Coming soon to a Seattle music scene near you: Al Holbrook.
One aspect of the Artist Home mission is the discovery of new music. While there are a plethora of bands and artists out in the Emerald City ether that the casual music fan has heard of – from Macklemore to Thunderpussy to The True Loves – there are many talented performers a lot of us haven’t gotten to know. And so here at Artist Home, an organization that continually has its searchlight out for the next great players, we wanted to showcase three local artists that you may not have heard of, but that we’re in awe of. We think you should also know them. So, without further ado, we present to you Three Artists To Know, featuring Marina Albero, Al Holbrook and Young Chhaylee.
Marina Albero is a piano virtuoso. At times it seems like she’s playing the most polished standards – like she’s memorized Mozart back and front – but in fact she’s actually improvising. Albero, who has ten fingers but might as well have twenty, moved to Seattle from Barcelona a few years back and has since entrenched herself in the Seattle jazz scene, playing with such deft players as D’Vonne Lewis and Evan Flory-Barnes. In Seattle, Albero is truly spreading her musical wings – she played a well-received set on August 9th at Tula’s, and you can see her in action below on YouTube with her quintet.
Al Holbrook is a blues man. From Dayton, Ohio, with a recent residence in Nashville, Tennessee, Holbrook is rumored (read: likely) to be moving to Seattle this fall. While he’s performed in the city a handful of times – and since fallen in love with the area – a permanent residence will supply the town with a steady stream of his melancholy magic. The gravely-voiced singer and keys player is a combination John Legend, John Mayer and Stevie Wonder topped with some fresh ground pepper. You can check him September 15th at the Bourbon Bar in Columbia City or listen to one our favorite tracks of his below in this grainy video.
Young-Chhaylee sounds a lot like Sam Cooke. His singing voice is powerful and yet it flutters. The story goes that he would sing this song “Not Alone” while living in a home with folks suffering from mental illness. He would sing it over and over as loud as he could. It’s an anthem of support and love written during a time of great sadness. Practically every line ends with the refrain, “You are not alone,” delivered dulcetly and, more importantly, believably. Listen to the song here. It’s really beautiful. (Young will also be playing with Holbrook at the Bourbon Bar September 15)
