Article reprinted from Charlotte Weekly (May
12-18, 2006): pg 35
Its been a busy year for singer Kimberly Carper. The
27-year-old
Mountain Island Lake resident has just released her
first CD,
Quarter ˜Til Three. The recording project was a joint effort
with her husband of 10 months, well-known
Charlotte drum-
mer Donnie Marshall.
It wouldnt have happened without him, Carper said.
We
started talking about it right after the wedding. I
worked on a
list of songs I wanted to record, but Donnie is the one who pro-
duced it, pulled the musicians and recording
team together, and
made it a reality. Marshall plays drums and handles all of the
percussion on the recording.
Carper, a native of Wilmington, N.C., relocated to
Charlotte in
1997. A graduate of UNC-Charlotte, she has a bachelors
degree
in music education and a masters of music in vocal performance
from UNC-Greensboro. Her naturally soft, sultry
tones and
extensive musical education combine beautifully in the 12 jazz-
and-pop standards featured on Three.
Carper says she began studying music because she knew
how
to sing but didnt really know what else she wanted
to do. She
found inspiration in local performances by singers
Beth
Chorneau and Kathy Miller. A friend told Carper if she would
learn 40 songs, she would have enough material to
set up a gig of
her own. Through friends of friends, she found herself singing
with a trio at LaVecchias at the Lake.
That was approximately
seven years ago. I was so nervous, I spent the whole evening hid-
ing behind the music stand,
she laughed.
Today her confidence has grown and her talents have
flour-
ished. No longer the shy girl singing behind the music
stand,
Carper performs jazz, blues and pop. Four years ago she pulled
together her own group of talented musicians,
and the Kim
Carper Trio was born. Thats how I met Donnie, she said. I
hired him for a gig and weve been together ever
since.
The couples mutual admiration for each other is obvious
in
the way they perform live and in the studio. Three
also show-
cases Charlotte musicians Van Sachs on guitar, Tim Gordon on
tenor saxophone, Tim Smith on bass, and Mark
Stallings on
keyboards.
Three is available for sale locally at Paper Skyscraper
on
East Boulevard, at Carpers live performances, and
on her Web
site. For more information and for Carpers performance sched-
ule, visit www.kimberlycarper.com.
by Heidi Edidin
heidi@thecharlotteweekly.com
A hit on her hands
Local jazz singer releases first CD
