Jennifer Kimball
{{short description|American singer-songwriter}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Jennifer Kimball
| image =
| background = solo_singer
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| genre = Folk rock
| occupation = Singer, songwriter
| instrument = Vocals, guitar
| years_active =1980s–present
| label = MCA, Elektra, Green Linnet, Epoisse, Philips, Imaginary Road
| associated_acts = The Story
| website = {{URL|www.jenniferkimball.com}}
}}
Jennifer Kimball is a singer and songwriter who formed the folk duo The Story with Jonatha Brooke.{{cite web|last1=Lozaw|first1=Tristram|title=Jennifer Kimball - The Boston Globe|url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/events/articles/2007/11/08/jennifer_kimball/?page=full|website=archive.boston.com|access-date=29 April 2017|language=en|date=8 November 2007}}{{cite web|last1=Ankeny|first1=Jason|title=Jennifer Kimball|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jennifer-kimball-mn0000317864/biography|website=AllMusic|access-date=29 April 2017}}
Career
Jennifer Kimball and Amherst College friend Jonatha Brooke began playing music together in the 1980s. They performed regularly during their college years.{{cite news
| author = Derk Richardson
| title = A Label Of Her Own -- Jonatha Brooke takes back her music with Steady Pull
| publisher = The San Francisco Chronicle
| date = March 29, 2001
| url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2001/03/29/derk.DTL
| access-date = 2009-09-18
}} Their folk songs were marked by "witty wordplay and sumptuous pop harmonies," according to one music critic.{{cite news
|author = Himes|title = Jonatha Brooke: "10 Cent Wings" Refuge/MCA|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = November 7, 1997|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/11/07/jonatha-brooke-10-cent-wings-refugemca/b0be294b-5330-4b80-a583-050be3a5206e/|access-date = 2009-09-18|first = Geoffrey}} Critics noted a resemblance between their music and earlier artists such as Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon in terms of excellent musicianship, singing, and writing.{{cite news
| author = Tracy Collins
| title = On the Arts: They are chicks, hear them roar as a musical influence
| publisher = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
| date = January 2, 2000
| url = http://www.postgazette.com/magazine/20000102onarts3.asp
| access-date = 2009-09-18
| archive-date = 2007-08-14
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070814132910/http://www.postgazette.com/magazine/20000102onarts3.asp
| url-status = dead
}} Kimball graduated from Amherst in 1986.{{cite news
| title = Who has attended Amherst College?
| quote = Musicians Jonatha Brooke Mallet 1985 and Jennifer Kimball 1986, both formerly of the Sabrinas and The Story.
| publisher = Amherst College website
| date = 2009-11-11
| url = http://www3.amherst.edu/~rjyanco94/genealogy/acbiorecord/faq.html
| access-date = 2009-11-11
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090620055404/http://www3.amherst.edu/~rjyanco94/genealogy/acbiorecord/faq.html
| archive-date = 2009-06-20
| url-status = dead
}}
They called themselves The Story. One critic wrote "Jennifer Kimball played the Art Garfunkel role in The Story" and contributed "high ethereal harmonies."{{cite news
| author = Geoffrey Himes
| title = JENNIFER KIMBALL: "Veering From the Wave"; Imaginary Road
| newspaper = The Washington Post
| date = September 4, 1998
| url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-669309.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121026143715/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-669309.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = October 26, 2012
| access-date = 2009-09-19
}} In 1989, the duo played the coffeehouse folk circuit and radio which exemplified the "folk-rock singer-songwriter aesthetic," according to one account. Kimball and Brooke "burst to fame" with this combination.{{cite news
|author = Alarik|title = Jennifer Kimball|publisher = The Boston Globe|date = May 4, 2006|url = https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7955551.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160220220842/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7955551.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = February 20, 2016|access-date = 2009-09-19|first = Scott}} They created a demo called Over Oceans and were promptly signed to the independent label Green Linnet which, in 1991, issued the duo's debut full-length album, Grace in Gravity. Later Elektra Records signed The Story and reissued their debut.
