"I did what all misfits do, I locked myself in my bedroom and listened to music." This hermitic "classroom" would be the school where Joyce Breach learned about the American Songbook and the art of singing.
"I always sang, I was always entertaining. But people didn't go into show business in my family ... it wasn't a business." But back in her classroom, Breach learned from such master teachers as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Doris Day, Sarah Vaughn and Peggy Lee. These singers and their songs instilled in Breach the dream, and the drive, that would eventually bring her to Manhattan and earn her the regard of first class musicians, jazz and cabaret artists and critics nationwide.
Born in Alameda, California and raised in Kansas City, Breach settled down in Pittsburgh, PA after college at West Virginia University, and she quickly became a regular performer in the area's nightclubs. It was during these years and the training they provided that Breach perfected her intimate and seemingly effortless performance style.
In the early 80's, while Breach was working with a trio, drummer Reid Hoyson convinced her that it was time to record a cassette. One of the songs included on the tape, and a song that held great personal meaning for her, was "Blackberry Winter" by Loonis McGlohon and Alec Wilder. When McGlohon heard the recording, he was so pleased with Breach's interpretation of the tune that he contacted her and the two began to correspond.
It was McGlohon who brought Breach to the attention of Wendell Echols, a producer with the Audiophile label. Both Echols and Audiophile are well known for their support of top-flight singers, so it was no surprise when Breach recorded her first CD, Confessions, for Audiophile in 1990.
The success of that CD lead to Breach's being asked to be part of the Cabaret Convention at New York City's Town Hall. The organizer of the event, Donald Smith, extended the first invitation in 1992, and having stopped the show on more than one occasion, Breach has appeared there every year since.
Breach went back into the studio for the 1993 Audiophile release Lovers After All, which she recorded with the Oscar winning composer/pianist Sir Richard Rodney Bennett. In 1995, Audiophile released a CD version of that original cassette Songbird and in 1996 Breach teamed up with cabaret legend William Roy for the CD This Moment. Breach's most recent release is her 1997 CD Nothing But Blue Skies which paired her with celebrated jazz pianist Kieth Ingham. And now Breach has just finished work on her latest recording, songs from American movies, scheduled for release by Audiophile in early fall.
Max Preeo, of ShowMusic, wrote that Breach is "only required listening for those who appreciate the art of fine singing; others need not bother." And Rex Reed, in The New York Observer, said "...she is intensely listenable, running through a first rate repertoire of songs that sparkle like silver in a world of dirty copper."
Having become a full-time Manhattan-ite in 1996, Breach regularly appears at Danny's Skylight Room and is a favorite in the popular Midtown Jazz at Midday series at St. Peter's Church, in addition to her appearances in The Mabel Mercer Foundation's Cabaret Convention. Breach contributes her growing reputation to the selection and handling of her material: "I've got a knack for picking good songs ... songs with form and structure. They represent a standard of craftsmanship that, sadly, hardly exists today."
Breach's personal favorites include composer/lyricist Irving Berlin ("...a very profound writer...") and such singers as Barbara Cook, Rosemary Clooney, Abby Lincoln. "They have an ease in singing, a directness. There's no artifice, they don't mess around with the melodies. They sing it the way it was written... and that's a lot harder than it sounds."
And that's exactly what the rest of world is saying about Breach.