Sound Perspectives
by Baabe Irving

Martha Redbone
Singer/songwriter/producer/artist

Martha Redbone, recipient of the fifth annual NAMA (Native American Music Awards) 2001 Debut Artist of the Year Award, was born in New York and raised both in Brooklyn and Benham-Lynch, Kentucky. She was teased as a child and called “Redbone,” a slang term for a person with black and Indigenous American (Indian) ancestry. Redbone, whose father is Black and Blackfoot Indian and whose mother is Blackfoot, Shawnee and Choctaw, later chose the term “redbone” for her name. Redbone explains, “I used to be ashamed of it, but now I embrace it as my own identity. I do my own thing. I exist outside the mainstream and it works just fine for me.” The title of Redbone’s debut CD “Home of the Brave” is, of course, in reference to her own Native American lineage. The word “Brave” is commonly known as deliniation for young Native American warriors. Ironically, the phrase “land of the free… home of the brave” is sung in the closing line of America’s national anthem within a context, which places it in diametricaljuxtaposition to the “Brave Indian.” Nevertheless, Redbone brings her intent and meaning “home” saying, “It’s a hard thing to do these days, to follow what you believe in. When you do that, then you become brave. Your body becomes more than a body. It becomes a home of the brave.”

One of Martha Redbone’s mentors was the legendary musician, Walter ‘Junie’ Morrison, who was an original member of the Ohio Players and later, Parliament Funkadelic. Redbone was subsequently a background vocalist on the Mothership Connection reunion album with George Clinton, leader of Parliament Funkadelic.

During a recent visit to Chicago, Martha Redbone, while on her national promotional tour, admitted being influenced and inspired by the early work of Sly Stone and Prince. I heard her sing live at the Heartland Café prior to listening to her CD and although I could hear traces of those influences, I heard an unique multi-faceted, mature vocal performer who loved what she was doing.

I was quite mesmerized by her total artistic prowess as a vocal stylist with a strong sense of witty lyricism. Her songs had an earthiness – a “down home” feeling, although-be-it with a contemporary sophistication as it were, along with a story-telling quality that kept me hanging on to every word. She was not the euphemistic “chick singer” belting out cover tunes. She was the pop icon of our day singing her hit songs oblivious to the fact that the masses had not yet discovered her rare artistry.

Her band didn’t consist of her normal rhythm section. There was simply keyboard and guitar. It didn’t seem to matter at all, because of the mastery of the players and their complete congruence with the music – as if they lived and breathed it daily. Well, as a matter of fact they did. Guitarist Alan ‘AB’ Burroughs with whom I had worked with the Miles Davis band in 1987, had worked on the “Home of the Brave” CD and was now providing soulful guitar and vocal harmonization on the live concert tour. I know Burroughs to be a dynamic composer/arranger and improvisational musician who had also worked with Jonathan Maron (Maxwell) and saxophonist Art Porter. He was quite enthusiastic about this collaboration with Martha Redbone as he played colorful chords, tasty rhythms and engaging solos. British keyboardist Aaron Whitby was equally at “home” with the music as the co-writer and co-producer with Redbone on the CD. I could tell that he had a jazzy background as he improvised in between the groove. Born in London, England, Whitby played piano as a kid and guitar as a teen. As a jazz pianist & keyboard man, he performed all over Europe playing in top hotspots from Ronnie Scotts in London to the WOMAD and Montreaux Jazz Festival. He has done remixes for various underground UK soul acts and has engineered Donna Summer and Natalie Cole and is currently writing tracks on a new project for George Clinton and Mothership. In 2000 he co-founded Blackfeet Productions with Martha Redbone and co-produced her astounding debut CD.

When I popped the CD into my player, it was not with great anticipation of the unknown, but rather with a strong desire for a replay of those melodic, crafty songs delivered by this earthy voice I had already experienced in concert. The production quality of the recording was pristine. The arrangements and layers of sound were organic real performances and not just loops. The vocal dynamics are non-linear and widely varied with peaks and valleys even within one verse at times. Redbone uses the full range of her voice to color the words like multicolored emotional strokes on a vast sound canvas. It was no surprise to find out that Redbone almost pursued a career as a visual artist. Her music is a painting you can hear.

