Emily Elbert

Emily Elbert
Emily Elbert in New York City (Adam Jason Photography)
Background information
Birth name	Emily Caroline Elbert
Born	(1988-12-21) December 21, 1988
Genres	Folk, soul, jazz, pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Self-released
Associated acts	Esperanza Spalding, Ben Taylor, Peter Sprague
Website	www.emilyelbert.com

Emily Caroline Elbert (born December 21, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. She has independently released three albums: Bright Side (2006),^[1] Proof (2010),^[2][3] and Alive, In Love (2011), and one E.P., "Evolve" (2013).

From 2015-2016, Elbert sang, played guitar, and acted as member of Esperanza Spalding's experimental jazz and theater project. The band toured internationally and recorded one album, Emily's D+Evolution.

Biography

The daughter of a teacher and a pianist, Elbert was raised in Dallas and the Dallas suburb of Coppell, Texas. Emily spent her childhood playing piano, and listening to musicians such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stevie Wonder, and James Taylor.^[4] As a teenager, inspired by Jimi Hendrix, she began playing guitar and singing.^[5] She attended the Berklee College of Music Five-Week Performance Program, which she paid for with local performances and sales of her first album, Bright Side.^[6]

Proof, Elbert's second studio album, was released in September 2010 and was co-produced by Elbert and Berklee professor Stephen Webber. Accompanying Elbert on the album is an international cast of musicians from India, Israel, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and the U.S., including Grammy-winning cellist Eugene Friesen, and Elbert's father Roland on piano.^[7] According to Elbert, "the concept of Proof is based on a song on the CD where the chorus is "proof that there's love/proof that there's peace/proof we can be redeemed". That's a theme woven throughout the record — finding love and peace in the natural world, in relationships, in the mind, and even in life's rough situations."^[8]

In 2010, Glamour Magazine named Elbert one of their "Top 10 College Women" of the year.

Elbert's third album, Alive, In Love was a live CD and DVD created in a two-day period in Massachusetts. The album was recorded, arranged, performed, produced, and filmed by local college students, and was funded entirely by fans on the crowd-sourcing platform Kickstarter. Alive, In Love was recorded in 2011 and released in the spring of 2012.

In 2011, Elbert graduated with an Artists' Diploma from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts on a full-tuition scholarship.^[9]

Evolve, Elbert's fourth independent release, was recorded in Brooklyn, New York, co-produced with Dan Knobler at Mason Jar Music and released in 2013.

In 2016, Elbert released "Letting Go / Here and Now", two songs recorded in Los Angeles.

Events and Touring

Elbert has toured across the US and in more than 30 other countries,^[10] and has opened for G. Love & Special Sauce, Victor Wooten, Leon Russell, Kaki King, Crystal Bowersox, The Wood Brothers, Tuck & Patti, Richie Havens, Robben Ford, Jorge Drexler, Nneka, Emily King, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Joan Osborne, and Ben Taylor.^[11] Elbert has also performed on numerous television and radio programs, and taught workshops to students in the United States and Asia.

From 2015-2016, Elbert toured as a member of jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding's band, entitled Emily's D+Evolution. Elbert sang and played guitar with the group in recordings and live shows.

Discography

• Bright Side (2006)
• Proof (2010)
• Alive, In Love (2011)
• Evolve (2013)

References

External links

• Official Website