Jazz artist Martha Lorin passed away on November 4th from pancreatic cancer. She was 74 years old.
Raised to be a jazz singer, Martha was born into a family of professional musicians and Welsh singers. Her grandmother, Sarah Dalton, sang in the 1920s at LA’s famous Pantages Theater. Her mother, Margaret Dalton, was a pianist/singer/songwriter who was mentored by clarinetist Joe Vinuti, songwriter Willard Robinson. and well known singer Ruth Etting. It was Etting who advised Martha to “sing it the way you feel it.”
Martha Lorin made her professional debut as a singer at the age of 19 at San Francisco’s’ legendary Hungry I working in many Bay area clubs. She met Frank Collette in LA in 1980 and began a collaboration with him as a lyricist, resulting in several Billboard-nominated songs. In New York, Martha continued her close collaborations with the best musicians in jazz, working in the top venues.
Praised for the brilliance of her tone, the beauty of her voice and her exceptional way with a lyric, Martha received a “Back Stage Bistro Award” in the Jazz Vocalist category, was a MAC Award Nominee and received a Billboard Award for her songwriting abilities. Martha worked with Tommy Flanigan, Russ Kassoff, Billy Stritch, Jon Weber, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Jay Leonhart, Saadi Zain and Sean Harkness to name a few. She toured internationally, singing in Japan, the Philippines and Europe.
Recent New York appearances included Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Iridium Jazz Club, , the South Bend Jazz Festival, Trio’s Jazz Club, Yoshi’s, Feinstein’s at the Regency, Judy’s, 88’s, the Metropolitan Room, Pangea and Don’t tell Mama.
Martha’s recordings include “I’ll Remember You” a celebration of Ella Fitzgerald with Ella’s long time accompanist Paul Smith, “Blues Over Broadway”, “Don’t Slam the Door” and “The Many Moods of Martha Lorin.”
