At first glance it appears that Barbara Reed has developed two careers, but recently both her music and her passion for writing came together in the unique production of High Notes Are Murder --a mystery novel with its own companion soundtrack of original music written for and about the characters and events in the book.

             Barbara started out as a singer, performing recognizable song titles in both jazz and pop music. “I played the piano as a kid,” she says, “and I’d write songs at the keyboard, but I never expected to work as a pianist. There were so many well-established giants in the jazz field, I never felt I’d be able to play professionally.” Her sights were set instead on becoming a singer.

            But sometimes life has a way of turning things around. For the next ten years she toured as a singer, working with bands up and down the East Coast. The harmonic training she’d received at Berklee College of Music allowed her to write her own charts for the musicians. “These were very simple chord charts because I wasn’t much of a player yet,” she says, “but they were good enough to make the band sound professional--or at least like we hadn’t just met in a taxi on the way to the gig.”

            Her dream of being a stand-up singer was dashed when she arrived in Los Angeles at a time of great musical turmoil in the business.

            “The nightclub scene was changing, crowds weren’t filling the clubs each night as they had before, drum machines were replacing drummers. Competition for gigs became fierce as bands were forced to downsize. Suddenly singers were considered a luxury. I remember one club owner snarling, ‘Is that all the broad’s gonna do, just stand there and sing?’”

            Suddenly her quartet was reduced to a trio or duo, with Barbara at the keyboard. “I had to give myself a crash course, and it was rough at first. I wasn’t used to playing in a group, let alone singing at the same time. But fortunately, I’d been surrounded by some great players over the years so I knew at least what I wanted to play—if only I could develop it on the piano. Singing with great piano players really develops your ear. When I suddenly had to play for myself, I’d try to emulate the ideas they’d executed so fluently. It was a struggle, but I’m glad it happened because the piano has become so much a part of me. I’d be lost without it now."

            Which leads to this new career as a novelist.

             “I’ve always wanted to write novels, but adding music was accidental. I was trying to develop the character of Liz Hanlon, and when editors and English teachers kept harping, "Show! Don’t tell”, I realized it was impossible to “show” how Liz felt up there on stage without letting the reader also hear her music! Sometimes when I’d finish writing I’d go to the piano to unwind. I noticed that whatever mood I’d been writing in would make its way into a new song of the same mood. Festive, introspective, it didn’t’ matter. Whatever Liz was feeling came through me and developed into some kind of musical piece. Pretty soon I couldn’t separate them. I went along for the ride and developed all these songs that seemed to take the creative process one step further.”