Kate Fenner

Last updated

Kate Fenner
Kate Fenner at Barrymores.jpg
Kate Fenner performing at Barrymore's in Ottawa, Ontario
Background information
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres Folk rock
InstrumentSinger
Years active1985–present
LabelsUFO Music
Website www.katefennermusic.com

Kate Fenner is a Canadian musician, currently based in New York City. The New York Times describes her vocal stylings as having a "lusty, alternative, Joni Mitchell-ish sound." [1] She was one of the primary singers and songwriters for the Canadian alternative rock band Bourbon Tabernacle Choir in the 1980s and 1990s. After its dissolution, Fenner continued performing as a duo with her former Bourbon bandmate Chris Brown. In 2000, she toured and sang with Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip on the "Music @ Work" tour. [2] Fenner released a solo album, Horses and Burning Cars, in 2003, followed by her second solo album, Magnet, produced by Chris Brown. [3]

Contents

While a member of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, she performed the singing voice of Marnie McPhail's character in the drama film The Circle Game . [4]

Fenner's music was also featured on the soundtrack for the Mystery on Fifth Avenue Apartment project by the New York City architecture firm 212box. Salamandre, co-written by her and Brown, was built around four melodies of inspiration through four centuries of music, including renaissance, classical, Victorian, a Venetian waltz, jazz, ragtime, blues, folk, and funk. [5] Salamandre was commissioned and curated as part of the "Mystery On Fifth Avenue" by architectural designer Eric Clough. [6] The song was also covered by Sarah Harmer on her 2005 album I'm a Mountain .

In December 2004, through January 2005, Fenner was invited to be the opening act for blues artist B.B. King on a tour through the American South, and at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut and BB King's in New York City, performing a 30-minute set.

At this time, Fenner also began to sing in several performance pieces for the visual artist Joan Jonas, among them "The Shape, the Scent, the Feel of Things" (originally commissioned by the Dia Beacon and subsequently performed around the world (Berlin, São Paulo), "Reading Dante", and "They Come to Us Without a Word", which premiered at the Venice Biennale in 2015.

In November 2017, she released a third solo album, Middle Voice, followed with some performances. Fenner recorded it with long-time musical collaborator Tony Scherr. Musical contributors to the recording include Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, Norah Jones, Chris Brown, and Tony Scherr.

Discography

Kate Fenner

Chris Brown and Kate Fenner

With Bourbon Tabernacle Choir

Contributions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Cassidy</span> American singer (1963–1996)

Eva Marie Cassidy was an American singer and musician known for her interpretations of jazz, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by the 1996 live solo album titled Live at Blues Alley. Although she had been honored by the Washington Area Music Association, she was virtually unknown outside her native Washington, D.C., at the time of her death from melanoma at the age of 33 in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MC Lyte</span> American rapper (born 1970)

Lana Michele Moorer, better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, MC Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first female rapper to release a full solo album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. The album spawned the singles "10% Dis" and "Paper Thin".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Ceberano</span> Australian singer

Catherine Yvette Ceberano is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the soul, jazz, and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar. Her single "Bedroom Eyes" received a platinum sales certification in 1989. As of 2023, Ceberano has 11 platinum and 8 gold albums Ceberano was the artistic director of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Pierson</span> American singer, lyricist, multi-instrumentalist (b. 1948)

Catherine Elizabeth Pierson is an American singer, lyricist, and founding member of the B-52s. She plays guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments. In the early years, as well as being a vocalist, Pierson was the main keyboard player and performed on a keyboard bass during live shows and on many of the band's recordings, taking on a role usually filled by a bass guitar player, which differentiated the band from their contemporaries. This, along with Pierson's distinctive wide-ranging singing voice, remains a trademark of the B-52s' unique sound. Pierson has also collaborated with many other artists including the Ramones, Iggy Pop and R.E.M. Pierson possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lil' Kim</span> American rapper (born 1974)

Kimberly Denise Jones, better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, she would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage. In 1994, she was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir were a Canadian alternative rock band that formed in 1985 in Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Brown (Canadian musician)</span> Musical artist

