About

Mary Foster Conklin

JAZZ VOCALIST / RADIO HOST

New release - These Precious Days (February 24)

UPDATE:  Many thanks to all who attended the release event. New videos to come.  In the meantime, please check out the recording on Bandcamp and spread the word.

Featuring John Di Martino on piano, Sara Caswell on violin, Ed Howard on bass, Vince Cherico on drums and Guilherme Monteiro on guitar.  Just before the pandemic we worked together on a unique catalogue of Leiber and Stoller art songs.  As the world  evolves into a new chapter where nothing is as it was, we explore what’s ahead with music by Melba Liston, Leonard Cohen, Fran Landesman, Andre & Dory Previn and more.

“A winning new collection of songs… by a vocalist equally effective on suspects usual and otherwise… The contrast between Conklin’s smoky voice and Caswell’s bright, sharply defined tone often imbues the arrangements with concentrated drama.” Andrew Gilbert, JAZZTIMES

“A provocative recording. Conklin's voice is friendly, often sardonic, but always welcoming. An embarrassment of riches is MFC.” (C Michael Bailey, WildMercuryRhythm.com)

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), Conklin is a master storyteller with a talent for uncovering songs deserving more attention.   She hosts a weekly radio show celebrating women writers called "A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz" which streams online at WFDU.FM HD2 every Sunday from 3-5pm ET.

 

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MUSIC

Coming Soon - Available February 24 at iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

These Precious Days

Mary Foster Conklin

Buy album
This project is about love, loss and the power of the Now – my response to the deep disruption of the past few years, which began before the pandemic. It begins with a restless Latin arrangement of a Leonard Cohen tune about weathering heartbreak and ends with a tender piano/violin arrangement of September Song, dedicated to my Dad, whose death in
This project is about love, loss and the power of the Now – my response to the deep disruption of the past few years, which began before the pandemic. It begins with a restless Latin arrangement of a Leonard Cohen tune about weathering heartbreak and ends with a tender piano/violin arrangement of September Song, dedicated to my Dad, whose death in 2018 was a catalyst for the project. The arrangements are by pianist John diMartino and the band includes Sara Caswell on violin, Ed Howard on bass, Vince Cherico on drums and Guilherme Monteiro on guitar. Just before the pandemic we worked together on a unique catalogue of Leiber and Stoller art songs. As the world evolves into a new chapter where nothing is as it was, we explore what’s ahead with music by Melba Liston, Melissa Manchester, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Fran Landesman, Andre & Dory Previn and more.
Read more…
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    Summertime 3:18
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    Some Cats Know 4:05
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Shows

Live performances are slowly starting to come back, but you can tune in every Sunday to my radio show streaming on the internet at WFDU.FM

Date Event Location
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
Mary Foster Conklin at Mezzrow Mezzrow Jazz Club, New York Mezzrow Jazz Club, New York
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
A Broad Spectrum - The Ladies of Jazz on WFDU.FM HD2 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck
View previous events
“Conklin lends a sultry self-assurance in moods both hot and cool, swaggering with a sly poet’s percussiveness in Joni Mitchell’s “Night in the City” and crooning with velvety sophistication on “Moonglow.” - Brian Zimmerman

— Downbeat

Studio Shots