Eden Atwood, It's A Quiet Thing

Eden Atwood - You Leave Me Breathless

From her album "This Is Always - The Ballad Session" (2004)

Eden Atwood, Girl Talk

In modern times, the word "ballad" has come to mean a "slow, sentimental popular song, esp a love song," or so claims Webster. That shallow definition ignores the fact that the ballad is a centuries-long tradition of human expression, one that spans Irish, Celtic, French and Mexican folk music, verse penned by Wordsworth, Keats and Shelly and 20th century standards from Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Sammy Cahn, Harry Warren and a host of others. Since ancient times, ballads have dwelt on love, good, bad and indifferent.

In modern times, the word "ballad" has come to mean a "slow, sentimental popular song, esp a love song," or so claims Webster. That shallow definition ignores the fact that the ballad is a centuries-long tradition of human expression, one that spans Irish, Celtic, French and Mexican folk music, verse penned by Wordsworth, Keats and Shelly and 20th century standards from Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Sammy Cahn, Harry Warren and a host of others. Since ancient times, ballads have dwelt on love, good, bad and indifferent.

No matter what time or place it hails from, the label "ballad" suggests form and function; rhythms, rhymes, stanzas and verse. Most importantly it is the expression of the human condition.

At best, the ballad's form becomes invisible and we are left with its dramatic message. Even as the form evolved and diversified--through the improvised lyrics of wandering troubadours, the emotionally-distant but tightly structured Parnassian school of French poets, the loosely-metered a-b-a-b rhymes of 21st century pop-- the ballad has always focused on narrative.

As any balladeer of the 19th century might tell you, the ballad is part story, part storyteller. Whether 50 or 500 years old, ballads share common themes. Those who interpret ballads, be they balladeers or torch singers, perform from a place of empathy, conviction and experience. They carry their own meaning to its story.

This Is Always brings together two of the jazz world's best storytellers: Eden Atwood, the bright standout among the current generation of vocalists, and Tom Harrell, the veteran accepted as the best lyrical trumpeter on the planet. That both these artists excel at what they do is apparent in the way they create distinctly different statements even as they perform the same music.

Eden's story, told frankly in the notes to her previous GrooveNote release Wave=85The Bossa Nova Sessions, includes her upbringing in harsh, spacious Montana (her grandfather is A.B. Guthrie, author of the classic novel The Big Sky), a distant but musical father, a struggle to survive as a singer and actress, stints in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, encouragement from the likes of Marian McPartland and Carl Jefferson of Concord Records and artistic if not commercial success at a relatively tender age.

That success did not come without difficulty. But now, based again in Montana, Eden says she's turned a corner in her life. "I feel I've grown up a bit," she explains. "I feel as if I've matured. I used to gravitate towards "Lush Life", "Good Morning Heartache," ballads that represented the more down side of life. But that's not where I am right now, I'm not as demonized as I have been in the past. Suddenly, there's a certain satisfaction in my life."

In the vanguard of the best is Eden Atwood....

“In the vanguard of the best is Eden Atwood, a pretty, willowy woman with a lovely, refreshing voice, perfect intonation, ineffable swing, and a talent for writing and composing.” – Leslie Gourse, author of Louis’ Kids.

Eden Atwood began singing jazz in Memphis, TN, at Shakey’s Pizza Parlor at age three years old. Singing jazz came naturally to Eden. Her father, Hub Atwood, was a writer and arranger for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Harry James, Stan Kenton and Nat King Cole.

When Eden was five years old, divorce split the Atwood family and Eden moved to Montana with her mother, the daughter of Pulitzer Prize winning author, A.B. Guthrie, Jr. Eden’s mother kept her love of music alive by encouraging her participation in musicals.

At 15, Eden was fronting a busy band of musicians twice her age in her hometown. Eden left two years later to attend the University of Montana's drama department. 
At 19, Eden's father died and Eden, keenly feeling the loss, set out for Chicago. 

In Chicago, Eden attended the American Conservatory of Music.
Eight years of classical piano had provided her with a solid musical foundation but Eden wanted to able to write and arrange her own material. She produced a demo tape that caught the attention of Bill Allen at Chicago's legendary, now defunct, Gold Star Sardine Bar, co-owned by Bobby Short. At 21, Eden became the headliner. She would stay for eight years with breaks to accommodate her acting and modeling jobs in New York, Los Angeles and Paris.

In 1992, Eden was tapped for recurring role on ABC's, "The Commish" and that same year she starred for nine months on the ABC daytime drama, "LOVING". It was during this time that Eden made her Manhattan singing debut in the famed Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel. Engagements at Tavern on the Green and Michael's Pub soon followed. 
A guest star role on Paramount's, "The Untouchables" brought Eden back to Chicago where she resumed her duties as headliner at the Gold Star Sardine Bar. 

In 1993, Marian McPartland of Piano Jazz fame heard Eden's self-produced CD, "Today" and forwarded it to Concord Records President, Carl Jefferson. He signed Eden immediately to a three record deal. Eden remains the youngest artist ever signed to the Concord label. "Today" was re-released under the new title "No One Ever Tells You", the title of a song that Eden's father had written for Frank Sinatra. Eden produced four CD’s on the Concord label, all of which enjoyed critical praise. 

Mark Holston of Jazziz Magazine says, "As each of her Concord CD's have confirmed in warm and swinging terms, Eden has emerged as one of the most distinctive all around talented singers to enter the crowded ranks of the female vocal tradition in years".