Jill Barber

Biography

Jill Barber (born Gillian Grace Barber; February 6, 1980) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Originally associated with the folk-pop genre, she has performed vocal jazz and pop music on her more recent albums.

Early life

Barber was born and raised in Port Credit, a neighbourhood in the south-central part of Mississauga, just west of Toronto. Her brother is singer-songwriter Matthew Barber. She studied at Queen's University before pursuing her musical career full time.

Career

Barber won the Female Artist Recording of the Year award for her debut album Oh Heart×Oh Heart16 March 2004 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Oh Heart3:572In Perfect Time3:343Measures & Scales5:064A7th Minor3:035Nothing on Me4:126Somewhere Else3:40 at the 2005 Music Nova Scotia Awards. In 2007, Barber earned her fourth win as Best Local Solo Artist (Female) in The Coast’s annual "Best of Music Reader’s Poll", and her first win as Best Canadian Solo Artist (Female).
From February to March 2007, she toured Eastern Canada with Dan Hill as part of Stuart McLean's CBC Radio show The Vinyl Cafe. She returned to the Vinyl Cafe Tour in 2009 performing across Canada with Matt Andersen. In 2008, Barber released Chances, a jazz album with full orchestral arrangements which was partially co-written with her producer Les Cooper, while also collaborating on several songs with Canadian music legend Ron Sexsmith.
This album led to a new level in touring reaching audiences across the globe while earning two Juno Award nominations including New Artist of the Year. The title track to this album was featured on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, at the end of season 1, episode 1.
She followed up with the album Mischievous Moon×Mischievous Moon5 April 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Mischievous Moon4:132Took Me by Surprise4:083Tell Me4:084Daydreamin'3:035A Wish Under My Pillow2:066Steal Away4:087Any Fool Can Fall in Love3:098Tenderness3:509If It Weren't for Loving You3:2710Lullaby1:4911Dis-Moi4:08, released through Outside Music in 2011. In the same year, Jill and Matthew Barber collaborated on a cover of The Hardship Post's "Your Sunshine", which appeared on the charity compilation album Have Not Been the Same – Vol. 1: Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die.
Barber has performed predominantly in English. She has also recorded and performed "Une femme doit faire" and French translations of two of her songs, "All My Dreams" ("Tous mes rêves×Tous mes rêves23 February 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Tous mes rêves2:35") and "Tell Me" ("Dis-moi"). Her 2013 album Chansons×Chansons2013 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Petite fleur2:432J’attendrai3:493Mélancolie4:054La Javanaise3:175Sous le ciel de Paris3:206En septembre sous la pluie3:017Je cherche un homme2:478N’oublie jamais3:049Quand les hommes vivront d’amour3:0210Les Feuilles mortes4:1111Plus bleu que tes yeux3:2412Adieu foulards2:13, a selection of cover versions of classic songs from Quebec and France, was her first album of material recorded and performed entirely in French.
Barber won the SiriusXM 2012 Jazz Artist of the Year award, as well as the 2013 Western Canadian Francophone Album of the Year for Chansons.
In 2016, Barber co-produced an album The Family Album×The Family Album2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1I Must Be In A Good Place Now3:542Song To A Young Seagull2:493One True Love3:344The Sweeter The Dawn4:195Today3:186Summer Wages4:297The Partisan4:178Big Picture Window3:449Grandpa Joe3:2710If I Needed You4:2311Comes A Time3:29, with her brother Matthew Barber, also a singer-songwriter. The album consists of original songs written by Jill and Matthew Barber along with covers of songs by Canadian artists, Gene MacClellan Ian Tyson, and Neil Young. The album won a Juno award for Contemporary Roots Album of the year in 2017.
Her solo album, Metaphora×Metaphora22 June 2018 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1The Woman2:432Girl's Gotta Do3:083I Hooked Your Heart2:484Bigger Than You2:395Mercy3:486Clumsy Heart3:047Cage Without a Key3:458Love Is3:179Hold On4:04, was released in June 2018. She followed up with another French-language album, Entre nous×Entre nous19 June 2020 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Entre nous2:592Chat domestique3:073Joue avec le feu2:494Le monde est beau3:075Les étés de Montréal3:546Comme les fleurs3:257La pluie3:198Reflets3:229Suzanne3:3410Nos retrouvailles4:1711Coeur de ma jeunesse3:41, in 2020, and with Homemaker×Homemaker10 February 2023 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Instant Cash for Gold3:072Beautiful Life3:213Homemaker4:134Join Account3:065Woman of My Own Dreams3:406Hell No3:277My Mother's Hand3:408Big Eyes3:119Helium3:4910Still in Love3:19 in 2023.
In 2025 Jill and Matthew Barber contributed a cover of Joel Plaskett's "Light of the Moon" to the Plaskett tribute album Songs from the Gang.

Author

Barber has written two children's books, Baby's Lullaby and Music is for Everyone.

Charity

Barber is mentor to young women as part of the Girls Action Foundation's Light A Spark initiative, and an ambassador for Save the Children.

Personal life

Barber is married to CBC Radio 3 personality Grant Lawrence. They have two children.