Over the last three decades, Rebecca Martin has shaped a singular career devoted to the beauty and possibility of pure creative discovery. After getting her start as co-founder of the pioneering jazz-pop duo Once Blue (a widely beloved act that toured with the likes of Emmylou Harris and Squeeze), the New York-based singer/ songwriter went on to release a series of acclaimed solo albums animated by the quiet force of her captivating vocals, and collaborating along the way with luminaries like Argentine pianist Guillermo Klein and legendary jazz drummer Paul Motian. In one of her boldest turns to date, Martin’s new album SHE marks her first body of work made entirely on her own—a profoundly rewarding leap she perceives as something of an artistic awakening. “It was time to strip everything away and to present the sound of my voice,” says Martin, who also works as an educator and community organizer and penned the new songs for SHE over the course of seven years. “I was ready to take this on now.”