Gwyneth Herbert is a British singer-songwriter, initially known for her interpretation of jazz and swing standards, and now established as a writer of original compositions.

Early life
Born into a musical family, Herbert was raised in and around Surrey and Hampshire, in the south of England. She began playing the piano at the age of three, achieving Grade 5 by nine, and she began writing basic songs at the age of five. She also began learning the French horn, achieving Grade 8 by the age of 15.

Throughout her teenage years she played music with local orchestras and bands such as the Surrey County Youth Orchestra, and also briefly formed a short lived punk band called Wasted Minds. At 14 she recorded a demo tape of her own songs at Trinity Studios, Woking, however, despite music industry interest, she chose to continue with her studies.

At Alton College her musical tastes moved more towards jazz music, and whilst studying at St Chad's College, University of Durham, she met up with fellow student Will Rutter. Together they began to write and perform in the cafés and bars of North East England as a jazz duo called Black Coffee.

Professional career
After leaving university, Herbert and Rutter moved to London, where they soon met a former member of Boney M, who was shortly to judge a Polish television music competition. She and Rutter were invited to enter, and Black Coffee won the competition.

After returning to London, Black Coffee continued to perform in local bars, before being introduced to Ian Shaw, a noted jazz vocalist. This led eventually to the production of a debut CD of both original songs and standards, First Songs. The song "Sweet Insomnia" featured guest vocals from Jamie Cullum. The album received a significant amount of radio airplay on Jazz FM and Radio 2, and was promoted by Michael Parkinson.

Soon after, Herbert was signed to the Universal Classics and Jazz label, and released her first major label album, Bittersweet and Blue. This comprised mainly standards, with several Herbert/Rutter original tracks.

Herbert left Universal Classics and Jazz to pursue a less commercial and more personal musical direction. Collaborating with Polar Bear's Seb Rochford in a production role, Herbert's Between Me and the Wardrobe was recorded in three days and never intended for general release. The album was initially released on Herbert's own Monkeywood label before being picked up by Blue Note Records, making Herbert their first UK signing in 20 years.

In early 2008, Herbert was commissioned by a collaborative project between Peter Gabriel and Bowers & Wilkins to record an acoustic album at Gabriel's Real World Studios. The result of these sessions — Ten Lives — was released as a digital download in July 2008, available only from the Bowers and Wilkins website as part of their Music Club.

Remixed versions of these songs were to form the basis of Herbert's most recent album All The Ghosts, which was released by Naim Edge in July 2009 in Europe. The album is due for release in the United States in March 2010. This album also featured two further recordings by Robert Harder, with whom Herbert had previously collaborated as recording engineer of Between Me And The Wardrobe. All The Ghosts featured a cover version of David Bowie's Rock n Roll Suicide.

In October 2009, Herbert returned to Harder Sound Studio to record single Perfect Fit which she gave away as a free download, available exclusively from Naim Edge. In January 2010, Herbert was commissioned by Snape Maltings as Artist In Residence to write, record and perform a new body of work based on Stories of the Sea. This is due for public performance in October 2010 at Snape Maltings and around the United Kingdom.

Herbert's version of Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart, taken from second album Bittersweet and Blue, was featured on the soundtrack of romantic comedy Leap Year (2010 film), directed by Anand Tucker and starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode.

Herbert is currently working on new material for her forthcoming album.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwyneth_Herbert



Influences
Janis Ian, David Bowie, Nina Simone, Tom Cawley, Emily Dickinson, Rufus Wainwright, Velvet Underground, Paul Simon, Regina Spektor, Eugene O'Neill, Joni Mitchell, Toni Morrison, Stephen Fearing, Fran Landesman, Martin Read, James Taylor, Billie Holiday, Bill Withers, Bill Hicks, Ogden Nash, Tom Waits, Smashing Pumpkins, Laura Nyro, Bob Dylan, Neil Young...

PROGRAM
17 Jun 2010 22:00
THE LIVING ROOM NEW YORK, NEW YORK Localizar Ingressos
18 Jun 2010 18:30
Christ Church - Made in the UK Series Rochester, New York Localizar Ingressos
18 Jun 2010 20:30
Christ Church - Made in the UK Series Rochester, New York Localizar Ingressos
19 Jun 2010 6:00
Max of Eastman Place Rochester, New York Localizar Ingressos
19 Jun 2010 22:00
Max of Eastman Place Rochester, New York Localizar Ingressos
25 Jul 2010 13:30
The Pavilion Suffolk, UK
14 Aug 2010 20:00
Loungefest Alton, London and, UK