Marcia Ball

Marcia Ball
Marcia Ball in concert (2005)
Background information
Born	March 20, 1949 (1949-03-20) (age 62) Orange, Texas, United States
Genres	New Orleans R&B Swamp blues Louisiana blues Texas blues
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Piano Vocals
Years active	1970–present
Associated acts	Lou Ann Barton Angela Strehli Irma Thomas Tracy Nelson
Website	Marcia Ball.com

Marcia Ball (born March 20, 1949, Orange, Texas, United States)^[1] is an American blues singer and pianist, born in Orange, Texas but who grew up in Vinton, Louisiana.^[1] She was described in USA Today as "a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist... where Texas stomp-rock and Louisiana blues-swamp meet."^[2] The Boston Globe described her music as "an irresistible celebratory blend of rollicking, two-fisted New Orleans piano, Louisiana swamp-rock and smoldering Texas blues from a contemporary storyteller."^[3]

Career

Born into a musical family, Ball began playing piano at age 5, and showed an early interest in New Orleans style piano playing, as exemplified by Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, and James Booker. She has named Irma Thomas, the New Orleans vocalist, as her chief vocal inspiration. Ball entered Louisiana State University in the late 1960s as an English major.^[1] In college, she played in a psychedelic rock and roll band, called Gum.^[1] In 1970, at age 21, she started a progressive country band called Freda and the Firedogs in Austin, Texas, and began her solo career in 1974.^[4]

Ball is known for her piano style, which shows elements of zydeco, swamp blues, Louisiana blues and boogie woogie.^[5] She began her recording career as a solo artist with Rounder Records in the 1980s and early 1990s.^[4] In 2001, she joined Chicago-based Alligator Records.

Her Rounder album, Sing It!, which also featured vocalists Irma Thomas and Tracy Nelson, released in January 1998 was nominated for both a Grammy Award and a Blues Music Award as "Best Contemporary Blues Album." Ball also received the 1998 Blues Music Award for "Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year" and "Best Blues Instrumentalist-Keyboards."^[6] She was awarded “Contemporary Blues Album of the Year” for her albums Presumed Innocent (2002) and So Many Rivers (2004). The same year she also won “Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year-Female.” She won the "Best Blues Instrumentalist-Keyboards" again in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009. Her 2003 Alligator release, So Many Rivers, was nominated for a Grammy as were Live! Down The Road (2005) and Peace, Love & BBQ (2008). She was inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame in 1990.

Ball has continued to work with Irma Thomas. In 2006, the two contributed a duet ("Look Up") on the New Orleans Social Club release, Sing Me Back Home (Burgundy Records/Honey Darling Records). In 2007, the two contributed another duet ("I Can't Get New Orleans Off My Mind") to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard Records).

Ball, who has established herself as an important player in the club scenes in both New Orleans, Louisiana and Austin continues to work at festivals and clubs throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.^[1] The current band members are Ball (piano, vocals); Don Bennett (bass, vocals); Mike Schermer (guitar, vocals); Damien Llanes (drums, vocals); Thad Scott (saxophone).^[7]

Discography

Solo or principal artist

• 2011: Roadside Attractions (Alligator Records)
• 2008: Peace, Love & BBQ (Alligator)
• 2007: JazzFest Live (MunckMusic\Munck)
• 2005: Live! Down The Road (Alligator Records)
• 2004: Live at Waterloo Records (Alligator Records)
• 2003: So Many Rivers (Alligator)
• 2001: Presumed Innocent (Alligator Records)
• 1998: Sing It! (Rounder) (with Tracy Nelson and Irma Thomas)
• 1997: Let Me Play With Your Poodle (Rounder)
• 1994: Blue House (Rounder)
• 1990: Dreams Come True (Antone's) (with Lou Ann Barton and Angela Strehli)
• 1989: Gatorhythms (Rounder)
• 1985: Hot Tamale Baby (Rounder)
• 1984: Soulful Dress (Rounder)
• 1978: Circuit Queen (Capitol)
• 1972: Freda and the Firedogs

Other contributions

• 2007: Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard Records) Duet with Irma Thomas, "I Can't Get New Orleans Off My Mind".
• 2006: Sing Me Back Home New Orleans Social Club (Burgundy Records/Honey Darling Records) Duet with Irma Thomas, "Look Up".

Filmography

• 2006: New Orleans Music in Exile
• 2003: The Blues, episode Piano Blues directed by Clint Eastwood

Festival appearances

• Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival (Helena, AR) - 2010
• New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival - 2007, 2008, 2009
• Waterfront Blues Festival (Portland, OR) - 2007
• National Folk Festival (USA) - 2005
• Austin City Limits Music Festival - 2004
• Monterey Jazz Festival - 2002
• Thursday at the Square - 2002
• Long Beach Blues Festival - 1996
• San Francisco Blues Festival - 1984

See also

• List of blues musicians
• List of boogie woogie musicians
• List of Louisiana blues musicians
• List of Swamp blues musicians
• List of people from Texas
• List of Austinites
• Music of Austin
• Lake Eden Arts Festival

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Allmusic biography
2. ^ Gundersen, Edna. USA Today, February 5, 2006
3. ^ Gilbert, Andrew (19 February 2006), "A Gulf Coast treasure breaks out", Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2006/02/19/a_gulf_coast_treasure_breaks_out/, retrieved 26 October 2009 
4. ^ ^{a b} Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. pp. 90. ISBN 1-85868-255-X. 
5. ^ Blues.about.com biography
6. ^ The Rosebud Agency Bio
7. ^ Marciaball.com

External links

• Official Marcia Ball website
• Marcia Ball at the Internet Movie Database
• Marcia Ball on Myspace
• Marcia Ball at Facebook
• Fan site
• Le Show interview: Shearer, Harry (May 8, 2005). "le Show". HarryShearer.com. http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=473. Retrieved January 5, 2009. 

Persondata
Name	Ball, Marcia
Alternative names
Short description	American blues singer and pianist
Date of birth	March 20, 1949
Place of birth	Orange, Texas, United States
Date of death
Place of death