Sara K.

Sara K. in Solingen, November 2007

Sara K. (born Sara Katherine Wooldridge in Dallas , Texas ) is an American singer-songwriter from Santa Fe , New Mexico . She was active from the mid-1970s to 2009 and her music spans the genres of blues , folk and jazz . Since she has only published audiophile CDs since the early 1990s and has an extremely loyal fan base, the specialist press often gives her the nickname Queen of Audiophile . Another special feature of her style is that it has a four- Bass - strings strung acoustic guitar playing.

Life

Sara K. grew up in a musical family: her mother sang in a church choir , her father in a barbershop - quartet , her brother played in a band and her sister played guitar . Sara's desire to become a singer was not taken seriously by her family, however, because they saw music as a pure hobby, not a possible career.

In the early 1970s, when she was 15, she started playing the guitar herself, using the flamenco guitar that her sister had left behind at home. She took off the remaining guitar strings and instead pulled up four bass strings, tuned in an A major open tuning . This gave the guitar a fuller tone, but at the same time didn't make it sound as deep as a bass. The special sound of her guitar has since become one of her trademarks.

When she started performing in clubs and bars around town two years later, she noticed that her music was well received by audiences - which in turn encouraged her desire to become a musician. Even though the great era of solo artists à la Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell slowly came to an end at the end of the 1970s , Sara K. stayed on this course. The first few years after moving out of home, she used every opportunity to make music - be it happy hours , as a background singer for country music and jingles , or creating her own demo tapes. However, she realized that she didn't really fit into the Dallas music scene and moved to New Mexico .

She moved to the village of Ruidoso in the mountains of New Mexico and formed her band Sara K. and the Boys Without Sleep . From 1978 to 1983 she toured New Mexico and Los Angeles with her . She also toured with country musician Gary Nunn for two years .

Move to Santa Fe and the first album

While touring with Nunn, she realized that she would rather play and write her own songs. So she moved to Santa Fe (New Mexico) , teamed up with a few musicians and finally released her debut album Gypsy Alley in 1989 on the (now defunct) label Mesa / Bluemoon. Many of the songs on it deal with her restless, nomadic life that she had lived for almost fifteen years. This phase of life had come to an end in this same Gypsy Alley (transl. " Gypsy Alley ") in Santa Fe, because there she rented an apartment. And since she won a goldfish at a fair and later got a dog named "Bebe" (who is also mentioned in several songs), she decided to settle down.

For many of her listeners, her debut album has echoes of the style of Joni Mitchell , especially when it comes to the subtle / astute expression. In addition, Sara K. seems very authentic, as it has experienced "these stories themselves may be in them there and told from her heart - warm, personal and moving The album was the. New Mexico Music Industry Coalition with the Best Album Award awarded .

The years at Chesky Records

One of the musicians she recorded Gypsy Alley with is guitarist Bruce Dunlap . At the time, he himself was under contract with Chesky Records of New York , a record company known for producing mainly for an audiophile audience. Dunlap helped her find accommodation with Chesky, with whom she was under contract for more than ten years (until 2001).

Sara K. released six albums under the label: Closer Than They Appear , Play On Words , Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin ' , Hobo , the live album No Cover and What Matters . Chesky Records also finally put together a best-of album called The Chesky Collection .

She toured Europe and considered moving to San Francisco - which was never actually implemented. When the contract with Chesky ran out, Sara K. had the feeling that she had been "ripped off in various ways by record companies and tour operators", probably also because she barely earned anything, although her CDs sold comparatively well .

Work at Stockfisch Records and with Chris Jones

Sara K. got to know Günter Pauler , owner of the music label Stockfisch Records , on her last tour of Germany under the Chesky contract , because he had been called in to help as a sound specialist. On this occasion he invited her to a tour of his studio and offered her a record deal directly . He also promised that they could do the recordings with the exceptional guitarist Chris Jones . Jones' filigree game and the refreshingly simple record deal (length: one page), which was still fairer and more lucrative than many others, finally convinced Sara K.

Working with Chris Jones was brilliant. Their first album on Stockfisch, Water Falls (2001) was followed by a (Germany) tour, which in turn was the material for a live DVD Nautilus tour and a live album Live in Concert (both 2003). The live album won the “Hifi Music Award 2003” for audiophile CDs in the AUDIO / stereoplay election.

In 2006, their third album was released by Stockfisch, Hell or High Water . The album contains ten new songs, again accompanied by Chris Jones on guitar and Dobro . Tragically, Jones died of Hodgkin's disease shortly after the recordings and before it was published .

Four years after the Nautilus Tour, Sara K. returned to Germany from November 5 to December 1, 2007, entitled Made in the Shade , which covered a large part of the republic. The tour started at Radio Bremen and ended in Völklingen-Lauterbach. Before and after the tour she recorded her new album, which to a large extent contains new versions of songs from her Gypsy Alley album. It was released in 2009 under the same title as the tour.

End of career

With the release of her album Made in the Shade , she announced on the website of her record company that she intends not to record albums or to give any more concerts. In a message to her fans, she writes there:

“After many years on the road and writing music, I've decided to stop touring and recording. It's hard to explain why but I hope you will understand. I had a good run but I think it's over. It's just too much for too little these days. Made in the Shade explains it as best as I know how. "

“After many years of touring and writing music, I have decided not to give concerts or record any more albums. It's difficult to explain why, but I hope you understand. I had a good time but I think it's over. It's just too much for too little now. With Made in the Shade I explain it as best I can. "

Sara K. lives in the Santa Fe area, has a daughter (* 1994) and has been married to her husband Tiego since 2000.

Prices

• New Mexico Music Industry Coalition : "Best Album Award" 1989 for Gypsy Alley
• AUDIO : "Goldenes Audio-Ohr" 1994 for the album Play on Words
• AUDIO / stereoplay: "Hifi Music Award" 2003 for Best Audiophile Album for Live in Concert
• " Just Plain Folks 2004 Music Award" for Best Blues Song, Turned My Upside Down (live version with Chris Jones)

Discography

• Gypsy Alley (CD, Mesa / Bluemoon, 1989)
• Closer Than They Appear (CD, Chesky, 1990)
• Play On Words (CD, Chesky, 1993)
• Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin ' (CD, Chesky, 1995) (DE: Gold in the German Jazz Award )
• Hobo (CD, Chesky, 1997) (DE: Gold in the German Jazz Award)
• No Cover (CD & DVD, Chesky, 1999)
• What Matters (CD, Chesky, 2001)
• Water Falls (CD, Stockfisch, 2002) (DE: Gold in the German Jazz Award)
• Nautilus Tour (DVD, Stockfisch / in-akustik, 2003)
• The Chesky Collection (CD, Chesky, 2003)
• Live in Concert (CD, Stockfisch, 2003)
• Hell or High Water (Hybrid SACD, Stockfisch, 2006)
• Don't I Know You From Somewhere (Solo Live) (CD, Stockfisch, 2008)
• Made in the Shade (Hybrid SACD, Stockfisch, 2009)
• Made in the Shade (Pure Audio Blu Ray, Stockfisch, 2009)

Web links

• Own website (English)
• Sara K. at Stockfisch-Records
• Sara K. at Chesky Records

Individual evidence

1. ↑ stereoplay.de
2. ↑ ^{a b} sarak.com
3. ↑ stockfisch-records.de
4. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ folker.de
6. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ↑ stockfisch-records.de
8. ↑ jpfolks.com
9. ↑ Gold / platinum database. Federal Association of the Music Industry; Retrieved June 18, 2016