Their second album, The Angel in the House, was released in 1993.{{cite news
| author = STEPHEN HOLDEN
| title = RECORDINGS VIEW; Arrangements And Harmonies For a Folk Cuisine
| work = The New York Times
| date = July 25, 1993
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/25/arts/recordings-view-arrangements-and-harmonies-for-a-folk-cuisine.html
| access-date = 2009-09-19
}} One critic raved about the "exquisite arrangements and tricky, pitch-perfect harmonies by Ms. Brooke and her vocal partner, Jennifer Kimball," and added they "are the last word in elegant folk-pop refinement." The album featured "moody jazz and Brazilian-flavored arrangements" and "the duo's harmonies, which usually begin in a comfortably folkish vein, frequently stray into precise chromatic dissonance" and had a "sophisticated international flavor." Their song "Over Oceans" was used as a background for dance by choreographer Kristen Caputo.{{cite news
| author = JACK ANDERSON
| title = Review/Dance; An Old Friendship Fraying
| work = The New York Times
| date = June 18, 1992
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/18/arts/review-dance-an-old-friendship-fraying.html
| access-date = 2009-09-19
}} The songs contemplate a woman's conflicting desires for love and achievement and the need to shake off the romantic myth of a male rescuer.{{cite news
| author = STEPHEN HOLDEN
| title = Critic's Notebook; Adult Sounds From (Way) Off the Charts
| work = The New York Times
| date = September 24, 1993
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/24/arts/critic-s-notebook-adult-sounds-from-way-off-the-charts.html?pagewanted=2
| access-date = 2009-09-19
}}
Another critic discussed the contrast between the patter between songs and the songs themselves, noting the duo's "levity" between heavy songs about "God, church, death, female oppression, self-suppression, mothers and daughters." Their songs adroitly avoided "heavy-handedness" with a certain "winning buoyancy of tune and/or spirit" with "sophisticated harmonic changes whose intriguing hooks come at you cockeyed and sideways more often than they swoop down from the heavens."{{cite news
| title = POP MUSIC REVIEWS - Vocal Precision From the Story
| work = Los Angeles Times
| date = October 26, 1993
| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-26-ca-49742-story.html
| access-date = 2009-09-18
| first=Chris
| last=Willman
}} The duo were compared with artists such as Suzanne Vega and Indigo Girls.{{cite news
| author = JEAN ROSENBLUTH
| title = Pop Reviews - Uneven Set by Pair of Boston Singers
| work = Los Angeles Times
| date = June 27, 1992
| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-27-ca-752-story.html
| access-date = 2009-09-18
}} Another reviewer gave the duo mixed reviews: "intriguingly distorted harmonies and interesting turns of phrase" but some "attempts at cleverness overreached" and there was "a painfully obvious unrecorded song about dieting and a silly, albeit self-consciously so, stab at voguing a la Madonna." Another wrote their "music can alternate between heart-rending poetry and infectious flights of fancy."{{cite news
| author = Robert Sherman
| title = MUSIC; Manhattan Quartet in Season Finale
| work = The New York Times
| date = March 21, 1993
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/21/nyregion/music-manhattan-quartet-in-season-finale.html?pagewanted=2
| access-date = 2009-09-19
}}
Solo albums
Kimball and Brooke dissolved their musical partnership in 1994, while Kimball performed her songs in a variety of venues and continued to write music.
In 1998, Kimball released the album Veering from the Wave. A Washington Post critic applauded the singing as "handsome" and the songwriting as excellent. In 1999, Kimball opened for folk artists such as Tom Rush.{{cite news
| author = Robert Sherman
| author-link = Robert Sherman (music critic)
| title = MUSIC; Trying Out for Conductor
| work = The New York Times
| date = January 10, 1999
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/10/nyregion/music-trying-out-for-conductor.html
| access-date = 2009-09-19
}} In 2000, she was a featured performer at the Eli Whitney Folk Festival in New Haven.{{cite news
| author = MELINDA TUHUS
| title = MUSIC; Where 60's Values Still Hold Sway
| work = The New York Times
| date = September 10, 2000
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/10/nyregion/music-where-60-s-values-still-hold-sway.html
| access-date = 2009-09-19
}} Her song "Meet Me in the Twilight" received radio airplay, including on San Francisco station KPFA.{{cite news
| author = Derk Richardson
| title = The Hear and Now: KPFA Playlist
| publisher = San Francisco Chronicle
| date = 1 March 2001
| url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2001/03/01/derklist.DTL&hw=playlist&sn=150&sc=771
| access-date = 2009-09-19
}} She's recorded with other artists including Wayfaring Strangers, Session Americana and Tony Trischka.{{cite news
| author = Scott Alarik
| title = Wayfaring Strangers find common ground
| publisher = The Boston Globe
| date = 2003-11-14
| url = http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2003/11/14/wayfaring_strangers_find_common_ground/
| access-date = 2009-09-19
}} Kimball's music has been described as "quirky and oh-so-urban suburban" and a "sultry roots singer" with the "aching breath of a mezzo."
