Mary Foster Conklin

Vocalist and radio host Mary Foster Conklin is a New Jersey native who came to New York to pursue theatre. Her transformation from actor to jazz singer began when she joined Art Lillard’s 15-piece Heavenly Band in 1994 and has appeared on two of his recordings. Praised as “a sensitive artist (but not frail) with a wide-ranging boldly colored voice and an open ear for off-beat material” (Washington Post), she is a master storyteller with a talent for uncovering obscure songs deserving attention. Her performances are a mix of contemporary material and standards, with an emphasis on women writers. She has performed at most of the major jazz venues in New York and on the West Coast. Her debut CD, Crazy Eyes, was listed as one of the ten best CDs of 1998 by In Theatre Magazine. Her second recording, You’d Be Paradise, was released in September 2001 to critical acclaim and worldwide airplay. Blues For Breakfast - Remembering Matt Dennis (Rhombus Records) became an award winning third CD, hailed by the press as “an overdue reminder of the honored place of Matt Dennis in American music” (Jazz Society of Oregon). Her fourth CD, Photographs, released in 2016, was a memory piece with tunes by Lennon and McCartney, Joni Mitchell, with five tunes by Beat poet Fran Landesman. Her latest project These Precious Days features mostly women writers in a savory mix of lesser-known jazz and pop tunes, all beautifully rendered by Conklin’s distinctive contralto voice and affective delivery.