Hugh Christopher Brown is a Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Chris Brown and Kate Fenner were a folk rock duo, consisting of vocalist Kate Fenner and multi-instrumentalist Chris Brown, who were active from 1996 to 2005. Although based primarily in New York City, both Brown and Fenner are Canadians and the group remained intimately connected to the Canadian music scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Bairnson</span> Scottish musician (1953–2023)

John "Ian" Bairnson was a Scottish musician and member of Pilot and the Alan Parsons Project. He was a multi-instrumentalist, who played saxophone and keyboards, but mainly performed as a guitarist, which he played with a sixpence. In addition to his work with Parsons, Bairnson played guitar on four Kate Bush albums, including the guitar solo on her 1978 debut single, "Wuthering Heights".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie D'Abruzzo</span> American actress

Stephanie Ann D'Abruzzo is an American actress, puppeteer and singer. She has performed various Muppets in the TV program Sesame Street. She held starring roles on the children's TV shows Oobi and The Book of Pooh.

<i>Im a Mountain</i> 2005 studio album by Sarah Harmer

I'm a Mountain is an album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer, released in 2005. She received three Juno Award nominations for her work on the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Scherr</span> American jazz and folk rock musician

Tony Scherr is an American jazz and folk rock bassist, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer.

<i>The Secret Sessions</i> 2007 compilation album by various artists

The Secret Sessions is a tribute album to Canadian indie rock band Rheostatics, released March 16, 2007 through the web label Zunior. The album was released to coincide with the band's farewell show scheduled for March 30, and features Canadian indie rock artists performing Rheostatics songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debbie Harry</span> American singer-songwriter and actress (born 1945)

Deborah Ann Harry is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached No.1 on the US charts between 1979 and 1981.

<i>My Old Man</i> (album) 2006 compilation album by Various Artists

My Old Man is a 2006 album compiled by Rosanna Goodman in tribute to her father, folk singer-songwriter Steve Goodman. The twelve tracks are all covers of songs written by Steve Goodman.

Leslie Mills is an American actress, film producer, singer, songwriter, and record producer.

Eric Clough is an American architectural designer.

"Mystery on Fifth Avenue" is the title of a New York Times article written by Penelope Green in June 2008 about a mystery apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The apartment, a 4,200-square-foot luxury co-op formerly inhabited by Marjorie Merriweather Post and E.F. Hutton, was purchased by Wall Street mogul Steven B. Klinsky and his wife Maureen Sherry for $8.5 million. They hired architectural designer Eric Clough and his firm 212box for the renovation, during which Clough embedded an extensive mystery in the apartment in the form of riddles, ciphers, puzzles, and hidden objects, for Klinsky’s and Sherry's four children. It was done without his clients' knowledge, and they did not discover the mystery until several months after moving in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Boi</span> American rapper (born 1975)

Antwan André Patton, known professionally as Big Boi, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Savannah, Georgia and raised in Atlanta, he was one half of the Southern hip hop duo Outkast along with rapper André 3000, which the two formed in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Blake (musician)</span> Canadian musician (born 1964)

Michael Blake is a Canadian saxophonist, composer and arranger. Blake is based in New York City where he has led a robust career leading his own bands. As a sideman Michael has performed with Charlie Hunter, The Lounge Lizards, Steven Bernstein, Ben Allison and Ray LaMontagne. The New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff wrote,"Mr. Blake, on tenor especially, is an endlessly engaging improviser, and an inquisitive one".

References

  1. Green, Penelope (12 June 2008). "Mystery on Fifth Avenue". The New York Times.
  2. "The Tragically Hip: Unreleased". The Tragically Hip official website.
  3. ""Magnet" by Kate Fenner". CD Baby.
  4. Christopher Harris, "Film Review: The Circle Game". The Globe and Mail , November 19, 1994.
  5. 212box (2007). Klinsky Residence and "In These Rooms of Wood and Stone" Answer Book. 212box. pp. 46–47.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. Green, Penelope (12 June 2008). "Mystery on Fifth Avenue". The New York Times.