Barbara Higbie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pianist Barbara Higbie (b. 1956) is a folk, smooth jazz, pop, and fusion singer-songwriter, noted for her highly melodic, smooth jazz piano performances. She has played music in the San Francisco Bay Area since the early 1980s. An early performer on the Windham Hill record label, she formed and played with the group Montreux along with Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, Todd Phillips, and Michael Manring. Since 1990, Barbara Higbie has released a number of solo albums, as well as two records with Teresa Trull.

Higbie played piano during her first two decades as a recording artist but has played the violin and guitar in recent concerts. Her first solo record, Signs of Life, featured her alto singing voice. She is also a noted harp player.

Born in Michigan but raised in Indiana, she spent several years as a teenager in Ghana with her family. She went to Mills College and also attended the Sorbonne in Paris. It was in Paris that she met Darol Anger and began a fruitful musical collaboration. Together they recorded the record Tideline (1982), one of the early successful records of Windham Hill. Two years later they performed with three other musicians (Mike Marshall, Todd Phillips, and Andy Narrel) for the Montreux Jazz Festival. The concert was considered so successful that a recording made at the concert was released as a Windham Hill record (Live at Montreux - Darol Anger/Barbara Higbie Quintet) and a new group was formed. However, after two studio releases, Sign Language and Let Them Say, Darol and Mike left the group to pursue their own interests; Michael and Barbara followed. Barbara occasionally collaborates with her Montreux colleagues.

Barbara Higbie has an active performing schedule and recently (August 2006) participated in the Windham Hill 30th Anniversary Concert. She is married to husband Wayne, and they have one daughter, Lena.