Redbone’s Native American heritage is not blatantly espoused on the CD, but rather subtlety exhibited as a matter of fact in songs like “Underdog” in which she sings phrases like, “they say every cloud has got a silver lining round it, mine just needs a little dusting off… we are the underdog, we’re the fighters getting ready for the next round… there’s a million others out there trying just like me… put us all together, same drum, same beat.” Acoustic guitar and the electric piano of Aaron Whitby give this song a folk flavor. When the drum groove kicks in on the second verse building the momentum into the next chorus, the chorus arrives with the power of an anthem tailor-made for the underclass of the world. “That song is so true to my heart,” Redbone shares. “It encompasses all that I am. It’s honest to the bone. I am the underdog. That can be a difficult way of life, but it makes you stronger. If you can keep from getting bitter, it can make success all the sweeter.”

Likewise, “Vineyard” conveys the Native love of ‘the land’ with the lyric “…don’t need a reservation, I’m parking my own car beside the river view on the pier… I wanna place at the vineyard, I wanna place where the grapes are sweet…”

There are love songs like “Say U Love Me” and breakup songs like “Someday We’ll Be Friends” and the hilarious boyfriend song about the guy who tells her “I have a boyfriend ooh… but I kinda like girls too.” Of the impressive variety of songs on her CD, Redbone states, “I use my songs as a form of therapy… My songs come from different things or moments in time. I’ll hear a phrase or a funny line that sticks in my mind; from there it will lead into a story based on experiences I’ve had or those of other people in my live.”

The term Neo Soul has been coined as a way to categorize the new wave of artists whose music is characterized by lyrical and music introspection and integrity as much of the music of the 70s and 80s. Despite being compared to today’s Neo Soul divas, Redbone has found her own true inner voice. She said, “I don’t mind comparisons, because I believe that we’re all working toward the same thing,” Redbone says. “It’s nice to be singled out, of course, but in the end we are all trying to the melody back into soul music. That’s a movement that needs every possible voice and songwriter. I’m proud to be part of that.”

Please treat yourself to an uncommon musical phenomenon at
www. Martharedbone.com.

By Paulanne Simmons
for The Brooklyn Papers

"I'm a real Brooklyn girl," says Martha Redbone, who was born, raised and still lives in the borough. She's also one of the rising stars on the pop, soul-funk retro horizon.

On July 17, singer-songwriter Redbone will perform on a double bill with vocalist Donnie at BAM's Rhythm & Blues Festival at Metrotech.

Some of the songs Redbone will sing will be on her upcoming (as yet untitled) CD, and some will be from her debut release "Home of the Brave." In a telephone interview from Arizona, where Redbone was on tour, she explained the meaning of her CD's title.

"There is no song with that title," she said. "This is my first record. I want it to be known all over the world that I am an American artist. It's the last line of the national anthem. It was not meant for people that looked like me. It was meant for white people. It would be nice to give the face of the 'home of the brave' a brown face -- mine. The face of the 21st century."

As the daughter of mixed-race parents -- her father is black, her mother American Indian -- Redbone certainly has a valid claim on both the heritage and the future of America. But her mixed roots have also had a profound influence on her music.

Redbone's song "Vineyard" begins with an American Indian drum and sounds reminiscent of a chain gang. The song "Free" has a funky Creole slant blended with hip-hop beats. And the track "Heaven" has a gospel sound.

Redbone grew up in a home filled with music -- from her father's favorites (Earth, Wind and Fire; Sly and the Family Stone; and Stevie Wonder) to her mother's choices (The Eagles, Don McLean). But she insists that her own music is something very different.

"I believe songwriting is a craft. I love a melody. I love chord changes. I love movement in a song," she told GO Brooklyn.

She is also very attentive to the meaning of her songs. "I'm a humanitarian," Redbone says. "I write about what I see. I write about life and love, and the pursuit of happiness."

Sometimes Redbone's material brings her into the realm of the controversial. "My song 'Boyfriend' is about a girl who dates a boy she later finds out is bisexual," Redbone explains. "My publisher said to me, 'This will never make it on the radio. It's too controversial.' When someone says that, it's just a green light for me."

As someone who has tasted the bitter fruit of prejudice, Redbone has a well-developed social consciousness -- which can be seen in her songs "Underdog" and "Vineyard." In fact, her adopted name, Redbone, is slang and an insult for someone with black and American Indian ancestry.

