ANNE HEATON

Anne Heaton is all about layers. Her first full studio album, "Black Notebook," shimmers and shines with them: layers of simple intricacies, and of complex spareness. "I have always been a huge Peter Gabriel fan," Heaton says "Musically, because his songs are melodically simple and gorgeous, and then he builds them up from their simplicity with African drums, deep bass lines, rock drum loops and many harmonic layers, to be so large and moving. This is what we tried to do with this record. Build the songs up from their essence."

Essentially speaking, Anne Heaton has been lauded by critics as "a keen observer of human nature" with "an uncanny ability to so succinctly and unpretentiously say what she has to say in her diary-like lyrics." She's been praised as "sweetly nostalgic without being overly sentimental and powerful without being melodramatic." The Boston Globe hailed her as "easily [one] of the area's most notable female singer-songwriters." And Chris Smith, former editor of Performing Songwriter magazine, wrote, "Heaton is one of the finest writers and performers I've come across in years -- she is one of the standards by which I measure talent in the New York music community. That she is not on a major label is nothing short of criminal."

Critics' plaudits aside, Heaton's music is soul-touching and soul-baring. "Black Notebook," which borrows its title from one of Heaton's favorite songs on the album, is a luminous collection, full of snapshots of life and the sorts of people who frequent all of our personal circles. Equal parts conversational and storytelling, her songs are catchy, with soaring melodies boasting great emotional pull and smart lyrics. Her musings are backed by lush, full-band textures, often set to hypnotic hip-hop-like loops. Rising over it all is Heaton's voice - a syncopated icing on the musical cake. Co-produced by Heaton herself and David Seitz (Suzanne Vega, Susan McKeown, Richard Shindell), the album is being self-released, with distribution through Goldenrod.

Heaton hails from Chicago, where she began pestering her parents for piano lessons at the tender age of three. "I have no idea why," she says, "but my mom signed me up for them." She studied classical piano until she went off to Notre Dame for college, at which point she took a hiatus from playing and instead sang in a cover band. After graduation, Heaton moved to New York City, where she began her singer-songwriter career seated at a piano at open mic nights. "Trying to sing and play the piano at the same time was weird at first," she recalls. "Now I can't seem to do one without the other." She began taking music lessons at City College in Harlem to broaden her music background and to learn some new styles. While there, she played in a jazz group and in a Latin band. "I wanted to find different ways to play the piano," she says. "I wanted to learn how to approach the piano from a songwriter's point of view. A lot of piano players are 'busy' in their playing. They play so much. I like simplicity more. Initially, I was almost afraid to be simple, like simple wasn't good. But I enjoy the simple playing much more."

Her musical influences are varied: Fine Young Cannibals, Indigo Girls ("in terms of songwriting and how they put a song together"), Peter Gabriel, Sinead O'Connor, 10,000 Maniacs, Tori Amos, Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones. Another big influence on her music was her time spent singing with a gospel choir in Harlem. "I learned a lot of early American songs, and those impacted my writing and my playing," she says. Through her work with the gospel choir, she hooked up with legendary jazz drummer/composer Max Roach, and she toured as part of his band in Europe, singing traditional spirituals and original jazz compositions.

Her performances these days are solo, as a duo with guitarist Frank Marotta, Jr., or with her full band. She is also one of several up-and-coming New York area singer-songwriters who perform in the round as "Live From New York." The group broke attendance records last year in New York clubs as well as Club Passim in Boston. Additionally, she has shared the stage with Jonatha Brooke, Melissa Ferrick, Dan Bern, Beth Amsel, Ellis Paul, Cliff Eberhardt and Sloan Wainwright. Through all of her touring, she has come into her own as a performer who entrances and entertains, her utter joy at performing infectious to all who see her live.

Perhaps Heaton's simple, yet layered style is best summed up by Laney Goodman, host of the nationally syndicated radio program, "Women In Music": "Anne Heaton is a brilliant composer and lyricist... She also has a voice that is intimate and a piano style unlike anything that you have heard. Her songs reach deep and touch your memories like a sea breeze before the storm, then bring you back safely to shore."

The Facts:
Artist: Anne Heaton
Album: “Black Notebook”
Release Date: September 10, 2002
Label: Spill Records
Distribution: Goldenrod