Emilie-Claire Barlow
Biography
EMILIE-CLAIRE BARLOW (vocalist) was born June 6, 1976 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to parents who are, themselves, respected jazz artists. Her mother is vocalist/composer/arranger Judy Tate and her father is celebrated jazz percussionist Brian Barlow. When the energetic, witty, and exceedingly talented jazz vocalist entertained a capacity crowd at Toronto’s Living Arts Centre on February 17, 2004, she became one of the youngest artists to ever headline a “Sound of Toronto Jazz” Concert, although already a veteran contributor to the city’s vibrant music scene.
A few years ago, CBC (Canada Now) called her “the next best thing in jazz”, but Emilie-Claire Barlow is hardly a newcomer to the music scene. She started her career as a singer and voice actor at the age of seven, lending her voice to various television and radio jingles and voice-overs, an aspect of voice work that still plays a major role in her busy performing life. For five years, she attended the Etobicoke School of the Arts studying musical theatre and dance, later focusing her studies on music theory and arranging at Toronto’s Humber College. It was during that time that she put her first jazz quartet together and quickly established a key place for herself on the Toronto jazz landscape.
The self-managed Barlow has been called a “truly independent artist”, exercising creative control in all aspects of her endeavors – arranging, producing, even conducting as necessary, and releasing her recordings on her own label, Empress Music Group.
In the fall of 1998, she released her first album, Emilie-Claire Barlow - Sings. Over the next five years, in between recording the critically-lauded Tribute and Happy Feet, she played consistently to sold out shows at top jazz clubs and festivals everywhere. 2005’s Like a Lover and her successful 2006 holiday album Winter Wonderland both received rave reviews and landed on important international charts, taking her already-flourishing career to new heights. Her 2007 album, The Very Thought of You,remained on jazz charts for a number of weeks. A December 2007 tour to Japan saw Barlow and her band playing for ten sold-out concerts. Her 2009 release Haven’t We Met followed suit as a chart-topping album. Emilie-Claire highlighted pop and soul compositions of the 1960's on her 2010 release, The Beat Goes On. Her 2012 release Seule ce soir, featured Barlow singing entirely in French.
Emilie-Claire Barlow’s performances have been featured in movies including A Touch of Pink, and television series Lifetime in this country and State of Mind in the U.S. As a busy studio singer and voice actor, she has been heard on numerous commercials. Her voice is also featured on several animated television series including Rescue Heroes, Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Martin Mystery, 6Teen, Spider Riders, and Total Drama Island.
In November 2013, Barlow and her group performed a sold out concert at Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre. She released Live in Tokyo in April 2014.
Awards:
2001 – JUNO nomination for 'Vocal Jazz Album' for Tribute
2008 – JUNO nomination for 'Vocal Jazz Album' for The Very Thought of You
2008 – Named National Jazz Awards’ ‘Female Vocalist of the Year’
2010 – JUNO nomination for 'Vocal Jazz Album' for Haven't We Met?
2011 – JUNO nomination for 'Vocal Jazz Album' for The Beat Goes On
2013 – JUNO Award for 'Vocal Jazz Album' for Seule ce soir
