Barbara Knight
Barbara Knight graduated from Kent State University with a degree in Voice/Music Education. She started singing professionally in 1980 with the Harry Hershey Orchestra. During her 13-year stint with that band, she was the featured band vocalist in the hit show “Stompin' At The State”, which ran for almost 2 years at the State Theatre in Cleveland's Playhouse Square. She also traveled to Miami, Florida with the show “Stompin' At La Ronde”, which had a 9-month run at the Fountainebleu Hilton in Miami Beach.
Since 1993, Barbara has been the female vocalist with the acclaimed Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. She has also performed all over the Tri-State region, working with national big bands such as the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and The Famous Jazz Orchestra. In May of 2001, she entered the recording studio with the 16-piece CJO plus strings to record her first compact disc, “Night And Day”. In 2003, Barbara made her Severence Hall debut as the guest vocalist with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra for their New Year's Eve Spectacular. She continues to be a frequent guest artist with the Pops, college jazz ensembles, and regional big bands, as well as being a featured vocalist at the Lakeland Jazz Fest in 2003 and 2004 and participating yearly in the Tri-C Jazz Fest “Song Is You” series.
In 2006, Barbara formed the Barbara Knight Quintet and a year later the group recorded the CD “Angel Eyes”, featuring a unique collection of arrangements by bassist David Morgan. The quintet can be seen playing in jazz clubs throughout Northeastern Ohio.
“ Barbara Knight totally captivated the rapt crowd with her smart but confident voice, imaginative phrasing and appealing stage presence. Her material came in the form of the American song bag, some of it arranged by Knight herself--like “Sentimental Journey”, in which her sinuous, sensuous phrasing perfectly fit the song's sentiment.”
--Lee Brown, jazz reviewer for The Other Paper, Columbus, Ohio
“ To say that Barbara is talented is a gross understatement. Actually, she was terrific, both as a solo voice as well as blending with the group to create the “ensemble” sound. Tune after tune, they played flawlessly and left the audience spellbound. Every note was finely polished to perfection and presented to a hungry crowd, ready to devour this very organized and refreshingly new sound…the sound of Barbara Knight and her great new band.”
--Johnny Mack
