Mary Foster Conklin

Mary Foster Conklin's approach blends jazz phrasing with cabaret sensibilities. Her commitment to vocal performance, above all in jazz, developed only after an extended period of exploration. In grade school she studied both piano and clarinet, then served as a disc jockey at WRVR during her college years. After receiving a theater degree from Connecticut College in 1979, she relocated to New York City to enroll in a theater program. Acting defined most of her work throughout her twenties, a time when she also managed a nonprofit theater company for six years. Occasional singing engagements occurred, chiefly in musical theater, yet only after she exited the company in 1988 did she devote herself fully to developing her voice. She refined her technique, began appearing regularly with Art Lillard's 15-piece Heavenly Band in 1994, performed frequently in New York clubs, and has released three CDs to date on the Mock Turtle and Rhombus labels. The 2007 collection Blues for Breakfast, devoted to songs by Matt Dennis, has so far attracted the widest notice.