Acoustic jazz-pop with funky grooves, shimmering harmonies and eclectic lyrical wisdom.

6 MP3 Songs
FOLK: like Joni, POP: Piano



Details:
Mary Kastle is a singer-songwriter-pianist emerging from the legacy of songwriters that cut their teeth in piano bars; Carole King, Tori Amos, Billy Joel, Elton John and the like. Her first release, Fresh Air, a six-song demo EP, showcases her bold yet unassuming style of jazz-pop and reveals her poignant vocals, deep grooves, and poetic musings about our complex human natures.

Fresh Air is an exciting step for Mary as she launches her recording career on her own label, Starbird Records. She has been performing on the Vancouver music scene since entering the jazz piano program at Vancouver Community College in 2000 and then transferring to Capilano College, she went on to complete her degree in jazz piano in 2005. Since graduation, she has been performing around Vancouver with her band and playing in piano bars on cruise ships and in hotels to support her writing career. âItâs taken me a while to merge all my influences and develop my own consistent voice in the music Iâm making.â

Mary began playing the piano as a very young child but oddly enough avoided practicing because she hated the idea that her family could hear her mistakes. She was overjoyed when at age 10 her father let her quit and turn to dancing. It wasnât until she took up guitar and voice a few years later that she got over her self-consciousness and fell in love with the sound of the piano. She called up her old piano teacher and âthe rest is history.â She spent her teenage years studying classical music and playing in rock bands and eventually released her first independent album at age 18. Almost simultaneously, Mary was faced with the tragic death of her boyfriend in a motorcycle accident. This shattering moment catapulted her into focusing completely on her musical career. Disappointed with the unprofessional result of her album, she decided to drop playing the guitar, focus on the piano and enter VCC to start a new journey on her musical path.

Now, five years later, Mary has evolved from the young amateur she once was into a sophisticated, professional musician who is pushing the boundaries of popular and jazz music. Experience, passion, rejection, fun, death, and life have infused her songs with a new resonance of meaning and a love of the groove. Sheâs moving forward with intricate social and political themes while continuing to strive for that perfect hybrid of jazz, pop, folk, rock, and funk. Mary will be touring in 2007 and collaborating with producer-engineer Paul Shatto on her debut CD due for release in 2008.