Beth Ullman has been wowing audiences in the southwest for the past twenty years with her innovative renditions of jazz standards. Her 1994 debut CD, “Aren’t We the Lucky Ones,” garnered enthusiastic reviews from JAZZTIMES and CADENCE magazines, the latter noting: ” She has an absolutely exquisite instrument.” “It’s hard to resist the sublime and haunting interpretations of vocalist Beth Ullman.” JAZZIZ, May 1995. “The lady swings hard and positively shines on ballads.” CADENCE, April 1995. “Ullman’s vocals connect both head and heart. A virtuoso musician.” Michael Point, Austin American Statesman. Ms. Ullman has also released two CDs that are a unique blend of pop and new age styles of original meditation music: “Go Within” and “Remember Me.” KUT-FM Public Radio host John Aielli selected “Go Within” as his favorite release of 1998. In July of 2011, Aardvark Records released her all-original compositions CD “We’ve Got Tonight.” Ms. Ullman is on the Commercial Music Faculty at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, where she is an instructor of voice and vocal ensemble, a vocal arranger and accompanist. She has also sung for Disney Films.
In her own words:
As a kid the only time I was allowed in the kitchen (other than to do the dishes) was to make spaghetti. That was on the nights that my parents threw dinner parties for their faculty chums at Purdue, where my father was a business professor. So I grew up in a family where throwing dinner parties was a regular occurrence. But I didn’t get to eat any of the food, and there were never any leftovers! My grandparents on my dad’s side were both gourmet cooks (meaning that you put wine into EVERYTHING) and as kids, we ate lavishly and well. My father used to chide us about how well we ate and how poorly most of the rest of the kids in the world ate… So I grew up liking and expecting a lot from my food. And to this day, my boyfriend says it’s a good thing I live in the gym, because all I talk about is food. My ex-husband used to say I lived for my lunch. I am a diehard fan of sweets. I love ice cream and I love to bake cookies. I make a mean ginger-infused pumpkin cheesecake with a homemade gingersnap crust every Thanksgiving, and a killer pumpkin bread pudding. I love cooking for others, and every week end I spend a large part of my time in the kitchen, barefoot, with a spatula… I taught myself how to cook and grew up laughing with Julia Child. (I, too, must have a glass of wine, or nothing comes out right. I can’t fathom eating dinner without it.) I’ll never forget what Julia did to that poor chicken… I cook both with and without recipes. The only food I detest is liver. Oh yeah, and I don’t eat eggs. My grandmother told me if I didn’t, I would lose my teeth. I didn’t believe her for one second, and I still eschew eggs. The ideal meal to me would be large, deep-fried Gulf prawns, with chocolate bread pudding for dessert. Give me a dinner bell and I’ll ring it!