Heather Marie Philipp

It’s no wonder the sultry, soulful jazz/pop of Heather Marie Philipp seems to come from her bones. It does. Born and raised in small towns across Michigan by her rock guitarist father and poet mother, and a host of their colorful friends, Heather, the second of four children, came by her artistic passion, intense presence, and unending drive naturally. She spent much of her childhood and teen years dancing, singing, and acting and in 1999, her love for performance led her to Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado where she earned an improv-based interdisciplinary performance degree. At Naropa, she acted, directed, wrote, danced and sang while studying with eclectic faculty, including renowned modern jazz pianist Art Lande and international classical composer Bill Douglas. Heather also studied abroad in Nepal and India.

Though she toyed with a folk singer/songwriter identity prominent in Boulder, playing a few coffee shops here and there, Heather eventually realized the “girl-with-a-guitar” persona wasn’t a fit for her. She began to dive more deeply into jazz, soul, and avant garde voice work, settling into a few years of writing new material, more traveling to South America and Africa, and doing frequent meditation retreats within the Buddhist tradition she follows. In 2006 Heather received an offer of support for her first CD and after connecting with talented young composer and producer, Paul Fowler in Taos, New Mexico, she began compiling material for what would become the Under the Apple EP.

Progress on the CD was suspended early in the process when Heather was involved in a debilitating car accident. Though it took nearly a year to recover fully, with the help of her steely resolve and deep passion for life, recover she did – and with a debut CD in the works, no less. Under the Apple was complete in less than six months and the end product is an intimate, original work of seldom heard breadth and depth from a debut effort. The album builds on a foundation of contemporary acoustic jazz the likes of jazz/pop darlings Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux, but takes agile strides into the soulful sides of art pop, trip-hop, and R&B groove. You can find remnants of Billie Holiday and Chet Baker alongside a little Portishead, Sting, and Natalie Merchant. The tracks show off Heather’s warm, sensual, and versatile three-octave voice, her knack for inspired prose-style songwriting, and stellar musicianship from an up-and-coming producer. Together, Philipp and Fowler have created a jazz-inspired album that is listenable, current, and artsy - addictive to listen to and mature well beyond what you’d expect from a first-time-out.

Heather, a veteran marketing professional by day, is steadily building a following in the Boulder/Denver Metro area, has been featured on local radio stations, played to enthusiastic crowds at the iconic Boulder Theater and other local venues, opened for film and fringe festivals, and is planning East Coast and European tours. With a strong online presence and powerful live performances, Under the Apple is sure to be only the first of many impressive projects we’ll see from the unforgettable, talented, and driven Heather Marie Philipp.