Kristen’s work is all about the listener having a dramatic musical experience. Steeped in jazz and theater, her concerts and recordings are journeys in theme, story and song (or as BroadwayWorld writes “the musical equivalent of a Martha Graham dance concert.”)
Her most recent album as sole leader, “Falling,” is a mythological and personal exploration of descent. The previous “Smolder” and invocation and expiation of flame. Her lyric writing and interpretive skill came to bear in 2023’s “Holidays,” co-led with Grammy award winner Ted Nash, and color new and traditional song with new shade.
Compared “Tom Waits minus the growl,” (Midwest Jazz Record) and writing music that “is worthy of a stage musical” (AllAboutJazz) she has carved out an entirely unique place in musical art that defies category.
Her current project in development is a song cycle based on the artwork of Éduoard Manet that promises to further explore the bounds of concert and one woman show. More can be found on that here.
Prior to becoming the singer/songwriter/arranger she is today, Kristen worked extensively in theater as an actress in varied career that traversed styles. A sense of story and a deep respect for words ever infuses her work, with Sondheim, Shakespeare and Stoppard to thank.
Somewhere along the this journey, Kristen became a sommelier (certified, even) and worked in some of Manhattan’s top restaurants. Out of this passion she has a wine label with Ted Nash called Two Notes, now in its fifth vintage. Her love of and expertise in wine brings with it a certain seriousness about pleasure that informs her work in any medium be it liquid or sonic.
She is currently based in New York City.