Kimball released her CD Oh Hear Us in 2006.{{Cite web|title = Riverwide music - The Boston Globe|url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/04/20/riverwide_music/|website = www.boston.com|access-date = 2015-12-27}} One critic wrote "her songs still ripple with eccentric surprise, sudden twists, and "A-ha!" moments."
In 2007 she worked part-time as a horticulturalist and studied landscape design at Harvard. She commented: "It's a lovely way to keep the head 'free' while working outside and dreaming up songs, designs, novels." She sang and played at Boston's Lizard Lounge with musicians including guitarist Duke Levine, lap steel player Kevin Barry, drummer Bill Beard, bassist Richard Gates, and guest artists including Dennis Brennan, Kris Delmhorst, Rose Polenzani, Anne Heaton, and Rose Cousins.
Since 2009, Kimball has performed with Wintery Songs in Eleventy Part Harmony, a loose collective of Boston-area female musicians she initiated with Rose Polenzani to perform eclectic seasonal music. The group has featured core members such as Rose Cousins and Laura Cortese{{Cite web|title = Critic's Picks: Pop Music - The Boston Globe|url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2014/11/22/critic-picks-pop-music/iatO0ixfjAzdRaXysYT97J/story.html?event=event25|website = BostonGlobe.com|access-date = 2015-12-27}} along with a revolving cast of collaborators that has included Catie Curtis, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O'Donovan. The group released an eponymous EP in 2014 and a full-length album of original, traditional and modern seasonal songs, Hark, in 2015, with contributions from Kris Delmhorst and Anais Mitchell. The group continues to perform annual holiday shows each December.{{cite web | url=https://www.winterysongs.com/about/ | title=Who We Are and What We Do | website=Wintery Songs in Eleventy Part Harmony |access-date=November 5, 2023}} The Boston Globe described them as "a veritable supergroup of some of the finest local singer-songwriters."{{cite news
| title = Critics' picks - music -- FOLK, WORLD & COUNTRY -- JENNIFER KIMBALL, ROSE POLENZANI, ROSE COUSINS
| publisher = The Boston Globe
| date = December 4, 2008
| url = http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2008/12/04/critics_picks___music/
| access-date = 2009-09-19
}}
Personal
At the beginning of her career, Kimball also worked as a children's book designer for Little, Brown and she has also studied landscape design and ecology at Boston Architectural College.{{Cite web|title = Jennifer Kimball : Newsletters : tomorrow at Johnny Ds and other news|url = http://www.jenniferkimball.com/index.php?page=newsletters&display=364&from=0|website = Jennifer Kimball|access-date = 2015-12-27|archive-date = 2016-01-05|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160105172029/http://www.jenniferkimball.com/index.php?page=newsletters&display=364&from=0|url-status = dead}} Kimball has performed to raise money for charitable organizations such as Massachusetts Families in Need{{cite news
| author = Jonathan Perry
| title = His roots are deep in social issues
| publisher = The Boston Globe
| date = January 9, 2009
| url = http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/01/09/his_roots_are_deep_in_social_issues/
| access-date = 2009-09-19
}} and she supports the cause of helping women's shelters.{{cite news
|author = Steve Morse|title = At theaters and arenas, the season is busier than ever for pop|publisher = The Boston Globe|date = September 12, 1999|url = http://graphics.boston.com/goingout/packages/fallarts/stories/pop.shtml|access-date = 2009-09-19}} She is a mother with one son and lives in the Boston, Massachusetts area.
Discography
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Jennifer Kimball |
| Album
! Year ! Label !class="unsortable"| Notes !class="unsortable"| References |
|---|
| Grace in Gravity
| 1991 | | part of The Story |
| Angel in the House
| 1993 | Elektra | part of The Story |
| Veering from the Wave
| 1998 | Philips; Imaginary Road | solo debut album |
| Oh Hear Us
| 2006 | Epoisse Records | | |
| Avocet
|2017 |Epoisse Records | |
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://www.jenniferkimball.com/index.php?page=bio Bio at her website]
- [https://www.discogs.com/artist/356682-Jennifer-Kimball Jennifer Kimball at Discogs]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimball, Jennifer}}
Category:American feminist musicians
Category:Amherst College alumni
Category:American women singer-songwriters
Category:American folk musicians
Category:American folk singers
Category:21st-century American women
Category:Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts