Patricia Barber was born in Chicago, in November 1955. Her parents were both musicians. Her father was part of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, traveling across the Midwest. Part of this travel brought the Barber family to the Sioux City area. South Sioux City in particular.
Patricia’s mother wanted her daughter to become a music teacher, but in the end Patricia went to the University of Iowa to study Jazz. She went from the University to jazz clubs in the Chicago area. In 2003, she won a Guggenheim fellowship, which allowed her to complete a song cycle based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
The library has several of her works in our music collection.
Mythologies is a 2006 Blue Note release, available on Hoopla.
The Cole Porter Mix is a 2008 release on Blue Note recording, available on Hoopla.
Smash is a 2013 release from Concord Records, available on Hoopla.
Finally, you can sample Barker’s music in Blue Note’s Women of Jazz, a 2017 release.
Happy listening!
Written By: Dan Nieman