Touch of Trash,” “The Beat Goes On,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “Easy to Love,” “Code Cool,” “The Moon,” and “Surrender.” Deezer and Apple Music list many of these among her notable songs and albums.

She is known for her cool, intellectual, and atmospheric approach to jazz: precise piano playing, understated vocals, unusual phrasing, and literate original songwriting. She also has a strong reputation among audiophile listeners because albums such as Café Blue, Modern Cool, and Companion are often praised for their sound quality as well as their musical style.