Concert Review: Charlotte Martin @ Joe's Pub, NYC, 1/31

Written by: Joshua Williams, our resident NYC Concert Critic

To CEOs, CFOs, Directors and Managers of all stripes: You've all heard all about that buzz word synergy, that ideal of disparate talent and expertise working together towards a common goal. You spend hours discussing it, fretting about it, embracing it, cursing it, paying to have seminars about it…and yet, it often proves illusive, a corporate mirage. But take courage, synergy is well and alive and on stage in all its' idyllic glory--Charlotte Martin and her piano.

An accomplished composer and gifted pianist with a wide range of musical styles at her fingertips, Charlotte coaxes melody out of complexity. There's nothing simple about her music and yet entirely accessible. Her song "Outerspace" from her new EP, Orphans, is the perfect example. Written while she was pregnant with her son, the song explores the hopes and fears of having a child, building on a simple lullaby-like theme that then morphs into something far more complicated and layered.

Charlotte is also blessed with a voice from the heavens and a sky's-the-limit range, transitioning from chest to head, from operatic to breathy pop, from Broadway belting to folksy mouth pops and growls, all with ease. There were points in the show, that Charlotte eschewed her piano altogether to sing a capella, raw, bare and pitch perfect. Her voice, much like her onstage persona, is flirty, vulnerable, steely and tender. It plugs into the romanticism of the 19th century, a little unruly, wild and melancholy, but always with a little wry wit and personality thrown in for good measure. When introducing her song "Galaxies", she quipped, "it's happy and sad…and all that sh%$ I do." And as for "The Stalker Song," well, it may be partly true she admits.

But it's when all of these sometimes incongruent elements come together that order emerges and synergy happens. Suddenly, voice, piano and persona become a complete symphony.

All those vast corporations out there staving off bankruptcy, spinning off derivatives and cutting thousands of jobs could perhaps learn a little something from Charlotte Martin. For the cynics, well, at least spending an evening with Charlotte Martin is a much-needed diversion from the real world.

Unfortunately, this concert is not part of a larger tour. Charlotte recently took time off to have her baby and decided to test the waters out with a one-time double concert at Joe's Pub. The baby seemed to do well (even spending a little time on stage) and mom seemed glad to be back on stage. The good news… she admitted that "it was great to be back" and a new album and tour might be on the horizon.