"I decided I'm not going to blend in. I am going to be exactly what I am," says the Brooklyn Heights resident. Redbone also decided she was going to speak her mind. "In 'Vineyard' I talk about a lot of the injustices I see in the world between the haves and the have-nots," she says.

Redbone got her "biggest budge" toward professional singing when she was working as an illustrator for Parliament Funkadelic in London. "During recording sessions, everyone wants to run into the studio and get on the album. I did that one day, and that was it. I knew that was where I belong," she says.

In London, Redbone teamed up with her co-writer and producer, Aaron Whitby. With the help of Walter "Junie" Morrison of the Ohio Players and Parliament Funkadelic, Redbone and Whitby founded Blackfeet Productions back in the States and recorded "Home of the Brave."

Redbone also started singing in Brooklyn's "coffee kind of places." One of her goals these days is to appear on the stage of Park Slope's SouthPaw.

Is anyone there listening?

Martha Redbone: Home Of The Brave
Rating - A

Sometimes an artist comes along and you can not wait to write the review, because you have so many things to say, you feel no one will believe it. Martha Redbone is that artist. Every track on the CD is a good listen. The music is crisp with a strong sense of old style rhythm and blues with influences from people like Roberta Flack, Dionne Warwick, and other seventies R&B artists. The songs are at the same time fun and thought provoking. At times during the day I found myself humming through the melody lines.

The disc is produced by Aaron Whitby and Martha Redbone for Blackfeet Productions LLC. You can also find influence from the likes of Prince, Al Green, and even Sly and The Family Stone. If you miss the kind of great records these people once produced you may want to give Martha a listen. With all these influences to compare to Martha still discovers her own voice and unique style. The vocals are strong and powerful and the backing band is tight and well versed in making this type of music. Martha starts the CD by dreaming of owning a big house with lots of trees. She moves to the 'Vineyard' and you immediately get a feel for her vocal prowess. This is just plain sexy. The chorus is catchy and moves the song along nicely. The song is her dream of owning the house she talked about as a child in the intro. 'Say You Love Me' shifts gears a bit, being a love song about how great it is to see one's beloved after a long day in the mundane working world.

Martha wrote or co-wrote every song on the release. 'Underdog' slows things down a bit, but still offers hope and the vision of someone who is looking to the brighter future. 'Someday We'll Be Friends' introduces horns into the mix. It is more upbeat and definitely a dancable song while not, in itself, being dance music. Martha's vocals on 'House On The Moon' are the best on the disc. She delivers sexy moments in a full range of voice, and the song is fun. This is one you'll find yourself listening to quite a bit. 'Perfect Life' is the lost love song about how the world can tear people apart, whether it intends to or not. She keeps a positive outlook even though and the song is upbeat in tempo. 'Free' introduces an acoustic guitar, but nothing overshadows Martha's excellent voice. While Martha draws mainly from Roots Rhythm and Blues she has a grasp on other styles of music and incorporates them flawlessly. This record comes with my highest recommendation.

- Dennis Halsey
The Best Female Musicians

Voted No 1 Rising Star May/June Issue

She has been compared to Aretha Franklin, Sheryl Crow and Macy Gray, among others, but Martha Redbone (Shawnee/Choctaw/Blackfeet) says the best way to describe her first self-produced CD, Home of the Brave, is ‘Native Soul’. She explains, “While growing up, I really loved Prince and Sly and the Family Stone, and I was influenced by those heavy radio urban beats, along with pop and rap from high school, and my father played in ‘70s and ‘80s funk bands. I kinda smooth it all together with a subtle Native vibe.” The recording took the Native American Music Awards Debut of the Year prize for 2002.

George Clinton, founder of Parliament and the P-Funk All-Stars, discovered Redbone and she has sung back-up on a All-Stars album. “He gave us (she and co-producer Aaron Whitby) our start in the business, and became our mentor.” Today she writes her own melodies and lyrics, plays guitar and “a little piano,” and produces her own material via her New York City-based Blackfeet Productions company.

“I’m essentially a Brooklyn girl, although I spent a lot of time with my Grandmother in Kentucky,”  she notes. “This is where I belong. If I have a voice in music, I want to say things that will make people think. I’m trying to write something that will be around long after I’m gone. So I listen to what people say and feel. This is food for my music.”

- Natalie Noel