"There are voices, & then there are VOICES: poignant, stirring, strong voices that stay with you long after the song has ended. Beth Baker has one of THOSE voices--undoubtedly one of the most charismatic & utterly unique artists to hit the cabaret music scene in recent memory."
-- San Francisco Chronicle
"This is a voice you don't dare miss: a glorious natural sound, a kind of life force that can give authentic chills...her two songs from "Funny Girl" make you crave a full medley--and damn the comparisons! Baker at full throttle is a inspiring thing to behold but she can belt a song without crushing it, subduing that magnificent instrument for tender songs, singing with not just volume but vulnerability, capable of subtle intonations, at ease in any register."
--
San Francisco
Chronicle
"Beth Baker knocked me out in 'Funny Girl' at Foothill College, drawing obvious comparisons to Barbra Streisand, which she doesn't trade on (indeed, shies away from), nor does she need to, with plenty of voice and style of her own to draw upon. If you shut your eyes, you heard Streisand, so perfectly did she recall La Barbra in gesture, inflection and spirit--very spooky--but the voice is all hers. She sent tiny shivers through me singing 'Who Are You Now?', 'The Music That Makes Me Dance', and, to be sure, 'People' and 'Don't Rain On My Parade,' a great underrated score that demands another Streisand, and Baker is close to it, with the requisite lungs, heart and comic skills; even her "Private Schwartz From Rockaway" was on the nose. Baker has a big true powerful sound with a tingling tenderness underneath that deserves to be heard."
--
San Francisco
Chronicle
"Beth Baker's voice is so big and so thrilling, that when she unleashes it, it just about knocks you off of your chair. After successful star turns in
Foothill
College
's productions of Funny Girl and Call Me Madam, Baker is making her bay area cabaret singing debut at LoCoco's. She opens the evening with the wonderful 'Paper Moon' and proceeds to deliver it and the rest of her repertoire with a range and power unequaled by any other cabaret singer I've heard. Her stage training is immediately evident as she grabs hold of the opening lyrics of each song, swirls them around the front tables and then sends them crashing out to the farthest reaches of the room. At times, it seems that the intimate Coconut Room may not be able to contain the sheer force of her talent."
--Tiburon Ark
"Call Me Madam," one of Irving Berlin's last hurrahs, features a stunning singer named Beth Baker, in a jubilant little production.
In the 1950 show, Ethel Merman was Sally Adams (based on
Washington
party-giver Perle Mesta), made ambassador to tiny mythical Lichtenburg, a role amply filled in this invigorating version by a singer cut from the same brash mold whose wondrous belt can clear sinuses, as was said of Merman.
Baker is a far less metallic, robotic performer, with a big unforced sound and a smile in her voice. She kicks the show into gear the moment she launches into the show's blockbuster opening, "Hostess With the Mostes' ", proving that her remarkable Foothill performance as Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl," with its startling Streisand echoes, was no fluke.
She's clearly got the goods and, given the right show, such as this, easily runs wtih them in song upon glad song -- "You're Just in Love."
--
San Francisco
Chronicle
"Hailing from
San Francisco
, singer Beth Baker is such a confident, passionate performer that it's hard to view her as a newcomer (which she is locally). She's quite an impressive vocalist, with a powerful, crystal belt that can shatter glass. Her big, exciting voice was at its best with the likes of Francesca Blumenthal's poignant "The Lies Of Handsome Men," and a borrowed arrangement of Jane Olivor's famed version of "Some Enchanted Evening." On the uptempos, Baker recalls a bevy of brassy ladies from Baby Jane Dexter to Aretha Franklin.
This lady can belt!"
--Backstage,
New York
"November may be just a little brighter in
New York City
. Beth Baker who hails from
San Francisco
, has brought her cabaret act to Danny's Skylight Room, and I can't think of a better way to light up your Friday night.
Baker has a high, clear voice that slips and slides into different vocal ranges. She starts with a bright and breezy "New York State of Mind," glides into a whispery "Miss Celie's Blues," and then belts out a sultry "Dr. Feelgood" and plucks at your heart strings with the beautiful ballad "The Lies Of Handsome Men." Baker's incredible voice seems capable of almost anything. She belts out a rendition of "Some Enchanted Evening" that is absolutely stunning.
Accompanied by piano and bass, and in some songs, a trio of backup singers, she does not hesitate to take on melodies made popular by legends such as Aretha Franklin and Barbra Streisand, and she gives them a run for their money. Her music is jazzy with touches of rhythm & blues and gospel -- the kind that compels you to swing and sway along. You may even want to clap. What you don't want to do is miss the opportunity to see Beth Baker in action; hers is an impressive performance. "
-- NY Online
"Wake up Everybody!" features vibrant vocalist and entertainer Beth Baker, hailing from
San Francisco
. Baker's brassy, sassy and spirited repertoire is magnificent. Baker sings with ease and control--relaxed and sassy--none of that prepared "patter" stuff that cabaret people think they have to do. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. And, what a set of pipes!
Beth Baker has a big, exciting voice that delivers both volume and vulnerability. She's one performer who truly lets her little light shine."
--The Last Word Productions,
New York
"I guarantee your DNA will be rearranged when you hear Beth Baker sing 'Operator.' "
-- Dr. Kirby Shaw, arranger
"Beth Baker is a breath of fresh air...OK, so she's a gale...but what a joyful sound those forceful breezes carry. Before she sends a song on its way, carried on her gifted voice, Baker loves it into being. She can be gentle and evocatively atmospheric, and she can belt out a gospel tune that makes you wonder why they bothered to invent microphones. Her range of dynamics, emotion and musical genre put her in a league of her own. They just don't make many of 'em like Beth Baker."
-- Richard Moeschl, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Mail Tribune and Daily Tidings
"She has the rare ability to combine deeply touching songs with wildly funny ones...gives the audience an experience in being fully human."
--
Ashland
Daily Tidings
"Beth sings from her heart...she reaches people with her spirit as well as her incredible voice...her compassionate presence facilitates a palpable connectedness with the audience."
--Jan Adrian, Healing Journeys
