Faith Pillow

Although not a major name in the music world, veteran singer/songwriter Faith Pillow is an expressive, talented artist who can handle a wide variety of styles. The Kentucky native, who is blessed with a big voice and an impressive range, has never been easy to categorize. She is comfortable in a soul setting, but she is equally comfortable singing jazz, folk-rock, soft rock, and adult alternative. Pillow has been compared to Joan Armatrading and the underrated Phoebe Snow, and she gives the impression that she has been influenced by everyone from Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack to Carole King and Joni Mitchell. Arguably, Pillow (who is African-American) is a poster child for the Black Rock Coalition, an organization that Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid co-founded with music journalist Greg Tate in 1985 to counter the notion that African-American artists are obligated to embrace urban contemporary 100 percent of the time -- Reid has often asserted that there is no reason why black artists shouldn't perform rock or folk if they are so inclined. Of course, there are plenty of non-black artists who -- from a commercial standpoint -- are too eclectic for their own good. And the fact that Pillow isn't easy to pigeonhole may very well explain why she isn't better-known and hasn't recorded more albums; someone who is capable of singing Antonio Carlos Jobim one minute and Jesse Colin Young the next is the sort of artist who can intimidate the more conservative A&R and marketing people. Born in Louisville, KY, Pillow moved to Kalamazoo, MI, in 1974 and Chicago in 1975. When she was based in the Windy City, Pillow had a variety of gigs. She sang in jazz clubs -- Pillow once opened for the late jazz saxophone master Sonny Stitt at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase -- but she also...