Los Angeles singer, songwriter and guitar player Sam Phillips composes her songs with the terseness of a smart screenwriter. She sets a scene, establishes a conflict, hints at motivation and allows us to conjure up the rest. Her material may be highly personal, but she has never been a blatantly confessional artist.

Long admired for her coolly modern take on Beatles-esque songwriting and studio craft on records such as 1994's Grammy®-nominated Martinis & Bikinis, Phillips moved away from elaborate pop production with her 2001 Nonesuch Records debut, Fan Dance. Since then, she has stuck to this road less traveled. Her 2004 record, A Boot and a Shoe, is composed of melancholy tales of love betrayed and desires detoured, unfolding before what sometimes sounds like a smoky, after-hours jam session. Phillips and producer T-Bone Burnett turned up the drums, and recorded lots of them—often simultaneously. Also joining Phillips' distinct vocals and vintage guitar sound are piano vamps, string arrangements and electric bass. The record received wide critical acclaim; the Los Angeles Times said, "With deft, powerful strokes, the singer-songwriter chisels emotions, impressions, yearnings and regrets, giving these 13 songs exactly as much room as they need and no more."

Phillips describes herself now as a torch singer, albeit a rather non-traditional one, since she's more inclined toward brooding than belting. Like her album title, whose mismatched footwear represents various types of imbalance, torch is a word she applies metaphorically: "Torch can mean tortured, or carrying a torch for someone—meaning you love them, they don't love you ... and all that comes before and after that."

In addition to her records, Phillips has contributed music to a number of major films and television shows. In 2004, she embarked on her first U.S. tour in nearly a decade, performing alongside label-mate David Byrne in several cities. The tour culminated with a fall performance at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, where she performed songs from her two Nonesuch records. Excerpts from this concert, along with an interview with Phillips, make up the latest installment of Creators at Carnegie, highlighting the exciting collaboration that features Nonesuch Records' artists playing a key role in Carnegie Hall's new and adventurous programming.

PREVIOUS