Linda
Waterfall
Critical Reviews
Seattle:
"…her Whitmanic embrace of the American panorama, mixing
vernacular and highbrow culture, and everything in between."
--Paul de Barros, Seattle Times
"…Seattle's top singer-songwriter."
--Gavin Borchert, Seattle Weekly
Minneapolis:
"Linda Waterfall, an extraordinary folk musician from Washington state,
plays bristling, driving guitar and rolling, enveloping piano.
…If all that weren't enough, Ms. Waterfall is a moving, terrific
singer, blessed with star-of-the-choir pipes."
--Tom Surowicz, Twin Cities Reader
Boston:
"Waterfall nearly stole the show with her infectiously joyful
anthem "Love Out of Nowhere," and a hilarious satire of a redneck whose
sexist posturing suddenly dissolves into new age psycho-speak."
--Scott Alarik, Boston Globe
"Her musicianship is astonishing, and her lyrical sense is at the
cutting edge. I can't see any serious fan of songwriting
remaining ignorant of her work."
--Bob Franke, New England Folk Almanac
Philadelphia:
"Waterfall's music is a tasty confection, made of classical, jazz and
folk, with a twinge of blues and several mystery ingredients. Her
lyrics visit the heart of the human condition."
--Jonny Meister, WXPN
London, England:
"Totally refreshing and invigorating. The music's soaked in
classical influences….draws together rock, pop, jazz and folk
elements into a label-defying synthesis. Linda's instrumental
prowess elicits the use of
superlatives…."
--Tony May, Folk Root
Folk Alliance: "I've
offered to write a column for the newsletter highlighting various women
instrumentalists. I hope you listen to these artists, play them on your
folk radio programs and book them at your clubs and festivals. I really
hope that somewhere along the line, a few more women will be inspired
to delve deeply into the beauty and mystery of folk instruments.
(…) I have to start with a guitarist, since fingerpicking guitar
is my first love. And I have to start with Linda because she is simply
one of the finest fingerpicking guitar players alive on planet Earth
today. (…) I particularly like Run It like A Business (which
literally brought the audience screaming to their feet when she
premiered it at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop in 1986) Linda's
playing is truly some of the most unique and imaginative I have ever
encountered. It doesn't sound like any kind of traditional folk, but it
doesn't really sound like pop or Jazz, either. I once asked her where
she got her inspiration for her unusual chords and voicings and
progressions, and she said, "Oh, Debussy, I guess" (she is a very
accomplished pianist as well). (…) Every note that comes
out of this woman's guitar is heart-wrenchingly pure and beautiful yet
filled with a vibrancy that seems to come from somewhere deep in the
universe."
--Becky Bernson, Folk Alliance Newsletter